It is no big news that the phone is the biggest source of entertainment for many teenagers. From snapchat, to tiktok, to youtube, to all the social media platforms that manage to snag and hold attention spans day in and day out, there are plenty of things to do on your phone.

What is it about the iphone or smartphone that truly manages to keep children, teenagers, and even adults engrossed in them all day? How does this negatively impact digitally obsessed people? 

According to a poll on Instagram asking for the most used app on people’s phones, 51% of participants voted TikTok to be the most used app. Instagram is a close second, polling 26% of people’s votes, with Snapchat at 17%, and YouTube at 6%.

Sophomore Piper Pringle gives her personal favorite social media platform as well as why she believes people are on their phones so much. 

“Snapchat [is my favorite] because it’s like the form of communication that I use with my friends and stuff like that,” Pringle said. “ [People are on their phones because of] boredom, probably, and it’s just entertaining.”

Sophomore Austin Williams has a similar perspective on phone usage.

“[Social media] is really the only thing people can do to get in contact with their friends outside of school if they can’t hangout or they’re far away.” Williams said.

Freshman Anthony Harris shares uncommon apps on his phone and why he believes people are always on their phones.

“[I have] tiktok, block blast, snapchat, instagram, cash app and piccollage,” Harris said. “People get bored easily, and your phone can entertain you.”

The digital era is upon us, and smartphones are gaining more and more popularity and being extended to younger people for usage. Screen time is through the roof. In fact, another social media poll revealed that 62% of teenagers spend 4-7 hours on their phone a day. In addition, 10% of high schoolers have a screen time of over 7 hours, with the rest of the participants spending reporting screen times of 1-3 hours. 

The very design of a smartphone is to capture, enrapture, and hold people’s attention for long periods of time. Alluring apps, entertaining games, dozens of notifications that release that irresistible dopamine hormone, all crafted perfectly to make it nearly impossible to put the device down.

This digital construction has some extreme downsides for the Gen Z population and the people who have been most affected by copious amounts of smartphone usage.

Teenagers, when faced with boredom, awkwardness, or silence, tend to go immediately to their phones, opening social media and scrolling mindlessly to occupy fleeting attention spans.

Relationships with cell phones can overtake much more valuable relationships with other human beings. Important conversations that should be had in person are becoming much easier (and much more superficial) over text. Online friendships are becoming prevalent, which is potentially dangerous for children and teenagers alike.

Perhaps it is a wiser choice to consciously limit screen time and find other hobbies to engage in when there is nothing else to do. After all, when all someone sees is their phone screen, it is that much easier for the world to pass them by and them not notice at all.