In a recent interview between Dr. Phil and Joe Rogan, Dr. Phil spoke about the negative consequences of cell phones and social media. In a nutshell, he argues that smart phones are the biggest societal change since the Industrial Revolution. He notes two huge societal changes since the advent of smart phones in 2008.
- People no longer walk around with their heads up, looking outward at the world. People now walk around when their heads down, buried in their cell phones. As a result, young people stopped living their lives and started watching other people live their lives. This means that young people put off making friends, going out on dates and getting a driver’s license. Less living and more watching.
- And, as a natural consequence, young people began comparing their lives with the lives of other people. Because most people only share the best and shiniest moments of their lives, we are comparing our average lives with the best parts of other people’s lives. Again, as you might imagine, that can be a depressing experience. The stats demonstrate this. Since 2010, depression has increased 62% and suicide has increased 189% for pre-teens. Suicide has increased 70% for older teens and 151% for pre-teens.
Joe’s Perspective: If you are a part of this young generation, you don’t see how dramatically different you are growing up than every other generation that came before you. I see it as do most other adults. For example, my daughters don’t go anywhere without their cell phones. And, if someone texts them, they feel a need to text them back right away (they don’t know that people began texting so they could respond on their own time instead of having to answer a phone call). Last weekend, there were 8 teenage girls in my home getting ready for homecoming. I went downstairs to check on them and each teenager was on her phone. They were checking to see what pictures others were posting. It was bizarre to me, but it was normal to them.
No one is saying that cell phones and social media are pure evil. It’s just that we need to understand the negative consequences. For God’s sake, the average person checks their cell phone 352 times a day. Give yourself permission to leave your cell phone at home. Leave it in your room when you have dinner or watch TV as a family. Let your friends wait 30 minutes before you respond to a text. Invite friends over to your house, get together more with friends, be more active… As Dr. Phil would say, “spend more time living your own life as opposed to watching others live their lives.” Perhaps, and I’m just sayin’, perhaps life could be better without a cell phone strapped to your side 24-7.
