Less ability to concentrate and pay attention.
Fewer memories.
Isolation.
Sleeping problems.
Anxiety.
Addiction.
The list of all the bad things that mobile phones have brought is long and well known, but if despite this we all carry a
smartphone
in our bag, pocket or hand, there must be something more that explains our behavior than simple addiction.
The list of advantages is also evident:
smartphones
allow us to communicate, access information, pay in establishments, take photos, get our bearings and much more.
But how far does the good go?
Is it enough to compensate for all the negative?
Studies that investigate the positive side of always being glued to a mobile device are fewer than those that deal with the havoc that this dependency can produce, something that Frank Schneider, professor at the University of Amsterdam and one of the authors of one of These studies on the good, he attributes, among other things, to the negativity bias of human beings.
Just as bad news tends to carry more weight in journalism, “the same thing happens in the scientific journal market,” he explains.
In their study, published in April 2023 in the journal
Computers in Human Behavior , the function of
smartphones
as comfort objects, similar to the blankets or stuffed animals that some children have,
was investigated .
To do this, they focused on the perception of social threat and ostracism and whether this was reduced solely by having the cell phone at hand.
“The main results were that the
smartphone
acted as a physical buffer and that people with the
smartphone
in their pocket felt less excluded than those who did not have it,” Schneider summarizes.
Furthermore, they also concluded that thinking about the social functions of the
smartphone
(social applications) “reduces the feeling of ostracism better than when the
smartphone
only has
information
apps ,” although they concede that more research is necessary.
More information
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Are we to conclude that the fact that cell phones can make us feel less is a positive thing?
For Arturo Montejo, a researcher at the University of Jaén, it is not so clear.
“Although it is undeniable that this ubiquitous connection allows us to feel accompanied and that this feeling of security is real, I wonder if what we are really identifying is that we have generated a problem, a helplessness.
We have become so accustomed to phones that we have not been able to develop that self-confidence or strength to autonomously face certain situations,” he reflects.
For Schneider, this type of criticism is understandable, and he compares the situation to having to wear glasses.
“I feel safer when I wear them and I'm afraid to ride a bike without them,” she exemplifies.
In his opinion, taking into account all the functions of
smartphones
and their usefulness—and without denying their risks—the important thing is to “learn to use them well.”
changes in the brain
With some frequency, images of an event go viral in which the people present have taken out their
smartphones
and are recording whatever is happening.
“The use of mobile devices has changed the way we interact with the environment, especially with regard to information and contact with others,” says Diego Redolar, professor at the UOC and expert in neuroscience. .
The main criticism made of this omnipresence of the
smartphone
in our lives, he adds, is that “we are seeing reality through the mobile phone and that is detrimental, from a neural point of view, to the way in which we process information.” ”.
This means, mainly, that “we do not consolidate the information in the most correct way.”
Redolar also mentions the fact that we are hooked because the applications are designed in a way that “they activate a part of our brain called the neural substrate of reinforcement, which makes it very difficult for us to stop using them.”
However, there is also a positive side to the effects of constant cell phone use on the brain.
Having so much access to so much information at all times makes it necessary to filter better, knowing what is important and what is not.
“The prefrontal cortex helps us with this and, with the use of mobile phones, this ability is being seen to be enhanced,” explains Redolar.
The other aspect in which
smartphones
have revolutionized our lives is that of contact with other people.
In this case, those situations in which there are several people together and, instead of talking, each one is on their phone, are often criticized.
They may be doing infinite
scrolling
on X, but they may also be having a conversation with someone who is not present.
More information
Orit Halpern: “Why does everything have to be 'smart' now?
Why is it something we want?”
"In our brain there are structures that are very important for what in neuroscience we call social cognition, that ability we have to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, to communicate with others."
The use of the mobile phone, explains the expert, by being able to be in contact with other people with whom we would not otherwise be in contact, can enhance this social cognition.
“Especially also from an emotional point of view, in people who are suffering from social isolation or who are in a vulnerable situation because they do not have a support network, the mobile phone just by having it generates a perception of security and that reduces fear” .
In this sense, Redolar indicates that, for example, it has been seen that having a cell phone on you "can reduce the activation of the amygdala, whose activation can induce anxiety."
In the end, it's about knowing that “if I get lost in the woods and I need to be rescued, I have that option, or that if I'm sad I can call a friend,” he says.
Is it nomophobia?
There is so much of our daily routine installed on the
smartphone
that turning around if we realize that we have forgotten it at home does not have to be worrying.
If it has already replaced our wallet and we always use it to pay or even just to access services in which we have two-step authentication activated, spending a day without our mobile phone unexpectedly can really be a problem.
That is to say, feeling a little more nervous when facing a day without your phone at hand does not have to be a sign of anything deeper.
“Nomophobia [from English, phobia of not having a cell phone] or the problematic use of social networks are problems that exist, but to occur they involve making dysfunctional and inappropriate use of technology,” Joaquín González-Cabrera, researcher at the International University of La Rioja.
That is, it is a situational and social phobia that makes “people feel a deep, irrational and disproportionate fear of not being able to use their mobile phone or of being left without coverage and/or battery (let's not talk about cell phone dependency or addiction). ”.
Carrying our cell phone with us everywhere does not necessarily make us nomophobic, just as having social networks is not synonymous with being hooked on them.
Even so, it is not about minimizing the risks either.
According to a recent study in which González-Cabrera himself participated and in which the problematic use of social networks in Spanish and Mexican adolescents between 15 and 17 years old was investigated, 16% were already in the dangerous part of the spectrum ( 2.3% with clearly problematic use and 13.2% at risk).
“The
smartphone
is a tool that allows us to conjugate many verbs, including feeling connected with our loved ones, friends, etc.
and feel part of a social fabric.
The point is to use it to add or multiply (not to subtract or divide us),” indicates the researcher.
The risks arise when improper use is made.
“These usually appear when it is used compulsively, the online context is always preferred over the offline one, we keep thinking about it and, especially, we begin to feel negative consequences in our lives,” he lists.
All the experts consulted insist on the need to find that balance: take advantage of all the advantages without falling into dependency and problematic uses.
“Used well, the mobile phone allows people to connect their online reality with their offline reality.
Both sides shape and construct people's reality, especially in current adolescence and emerging adulthood.
For many boys and girls, a message on WhatsApp, Telegram or similar of support is as important as a pat on the back or a look of support,” summarizes García-Montejo.
“We must prevent problems, but the uses of technology are very varied and many are positive,” she concludes.
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