With billions of smartphone users around the world it comes as no surprise that our phones are effecting our mental health. New studies have found smartphones effect our mood, the way we think and much more. In this article I will be talking about smartphones and mental health and how they impact our mental health.
Smartphones And Mental Health- How Are They Related?
Most people use their smartphone daily and this effects our mental health greatly in many different ways. As we use our smartphones our minds become fixated with all the information available at our fingertips.
As we try dig through all this information and discover the endless possibilities of our smartphones our mental health will take a hit. Smartphones can effect our mental health in positive and negative ways as rely on them for a lot of things.
The more we use our smartphones the more impact it will have on our lives, wellbeing and mental health. So it’s important to understand how our smartphones effect us to ensure we keep ourselves healthy mentally and physically.
Smartphones And Mental Health- What Are The Impacts?
Smartphones and mental health are closely related as discussed above due to the extensive use of our smartphones. Smartphones can have many effects on our mental health both positive and negative.
Too much phone use is bad for our mental health and can lead to isolation and various mental health conditions but using our phones in a healthy way will keep us relaxed, happy and connected with the people we care about.
Let’s go over some positive and negative effects that smartphones have on our mental health
Positive Effects
Smartphones have some positive effects on our lives and mental health as long as we don’t over do it.
Some positive effects of smartphones on our mental health are as follows
Social Networking & Support
Smartphones allow us to stay connected with friends and family even at long distance through the use of messaging apps and social media. We can be a part of many different emotional support groups and find various ways to get any help we need during difficult times.
Productivity & Orginization
Smartphones help us get many important tasks done like editing documents on the go and sending emails. They also helps us staying organised through appss like alarms, calenders and many more. We can also set reminders and keep track of what we need to do each day.
Entertainment & Relaxation
Smartphones have many things we can use to unwind at the end of the day such as the ability to use meditation apps and listen to music or podcasts. They also keeps us occupied and entertained by giving us the option to watch videos and play games whenever we feel like it.
Access To Mental Health Resources
Smartphones give us access to a lot of mental health resources which makes it easy to get mental health help anytime. There is a lot of information available as well as apps like meditation apps and mental health tracking tools to assist us in maintaining our mental health.
We can also talk to a therapist when we need to and have the ability to access crisis support online through our smartphones whenever we need it.
Negative Effects
Despite the positive effects of smartphones there are also many negative effects they can have on our lives and mental health. Especially if we use our phones too much and become over reliant on them.
Some negative effects of smartphones on our mental health are as follows
Sleeping Problems
The light emitted by smartphones interferes with our brains and hormones and if we use our smartphone too much especially before bed it will disrupt our sleep.
Not only will you find yourself having trouble going to sleep you will also get less sleep meaning you will likely be tired and irratible the next day.
Atention & Concerntration Problems
Smartphones cause a lot of distractions and when we get into a habit of checking every notification we get straight away this will turn our attemtion away from work and other tasks.
If we use our smartphones a lot we will become use to it and have trouble concertrating on other things even when we’re not using our smartphones.
Strained Or Conflicted Relationships
The more we use our smartphones and become fixated on them the more likely we are to ignore the people around us. When this happens it will cause tension and frustration between us and our friends and family.
This will lead to strained relatioships and many conflicts with the people we care about due to too much smartphone use.
Smartphone Or Social Media Addictions
Using our smartphones constantly can cause us to become addicted to them or to social media which is really bad for our health and effects everyone around us in negative ways.
Having a smartphone or social media addiction will cause us to become withdrawn, have a lot of problems in relationships and often leads to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Smartphones And Mental Health Safety
As you can see smartphones have a lot of effects on our mental health both good and bad so we need to be mindful of this and ensure we use our smartphone safely.
Too much smartphone use is never a good thing and while smartphones can help us in many ways they can also have a disastrous impact on our lives.
It’s very important that we keep track of our smartphone usage and set limits and boundaries for ourselves so we can avoid any serious issues resulting from our smartphone use.
Smartphones And Mental Health- What Are The Best Practices?
As you have learned smartphones and mental health are related in many different ways and it’s very important to use your smartphone safely to keep yourself mentally healthy.
The best way to keep yourself safe and healthy when using your smartphone is by developing health usuage practices. Never use your smartphone for an extended period of time unless it’s for something very important.
Set boundaries and limits by only using your smartphone when it’s necessary and only for a short amount of time for relaxation or entertainment.
Don’t use your phone during meals or right before going to bed and make sure to take breaks from your smartphone regularly to improve your overall wellbeing.
Don’t spend too much time on social media and try to avoid negative content as much as possible to keep yourself happy and stress free.
Finally never let your smartphone distract your from work and other important tasks and always keep track of your smartphone usage so you can ensure you aren’t using it too much.
Smartphones can be great to have in your life but too much of it is bad. So make sure you use it safely and practice healthy usage habits to keep yourself safe, happy and healthy while using your smartphone.
Conclusion
In conclusion smartphones and mental health are closely related in many ways and smartphone have a lot of impacts on our mental health both postive and negative.
Smartphones effect us in positive ways like allowing us to stay connected with friends and family, help us relax, help us stay entertained and much more.
But they also effects us in negative ways like making our sleep difficult, effecting our attention and concentration, causing mental health issues and much more.
That’s why it’s very important for us to practice healthy usage by doing things like setting boundaries and limits, not using our smartphones during meals or before bed, not spending too much time on social media and many other similar things.
If you keep track of your smartphone usage and practice healthy usage habbits you will be able to keep yourself safe, happy and healthy while using your smartphone.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this article about smartphones and mental health. If you have any questions or if you need any help let me know in the comments.