Even if most teens aren’t suffering from a true addiction to their phones, they may be experiencing altered childhoods because of the technology. Share on Pinterest Colleen Hartz’s daughter is 19 years old and is rarely ever seen without her phone in hand. “She uses it for everything,” the mom from Alabama recently told Healthline. “She keeps her calendar on there, she uses the notes part, she loves listening to music on it. She also primarily communicates with friends through text and Snapchat. There are many days she doesn’t have a real conversation with anyone.” Hartz isn’t alone in what she’s witnessing. A recent report released by Common Sense Media found that 72 percent of teens feel as though they need to immediately respond to notifications from their phone, and 59 percent of parents feel their teens are addicted to their mobile devices. Those numbers are steep and concerning, but the good news is — they also might be a little exaggerated. According to AAP pediatrician Dr. David Hill (chair of the AAP Council on Communications and Media), a true phone addiction really comes down to compulsive behavior. “Is the kid getting enough sleep? Exercise? Actual face time with friends and family? Is homework getting done? These are the questions you need to ask. Any kind of compulsive activity, whether it be gambling or internet use, really boils down to the displacement of other things. What’s not happening if this is happening? It’s hard to make a case for addiction if the kid is getting everything else done.” Still, true addictions to phones and devices do happen. “There’s an actual definition of [this] disorder,” he told Healthline. “Problematic Internet Use (PIU). Then there is also Internet Gaming Disorder. The researchers who look at these two issues think the percentage of those affected is under 10 percent. Maybe as much as 8 percent for PIU, but that’s probably on the high end.” However, even if most teens aren’t suffering from a true addiction to their phones, they may be experiencing altered childhoods because of the technology available to them.

Arrested development According to a study published last year in the journal of Child Development, teens today are experiencing a slower path to embracing adult responsibilities than ever before. And the researchers concluded that cell phone and tablet engagement was at least partially to blame. Because with social connection always just a few clicks away, teens today are less likely to leave their homes and seek that connection in the “real” world. Even when they are out in the world, many still experience a difficult time detaching from their phones. It’s a phenomenon Melissa Bragg, a mom in Virginia, has noticed when out with her teen daughter. “Some of her friends stay on their phones constantly, even at youth events,” she recently told Healthline. “They can’t put their phones away for anything.” This type of behavior is really what pushes up against true addiction. And it’s something Sandra Windham, a teacher from Texas, has noticed in her classroom as well. “Most kids just have a bad habit, not a true addiction,” she told Healthline. “The ones with a legitimate addiction cannot and will not follow the rules.” John Mopper is an adolescent therapist with Blueprint Mental Health in Somerville, New Jersey. As he explained it, “Our brains are doing exactly what they are made to do. When we’re born, our brains are like a hard drive, constantly updating and filing away new experiences. We’re hardwired to move toward pleasure and away from consequence. Studies have shown how notifications on our phones can send a hit of dopamine. After a while, our brain associates that with pleasure. And for some kids and adults alike, seeking out that hit of dopamine can become compulsive.” Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as our phones making us feel better. While the immediate gratification may provide that dopamine hit that drives us (and our teens) back to our devices again and again, some research has suggested the long-term impact could actually be quite negative. In fact, a 2017 study in the Clinical Psychological Science journal found that for adolescents in grades 8 through 12, increased time on new media (to include social media and smartphones) led to an increased rate of depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates. While researcher Jean Twenge has been quick to acknowledge that correlation does not equal causation, she does think these results should serve as a warning to parents. When it comes to phones and our constant connection to the internet, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.

Parental problems It’s not just teens that are experiencing this constant need to connect with their phones, though. As Windham explained, parents are often part of the problem. “Parents constantly text kids throughout the day and kids get very anxious if they are unable to answer them,” she told Healthline. “The content of the texts is almost never school related, though. Even during our state testing, when strict rules go into place about phone usage, parents call the school and demand their kids get their phone back. And when I call parents to report bad behavior or grades due to phone use, the phone is rarely taken away as a consequence.” Bragg readily admits that right now, she is more addicted to her phone than her kids. “I know I’m addicted to my phone,” she told Healthline. “Being a stay-at-home homeschooling mom, I really feel isolated from other adults much of the time. Social media probably accounts for 90 percent of my socialization. I’ve joined way too many Facebook groups and I am constantly just scrolling through them. It can get in the way of me taking care of my household responsibilities. Sometimes I’ll be so engrossed in a conversation happening online that an hour or more goes by and I haven’t moved.” She’s not alone in that struggle. “I’m guilty too,” Mopper told Healthline. “I have to work hard to not constantly go on my phone. And I’m a therapist. I’m an adult. It’s hard.” Share on Pinterest