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Erika Randall
WRT 1020
Professor Agee
19 January 2015
What Effects does Cell Phone Use Have on Teenagers?
Spending time face-to-face with friends is only going to become harder in the generations
to come. It seems that teenagers now a days are having a hard time taking their eyes off of their
phone screens. This is because phones are a simple way to get a hold of friends and family. Not
to mention, almost everyone has a phone now. If you dont have a phone, youre almost seen as a
social pariah. This is part of what makes teenagers feel the need to have one. Teenagers use their
phone more than adults simply because it is the current trend in society. Using cellphones has
become an addiction in teenagers. However, by spending all of ones time on a phone, it can
easily start to effect a persons life. Furthermore, these effects are not always positive. This leads
us to the question, what effects does cellphone use have on teenagers? Some effects cell phones
have on teenagers include a decrease in social communication skills, increase in depression
symptoms, and poorer performance in the classroom.
Cell phone use had become increasingly popular in the past fifteen years. This is because
of all the incredible things cell phones can do now. At first, cell phones were used just for
talking. Gradually, features such as voicemail were added. However, the primary use of the cell
phone was talking. Eventually, manufactures began to realize that they could add even more

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features and drive the price of cell phones even higher. Now cell phones have features such as
text messaging, e-mail, games, and GPS. This is why the cell phone use has increased so much.
Rather than using it for a few quick phone calls, people use their phones for nearly everything
and get uncomfortable when their phone is not near. Rather than paying attention to those around
them, people are paying more attention to their phones.
Cell phone use by teenagers can lead to an increase in social anxiety. Teenagers now are
easily forgetting how to communicate with others unless theres a phone screen in between them.
It has become a fear of many teenagers to pick up the phone and order a pizza simply because it
means they will have to talk to another person. In another instance, early teenagers will now
make their parents go up to a cash register and pay for their items because they are afraid to talk
to a stranger face to face even if it is only for a few moments. In fact, a study was done in
University of Florida that showed a direct correlation between cell phones and social anxiety.
The researchers from the university suggested that if one is experiencing social anxiety, the first
thing they should do is rule out cellphone use, or at least limit the amount they use it and what
they use it for (Busko). However, these communications errors are not only when
communicating with strangers, but also when spending time with friends. Now-a-days if a group
of friends are hanging out, more than half of them will have their phone in their hand and their
eyes glued to the screen. In fact, there has even been times where teenagers will be texting each
other while in the same room. These communication issues are causing a lapse in society.
However, communication issues are not the only effects of cellphone use by teenagers. As social
anxiety increases in teenagers, so do symptoms of depression.

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Cell phone use often can cause teenagers to become depressed. The number one reason
for this effect is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is more prevalent now than it ever has before. This
is because it has become so easy to do. Almost every teenager has social media on their phone
such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. All of these make it so easy to pick on other teenagers.
Research done by Opennet has found that teenagers who are heavy cell phone users are more
likely to engage in the practice of bullying online, as well as become bullied themselves. They
have shown that 46% of cellphone users experience cyberbullying as compared to the 23% on a
regular computer (Osborne). This is because many teenagers with cellphones have smart phones.
This gives them access to the internet virtually at all times. Not to mention, there are more and
more apps coming out that allow you to post pictures and text anonymously. Cellphone use
makes it easiest to keep up with and respond to the negative comments on the web. Another
cause of this depression could be because of the lack of sleep one gets when they own a
cellphone. The University of Gothenburg conducted a study it which they felt the results were
clear, heavy cell phone use is correlated with an increase in sleeping difficulties in men and an
increase in depressive symptoms in both men and women (Grohol). Therefore, this shows that
depression is an effect of cellphone use by teenagers. However, there is another effect from cell
phone use aside from communication and increase in depression symptoms. Unfortunately, this
increase in depression can also lead to a decrease in grades and behavior at school.
Cellphones greatly impact a student performance in the classroom. Unfortunately, most
of the time this impact is negative. First, there is the fact that cellphones tend to be a distraction
within the classroom when one uses their cellphone. If a teacher is lecturing, and a student is on
their phone rather than taking notes, this automatically gives them a disadvantage in the

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classroom. Secondly, using a cellphone is the classroom can often cloud a students judgment. It
has been discovered that more than one third of teens with cellphones admit to having stored
information on them to look at during a test or texting friends about answers (Miners). The
cellphone is a great invention that gives access to virtually any information in the world.
However, it is not always wise to use it. Students have recently become addicted to using their
phones to obtain answers on their homework, and even make them want to try and google
answers on their test. This can start a negative chain. If a student doesnt listen to lecture, they
will not know how to do their homework. This leads the student to have to google their answers.
However, this can cause them to not actually learn the material. Therefore, the student goes into
the test knowing nothing. This in turn makes the student use poor judgment and use their phone
on the test. Finally, they get caught using their phone so therefore they get a zero on their test. As
a result, the students grade lowers within the class. If this student is a repeat offender, they may
even be forced to drop the class. Even though phones seem to negatively impact teenagers, many
would argue that cellphones are a perk in todays society.
When talking about teenagers and cell phone use, some may argue that cell phones effect
teens life in a positive manner. One of the biggest arguments parents conduct on their teens using
cellphones is that cellphones are a great way to monitor their teens through GPS devices. This
may be true, however, the error in this argument is that it does not pertain to most teenagers. This
is because many parents either do not know how to use the GPS feature, or because they simply
choose not to use it. Furthermore, using GPS to track teenagers may have a negative effect in
turn. They may turn the GPS off themselves. Or they may use it to their advantage. For example,
a teen could leave their phone at a friends house, sneak out to a party, and the parents would

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think they are home the entire time. This could also lead to problems between the child and
parent. Two teenagers are now out alone, their parents think they are at home, and they now have
no means of communication in case something happens. Additionally, if the teenagers parents
find out, this could lead to a newfound lack of trust between them and the parent. Therefore
showing that even though cellphone GPS tracking can be a good thing for parents and their
teens, it can also have a negative outcome.
In conclusion, negative effects cell phones have on teenagers include making them
uneasy when talking to others face-to-face, increasing depression symptoms, and poorer work
ethic in the classroom. Decrease in social communication can result in a type of social anxiety
which will cause teenagers to rely on their parents their entire life. Increase in depression
symptoms can lead to cyberbullying, and lack of sleep. Finally, poorer performance in the
classroom can negatively affect the teenagers grades which can negatively impact their future.
Cell phones do often have positive aspects. However, when cell phone use is abused it can lead
to many negative outcomes within parts of the teenagers life.

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Works Cited
Busko, Marlene. Anxiety Linked with Increased Cellphone Dependence Abuse. Medscape.
Mescape Medical News. 10 Mar. 2008. WEB. 16 Jan. 2015.
Miners, Zach. One Third of Teens use Cellphones to Cheat in School. US News. US News &
World Report LP. 23 June 2013. WEB. 17 Jan. 2015.
Osborne, Charlie. Cyberbullying increase with Mobile Cellphone Usage?. ZD Net. CBS
Interactive. 18 Jan. 2012. WEB. 17 Jan. 2015.