Over the 21st century, technology has most certainly advanced. One of these advancements has been the invention of cellphones. The burning question is how much teenagers should use these devices.

Common Sense Media completed a 2019 study that showed teens spend an average of seven hours and 22 minutes on their phones a day, and tweens ages eight to 12  are not far behind at four hours and 44 minutes daily. This amount of screen time does not include time spent on schoolwork, according to the report. When figuring in activities such as reading books and listening to music, the numbers jumped to nine hours and 49 minutes for teens and five hours and 54 minutes for tweens.

Cell phones first became popular in the 90s, with 11 million users; since then that number has risen to a whopping 2.5 billion. The demand for cell phones has become higher as they advance, from only being a device used for communication to becoming a multi-purpose gadget which most people depend on in their day-to-day lives.

Junior Greg Minaya shares, “ Kids don’t have the social skills they need anymore because they use cell phones to talk instead of going out into the real world. Research shows this statement to be quite true as most teens would rather text, call or video chat each other than have in-person interactions.”

Technology and the time we spend on our devices can very easily cause us to lose sight of the important things in life, such as talking to others and enjoying activities.

Another Carolina Forest student Mikah Nelson, a junior, says, “Due to the fact that kids are so glued to their cell phone and social media, many of them become antisocial and depressed.”

Now it’s no question that the pros of cell phones far outweigh the cons, but if left unchecked, cell phone usage in teens can be a lot more harmful than it is helpful.