Imagine having the collective knowledge of generations upon generations of people in the palm of your hand. Try to envision a window in which you could peek into millions of people’s lives by only saying their name. This is the power we modern day people have with the creation of smartphones, but are these powers worth the price we pay for them?

It’s no secret that teen emotional and social wellbeing has seemed to decline is recent years, but what’s happening in our youth to create such a trend? There are many popular theories behind this, some of the most prevalent being social media and phone usage, fragileness gained because of overprotective parents, and teens just being more comfortable with sharing their feelings.

Our lack of wellbeing is directly connected to smartphones and the time children spend on devices. While things like overprotective parents and it being more acceptable to talk about emotions may be contributing factors, they are not nearly as detrimental as the screens we hold in our pockets for multiple reasons.

Access to things like social media from a young age is bad for preteens. Social Media can be a great tool for communicating and keeping up with friends but it can, and often is, used for bullying and hurting others. Bullying happens everywhere too many different people but according to Dr. Kyle Johnson, a professor in the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at OHSU, “Girls do appear, based on research, to have more negative impacts from bullying and cyberbullying, and that’s a major stressor from kids this age,”. Social media allows easy access to anyone’s life, and anyones inbox. It also allows one to compare themselves to others with extreme ease.

Smartphones allow us to avoid what seems like dreaded, face to face interaction. The number of seniors who get who get together with their friends nearly every day dropped by more than 40% from 2000 to 2015 according to a study done by Jean Twenge, a popular american psychologist. We find ourselves spending more time talking to our friends over the phone then we find ourselves hanging out with them. This is causing this new generation of smartphone users to become less and less socially adept.

This is extremely dangerous for our future generations. Humans are social by natures, we find groups to be part of, find where we have a place. Living without these groups can cause both temporary or permanent damage.”Loneliness might not seem like a medical problem, but it can impact overall health, as well as brain health. Stress from feeling disconnected and alone can result in depression, anxiety and even cardiovascular troubles like high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.” says Brenda Kelley Kim in her article “Can Loneliness Affect The Brain?”. Not being part of a group or being disconnected from others can cause physical and mental harm.

We have developed a dependency on smartphones. How many phone numbers do you have memorized, how many addresses do you know by heart? How do you navigate to somewhere you haven’t been before? These pocket pals have disabled us as much as they have enabled us.

Suicides rates among preteen girls from 1975 to 2016 has increased by 12.7%, 7.1% in boys. While cellphones are a important tool to survive modern day, they should not be your whole life. Please evaluate how much time you spend on screens and if it makes you really happy.

Try moving your phone charger into another room so you can’t have it with you all the time, or set a timer for yourself so you know how much screen time you have. While the problem may be major, the solution is quite simple and easy to obtain. Spend less time on your phones and more time with others.