Minhee Son

Insel, Thomas, host. "Smartphones Are a Problem: Can They Be a Solution?" Speaking of Psychology, APA, 3 Oct. 2018. https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/smartphone-wellbeing

Smartphones Are a Problem: Can They Be a Solution?

Dr. Thomas Insel is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, co-founder, and president of Mindstrong Health. Mindstrong uses mobile technology to diagnose and treat behavioral health disorders. Although smartphones have negatively impacted health in multiple ways, they are still an essential tool that provide us with information and services. Because of the heavy usage of smartphones in our current time, Mindstrong actually views smartphones as a valuable window into a person's functioning.

Mindstrong takes the ideas of behavioral analysis and digital fingerprinting in their mission of digital phenotyping. Using a mobile app, they measure how a user interacts with their device: typing, taps, scrolls, clicks, etc. Their emphasis is not primarily on what a user types but how it is typed. With this information base, Mindstrong is able to build a set of potential biomarkers, or objective measures of one's mental health.

Once these signals are detected, Mindstrong aims to provide the next step: a clincically actionable signal for healthcare. Since their platform, smartphones, is carried around by their users, they can deliver solutions directly to their audience. They are not sure exactly what this solution will be; it could be some form of psychotheraphy or education, a means to connect people to care or resources, etc.

Overall, Mindstrong acknowledges the global rise of technology and believes that health care must also change just as other parts of society have. For now, they do not believe that the future of healthcare is completely online but a blend of online and offline systems. They envision that mental health care becomes both high-tech and high-touch. In the long run, Mindstrong is highly interested in creating a new healthcare company for mental health that utilizes technology and its app to be used within the healthcare industry.

Cell phone addiction and psychological and physiological health in adolescents

Shoukat, Sehar. “Cell phone addiction and psychological and physiological health in adolescents.” EXCLI journal vol. 18 47-50. 4 Feb. 2019

There is an increasing trend of cell phone addiction and poor health in adolescents according to multiple research studies. These studies have looked at the relationship between smartphone addiction and physical, psychological, social, and academic health and performance. Most Americans own cellphones and though they make lives easier, over dependency leads to addiction.

However, the first question is how to know if we are addicted to our cell phone? If someone uses their phone most of the time, cannot reduce their usage, use their phones because of boredom, feel anxiety or depression apart frmo their phone, or lose relationships, they are likely addicted to their cell phone. Adolescents especially are at high risk of becoming addicted.

Excessive smartphone use has been found to be correlated with negative psychological effects. This may be due to the fact that smart phones were often used at night and led to insomnia which leads to anxiety and depression. Research also found that internet addiction is similar to drug addiction. Though it doesn't involve a substance, it is a behavioral addiction

There seems to be two major opinions regarding cell phone addiction and mental health. The first believes that there is a positive association while the other believes that it's a negative relationship. Nonetheless, both believe that there is a relationship between the two. To further investigate if smartphones are the only cause of poor mental health, more studies must be conducted.

Why Our Screens Make Us Less Happy

Alter, Adam. "Why Our Screens Make Us Less Happy." TED, Apr. 2017, www.ted.com/talks/adam_alter_why_our_screens_make_us_less_happy

The strategy of businesspeople to demonstrate their confidence in their products is that they use it themselves. However in the tech industry, people don't allow their children to use technology at home or limit their use.

Alter emphasizes just how much time that screens take up and the immense growth of that time over the past ten years. Not much else has changed in that period: sleep, work, and survival activities. What takes a toll is personal time, white space. This "white space" is where we develop relationships, think deeply, be creative, and reflect on our life. These moments are important to us.

In the past ten years, our personal time has become dominated by screens. The time where our humanity lives is severly limited. In our screen usage, the apps that are enriching to our lives take up about 9 minutes a day. On the other hand,we spend 27 minutes a day on apps that aren't enriching and make us unhappy. One of the reasons for feeling unhappy is because these apps rob us of stopping cues. Stopping cues are signals that tell us to move on and to do something new or different. Before, stopping cues were integratedinto media: newspapers, magazines, books, TV shows. But today, there are no stopping cues. Everything has related links, infinite scroll and endless sources.

In Western Europe, desks in the workplace are tethered to ceiling. At the end of the workday, the desks rise to the ceilings. The work day has ended and when they get home, they actually get to take a break.

Atler himself practices certain habits every day. He himself never uses his phone at the table because with his phone farther away, the tempation is avoided. In the beginning, he had massive FOMO but became used to it. After that, life become more interesting, enriching, and fun. You come really connect with those around you and over time, you continue to distance yourself from your phone. Leaving your phone away from you enriches your experiences. Life is more meaningful.