First of all, they're not phones. They are computers, with the function of a phone added.
Second, they are the worst thing to happen to modern humans.
9
The best method I employ is to leave my smart phone at home and take a dumb one out just in case I need to make a call.
I know where I am going and my iPhone (hand held computer) safe at home, after all phones need a rest too.
Plenty of reasons to remember Twain, try this one
"If I don't read the newspapers I'm uninformed.
If I do I'm misinformed."
Social media does both.
5
Okay so what are you going to do about it?
Not to mention how insecure your phone is. It is the easiest hack in the world.
You identity, your finances, ....all exposed. For what ??
2
Another important message to keep in mind. Stress is caused by our own reaction. It’s in our control. As long as we keep blaming someone else for our stress, we won’t escape the trap!
I see people staring into their little hand rectangle while they walk their dog, stroll with their babies on the sidewalk and cross busy intersections. My nephew will stare at his screen at the dinner table (his mom doesn't prevent this either. ) Being mentally present apparently is something to avoid. Personally I like to just stare out the window on transit and watch the scenery go by. It's one of the few times where I can sit and just be. Since my vacation in early July, my mind wants to soak up as much summer as possible, before we are back to umbrellas and coats and hard shoes again. I have been repelled at the thought of wasting time scrolling and "liking" every person's thing on Instagram and Strava, so I've kind of disappeared on those. And I like the feeling of peace and control over aimless clicks.
3
As with so many other things in life, there is a “happy medium” to be achieved in use of a smart phone.
NOT using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn - or any other “social medium” is a fantastic way to reduce distractions. (I tried FB once - for about three months - but I’ve never seen such utter banality in my life.)
A robocall blocker and well-oiled call block list also helps a lot.
Blocked Sender lists for email and texts - - ditto.
But having Google Maps handy when you need to find an unfamiliar address is indispensible. (Just think of all the paper we’re saving by not having “City Directories” and “Yellow Pages” any more!!
9
Honestly, I’m beginning to think the thing that makes me feel the worst is reading the NYT. You could read article after article about how every little thing is killing you and how all your life issues are driven solely by your personal choices and mindset. Talk about stress/dread inducing.
8
After posting this comment on my iPhone, I'm putting it down, right after I check my Twitter feed and email my office, post some pics on Insta and check the radar.
6
If only I could hide provocative Op-Ed headlines from my NYT feed. I physically stress when I open the app to catch on news but invariably end up angry and frustrated. Reading the paper is less stressful than reading a news app.
5
Personally, I've always hated the phone-both the landline and cell phone versions-and was loudly adamant about it.
When my husband was alive, he despaired of me answering the cell phone or even looking at the messages. I often refused to even carry it then-much to his annoyance.
Just too much information available, and now that I'm alone, I leave the darn thing at home, and do not miss it.
The only calls I ever get are the warranty spam and messages from the cell phone service provider to let me know that I have a certain time left before my minutes run out.
No relatives or friends call me unless I call them first. the real only reason I keep the phone is because work requires it and it's nice to have a way to call 911.
All the apps has become unnecessary and witless.
4
It's awful. I have canceled many Twitter accts, the only social networking I've ever used, because it makes me enraged. I'm off of that drug now and will try to remain sober and sane.
9
I was disdainfully smug, like some commenters and several folks I know, and held out for a long time - didn't get a smartphone until about 5 years ago (I'm almost 63). As an older friend told me, "It's how the world works now."
The points of this article are clear and useful: smartphone use doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. I will review my apps and get rid of those that tend to raise my stress level. There are certainly some that fit that description ... but I love my podcasts.
8
I use my smart phone like a land line. When I go for my walk , I leave it at home. When I go to bed , I leave it downstairs so I do not hear it. I am single and have no kids , so that probably helps.
6
having mediated to satori nearly 40 years ago, I tend to have a long term zen no-mind
but at the same time have always been nervous, e.g. if a sudden loud noise disturbs me, I'm likely to jump and quiver !
similarly, if I'm driving in peak hour traffic and another driver dangerously cuts me off, I may shout momentary outrage !
but my empty no-mind then reverts to the mean - anger released, I am calm and relaxed again within seconds.
my take is most stress is due to repetitive loop rat-race thoughts - rethinking over and over - I woulda/coulda/shoulda - filling your mind with frustration and stress and filling your arteries with toxic adrenaline and cortisol.
Let it go - drop rethinking/resentment - and relax - your unconscious mind tends to make most/best decisions
so relax and watch the clouds drift by - admire that beautiful fallen leaf - 'I wish I could give you this beautiful moon'
5
Thanks for this. My personal page for NYT includes cooking, games, love and quirk agony aunt pages. Then I move to the main titles , if I feel so. Covid news have been a disaster, esp. as we saw US protector fail to lead.
1
I don’t do FB or any of that stuff so I’m not an expert in some of these comments, but two things stand out to me. I do not know anyone’s telephone number because my smart phone remembers that. And I do not get to look at road maps, something I really used to enjoy doing. It’s sort of embarrassing that I don’t know my two son’s phone down pat. I know the last 4 digits on a good day. That’s messed up!
6
Putting down your phone may help you live longer.
Not drinking may help you live longer.
Putting down your fork may help you live longer.
Not eating sugar, unhealthy carbohydrates, red meat and salt may help you to live longer.
Driving safely (as long as others do also) may help you live longer.
Getting the vaccine may help you live longer.
Pushing one's self away from the TV and getting a little exercise may help you live longer.
Putting down your cigarettes may help you live longer.
Regulating gun control may help you (or others) live longer.
Or do any of these restricted activities actually help us live longer?
People get lung cancer who never smoked,
People who exercise and watch what they eat still develop diabetes.
And the list goes on and on and on.
9
@esp, some things on your list actually do help people live longer:
Not drinking preserves your pancreas & liver. It reduces the risk of certain cancers & removes a serious toxin from our bodies. Abstaining is better for mental health, as alcohol is foremost an addictive depressive. Same for cigarettes. We’ve known for decades that cigarettes are deadly. Likewise, ating processed foods, refined sugars, not sleeping enough, etc.
Being careful what you put into/on your body, how you deal with stress (in turn, caring for your mental health) & other factors provide a better chance to stay healthier for longer.
Sure, there will always be outliers. Genetic diseases like
diabetes may develop despite healthy habits. But it’s a manageable disease & a responsible doctor would still recommend all the healthful behaviors you listed.
A lung cancer diagnosis despite never having smoked, is sad & scary. Any of us could develop respiratory problems from our ever-worsening air quality.
It seems the safest bet is making healthful choices in the first place. Watching a lifelong smoker die of lung cancer is heartbreaking. Besides smoking, there was drinking, not exercising, too much stress & bad coping mechanisms, sedentary lifestyle & bad diet. In essence, doing most of the things that can shorten a life.
Meanwhile, this person would never neglect his precious sportscar in the same way. People treat their automobiles better than they treat their bodies.
Hi conclusion after reading your long list of precautionary behavior is that we can choose to try and minimize known risks as supposed to do nothing about them.
1
@Ruby Well put, treating our things better than our bodies just doesn't make sense. I enjoy these moments of a kind mind expressing the grace of positive choices thank you.
One of the smartest persons I have ever met was a Regional Creative Director of a multinational ad agency I used to work with and he shared his secret of happiness:
Treat modern tech like analog tech.
He makes sure to leave the company mobile phone locked in his desk with the company laptop by 5 PM until 9 AM the following day when he clocks back in.
And this, where the regional office is in Japan of all places.
8
I use my phone as a phone.
Text.
Email.
Spotify.
Audible.
News.
Search.
Occasionally books.
Directions.
I do not participate in social media.
Used intelligently it is a remarkable tool.
My kids do not use their phones intelligently. I think their phones are harmful. They communicate better with me and with each other when I get irritated enough to take them away.
But I always give them back.
I am weak.
I wish the government would outlaw them for people under eighteen. That would solve the problem for millions and millions of weak parents.
13
I get stressed if I don't have my phone. Forgetting it at home twice this year when going for groceries, I practically had a melt down.
3
@Charly Does your phone really help to buy groceries? I get you can make shopping lists, but you can use a pen and piece of paper for that too! Like others who have commented here, I find the phone is invaluable for apps such as maps when I'm not sure/lost, but I try to minimise it's intrusion into my everyday activities.
Probably the worst development for me has been the improvement in the camera! That does make it hard to leave at home.
AT&T has informed me that my cheap ancient flip phone will no longer work after 5G comes in next February and will become (sigh) landfill fodder. In order to have a carry-around phone at all, I will probably be compelled to buy my first smartphone. So I am late to the party. I intend to keep the blasted thing turned off 99% of the time, as I always have, and will get very few apps. Hope this works! No thanks to extra cortisol.
7
in 2015 I wrote "Virtual Immersion Drowns Holistic Development" after my sons challenged me to look for what was good about personal recreational tech and MMORPGs. I searched and searched, finding not much except a distraction for people with cognitive deficits. People generally do not utilize their techy toys for enlightenment or learning, preferring mindless distractions
2
Bravo to the NY Times for reposting this article. Like a lot of people, I'm having serious issues with my phone usage. Currently reading Catherine Price's, "How to Break Up with Your Phone." Fingers crossed. Signing off.
10
Sort of like right now I’m stressing about whether or not my comment will be “liked.”
38
How about the microwaves they emit that can cause brain cancer? For years studies have linked cell phones to cancer. Of course the cell phone industry will deny it. Saying that the amount of harmful rays emitted are well within the norm. Typical company line. And even more life threatening is the texting and driving issue. That should be a high priority in eliminating or drastically reducing the numbers related to accidents caused by texting.
3
@Chaz
You’re “right on” about texting, talking on, or otherwise meddling with a phone while driving being the single greatest threat associated with cell phones. Such activity is DOCUMENTED as being nearly as detrimental to driving skills as inebriation - in its several forms.
The “stuff” about cancer-causing radiation from phones is the same kind of “stuff” that causes so many people to avoid vaccination against Coronavirus.
1
@Chaz Given the rise in mobile phone usage over the last two decades, you would expect to see massive surge in brain tumours if that was the case. I'm sorry, but that simply hasn't happened. If you have scientific stats that tell a different story, we'd all like to see them. Please note the word 'scientific', not something from social media.
The benefits of the technology are awesome.
Magical even.
I used to obsess about what book to bring with me, now I bring a thousand of my favorite books on my Kindle app.
For $10 a month Apple news gives we access to hundreds of newspapers and magazines.
For $4 a month I read the NY Times.
You can think it's a good thing or a bad thing but at every moment of the day I can bet on any horse race, or sporting event happening in the world.
I have a map constantly at my disposable that gives me directions instantly to any place I could possible want to go.
I play a tank game with 13 other players from around the world.
I could list a 1000 reasons why phones are great, but it would be talking to a stone wall.
13
@Larry Thiel
You clearly missed the point of this article.
9
I do not have a cell phone. Never have. After working in stressful jobs selling software and broadcasting - I do not want any technology attached to me. The idea of having to keep track of a piece of tech everywhere I go is repulsive. I think it is a weakness in our society. And phone ownership suggests a sheep like mentality. Even Justin Bieber, Elton John, Tom Cruise, Sarah Jessica Parker do not have cell phones.
8
I recommended your comment and agree in principle, but for anyone that is working and or is raising children, a smartphone is not really so optional anymore. The trick is to figure out a way to minimize the potential harm, of which there is plenty, of the technology. I will gladly hurl mine into the trash when the day comes that I can truly live without it.
14
@Susan
You may not care about the needs or wants of people who might want to reach you, but what about your own safety? What if you take a bad fall? And it's zero degrees out?
@Susan, it was fun to watch you call others “sheep” while listing celebrities that you share something with.
1
Easy to say when the job measures you by your responsiveness and the dementia troubling your elderly parent is soothed only by the sound of your voice.
15
Bravo!
The problem is social media only. Smartphones are otherwise great reading devices. How else could we have access to foreign newspapers, for example?
21
Social Media Phone Apps should be delivered with a warning label, that the user must accept before download , such as ,
“Warning: this app may shorten your life span or lead to self harm due to relentless uninvited exposure to vicious social pressure “….etc.
13
"By raising levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol, our phone time may also be threatening our long-term health."
I stopped there - too stressful.
13
What makes us happy is the normal hormonal map we have developed since our childhood. In the event of an overdose of stimuli on our brain, we will not only push the boundaries of our thoughts and attitudes but also our entire hormonal map, in a word, we will very easily turn into what we do not want and not notice. So let your phone be just a business tool and nothing more
CEO Radi www.keephumanity.com
1
methods Of Cannabis consumption
1
I try to do a little less with the phone because it's not good for neck posture!
www.arc4life.com
2
@matt Agreed, and the eyes start to go blurry too.
The phone itself is fine. It's your own problem. I've never installed games on a computer since I owned it. I'm not saying the game is bad, it's because I don't want to play a game. Therefore, people should have the ability to manage themselves.
5
Cell phones. What used to be a convenient and accessible way of delivering a message without needing to fiddle with a bulky wall phone, has become so much more. If you're like most modern Americans, you probably pick up your cell phone more than 40 times a day. Whether it's checking an email from your boss, playing candy crush, snap chatting friends, these once harmless devices have fueled addiction and turned themselves into weapons. What interested me to this article was the substantial mental health risks that phones administer. The author states in the article how the addictions to cell phones induces inducing levels of cortisol, proving unnecessary stress, lowered self esteem , memory, lowered attention spans, decision making skills, and so much more.
6
@Francesca Jaques Your insight is very intriguing! Its kind of a scary thought that phones play such an important role in almost everyone's life. You're right when you say, that cell phones are being turned in to weapons of some sort. Not only does it also cause back problems from looking down to often, but add to that, anxiety and stress due to always worrying where your phone might be or what might pop up on your screen next.
2
Especially true when some of us are isolated due to COVID. I am among the addicted. I hate it.
4
The central claim of this article is that smartphones cause stress, which increases cortisol, which increases disease risk. However, no citation is provided for the claim that being near or using one's phone increases cortisol.
Dr. Greenfield's quote links to a Frontiers article that compares excessive phone users with controls. It finds no difference in salivary cortisol between the two groups.
I hope in the future that scientists and journalists will do more to check the basic assumptions of the claim. Here, no evidence has been cited to show that phones cause life-threatening increases in cortisol.
13
@Joseph Hilgard
You have nothing to refute those theories either. (Theyre not assumptions - look that word up.) Pot/kettle, as they say.
Its widely known that increased and prolonged cortisol levels are clearly associated with disease states. We dont require journalists or scientists to reprove how gravity works every time something falls.
And, finally, sanctimonious qanoners have no credibility. Thats how your post sounds. Food for thought.
And have a nice day.
If you're texting while driving or walking, you're living dangerously enough. That's why I have my phone turned on only when needed. Other wise, it sits in the bottom of my fanny pack.
4
One of the saddest thing about cell phone addiction is the time spent on the phone that could be used to interact with children . Many will be offend to suggest it neglect to sit with a phone when they provide basic care of the child , but ignore using time to play or teach something special , like music or crafts and even conversation. Especially conversation is sad . The phone has stolen not only interaction with adults but also with children.
15
Better than putting the phone down is not picking it up in the first place. The best is not having a phone you can pick up. I'm a happy dumbphone owner, and I don't intend to change my ways. I feel sad (and yes, some scorn) for all the people in the subway, craning their necks and backs over a piece of plastic, zombied-out, physically tied to and mentally immersed in their 3x6-inch cyberworld. If they looked up, they might see a person, hands free, neck straight, and sitting up--an untethered human being.
74
Phones are the new cigarettes.
12
@Fourteen14
More doctors smoke microwaves than any other brand!
3
It is not the phone that is your problem. The issue is your selection of destinations.
7
Why are they called "smart" phones? If anything, our society has become more disconnected than ever. No real human interaction is causing serious social problems, only one of which is political divisiveness. Technology has allowed us to take one step forward, but also two steps backward.
4
I think you could replace every instance of "phones" in this article with "jobs" and it would hit a little closer to the truth.
6
The two currently Most Recommended comments (149 now) prove the article's point by their excuses for avoiding the implications of what the author says. Donald Trump is clearly a pernicious influence on many things, but you cannot blame him for gadget addiction any more than you can blame poppies, if you are, unfortunately, a junkie.
2
@Steve Fankuchen I am wondering if those people may have actually meant to indicate that Trump's presence in the Oval Office as occupant is because of new social media. IF the meant that then I 100 percent agree. Twittter made Trump politically. He never would have gotten attention in legacy media--he would have been quite frankly ignored or seen for what he is. However Twitter is not conducive to complex discourse and it also feeds negativity BY making outrageous (including hateful) utterances get more hits...thereby promoting the thoughtlessness, meanness and lack of civility that made Trump possible. New media MADE Trump possible and is destroying democracy (Twitter, Facebook and Google). Our real enemy is neither Russia nor bin Ladin types it it is Facebook, Google and Twitter--these starve democracy. We are committing 'democricide' with out use of new media in our screen culture---with Trump we got we deserved!
8
If you live in NYC you’ll notice a large percentage of people walking around staring st their phones while walking. Not once looking up and at the same time pretending they are actually good at navigating a busy sidewalk or street traffic while doing so. That could end up being a more serious situation than stress from someone “unliking” you if one steps into oncoming traffic while not paying attention. And no, I’m not joining them since my phone is in my pocket. Or home. I like the journey and seeing what is around me. And the gym? I’ve seen a room full of people sitting on gym equipment staring at their phones and not working out. That is a funny sight.
11
My phone has become a nuisance and I have seriously been considering getting rid of it altogether.
I leave it off all the time because the Marriott Hotel calls me everyday from different numbers to give me an ad in Mandarin. I can barely count to ten in Mandarin.
If it is on at night, some fool will buzz the wrong apartment and I get that call at 3 in the morning.
If I try and call the doctor, it takes sooooooo long to get through that I can literally hop on the bus and walk up to the front desk quicker than connect with them by phone. "If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 911". Why on earth would I call my doctor in an emergency?
That's ridiculous.
Only one person actually calls to chat and that is an old boyfriend on the other side of the country.
I only have one app on my phone other than the ones that came with it. After hearing some exec testifying before Congress that the phone relays info back to his corporation 14 times a minute, I quit using anything other than the periodic table and occasionally the map but rarely do I take the phone out of the house because once again, I don't want to be tracked.
I'm pretty much done with dating because everyone would rather look at their phone:)
I knew society hit a new low when the other day I saw a small sign in a store window here in town - Help Wanted, We have WiFi.
Its time to check into getting a burner phone and save the money.
15
Well said, Tom, but rationality rarely deters an addict.
And, of course, here I am, myself semi-addicted to commenting to the Times on a laptop. Intermittently I try to kick the habit cold turkey, lasting for six months a year ago. But, I'm back, sad to say. However, as my hat and T-shirt say, "Just because I'm a hypocrite, it doesn't mean I'm wrong."
7
There is a fledgling 12-step for internet addiction and frankly I could use it.
I got a flip phone, and noticed the difference immediately... Until I realized I could get Twitter and all the newspapers on it.
but - the tiny letters and the difficulty of typing out a response helped.
6
The flip phone still works.
My iPad Pro has no phone,
It rarely leaves home
4
Is this yet another reason I should get rid of child’s phone?
12
@Tha Vin the longer you can wait, the better. When vermont (Senator John Rodgers) is proposing a bill to ban cell phones under the age of 21, you know there is a mountain of reasons out there to avoid them as long as possible. they are doing more harm than good. I have seen a total shift in my children's happiness since giving them a phone.
3
Lots of great points & insight from the article and the NYT comments section, as usual. I find that it only takes one Facebook post and the vitriol in the comments to feel anxious. I often wonder why people post so much negativity — are they really looking to incite keyboard wars? While I’m (currently) still on FB and Linkedin, I took a breather and deleted Instagram in 2017. The normalized narcissism on that App is enough to make anyone feel “less-than”. I think the only reason I still have Twitter is because I believe it’s the go-to source for updated news worldwide. SIGH.
3
Getting rid of my cell phone was one of the best things ever....less anxiety, no stress or endless distraction...and saving precious time and money too.
18
The current occupant of the Oval Office causes me stress whenever and wherever I encounter him.
At least on my phone, I don’t have to hear him. On my television, he pops up with more regularity than dandelions—and is FAR less innocuous.
10
@Babs, I don't see him on my TV because we don't watch ANY news on TV. Reading is more efficient, and quieter. And we don't get any broadcast or cable TV at all, just a few Roku channels.
14
Who can afford to live a long life these days anyway?
31
Finally somebody discovered warm water. This has been already known for years and just now they are talking about this.
4
Cellular phone abusers have won, I have lost.
I am 72 years old and have not gone to a movie in over 4years, reason, cellular phones.
I stream movies.
I still went to concerts and plays, my thinking was that at 100$'s per ticket adults would not use their phones, and now watches.
On the 6 of October 2016 I went to see the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the Balboa Theater in San Diego. A patron next to my wife had to keep checking his watch to see what messages he was receiving. My wife asked him to turn it off, he barked at my wife, I barked at him.
?How Insignificant, Insecure,Unimportant is a person that they have to always check their email, and social accounts?
When the announcement is made to turn off your phones,"TURN OFF YOUR PHONES".
The entertainment industry has to address cellular phones abusers, I am not out there on a limb myself. The industry is loosing money.
I no longer go to shows.
I am also for changing the law regarding the use of cellular phones while driving. The use of cellular phone while driving must be treated the same as Driving Under the Influence. It is a crime and not just a traffic violation.
53
How true! Moreover, Just imagine what the phone has done to the classroom.
20
I take a news cleanse while on vacation. No phones or any media. It does wonders.
14
I wonder when we're going to consider the possibility that another school shooting means another kid, unhinged and weaponized by technologies that are, as this article suggests, changing our brains....
This article makes clear that impulse control is affected by our cell phone use. So mightn't the authors of articles like these wonder why, despite all the indicators, schools continue to serve up a menu of full-on technology, all day long?
The high school near me allows kids to walk around with their cell phones-- they stare at them while they walk down hallways, they continue to star at them during every "free" minute before class--and it also takes great pride in its ability to hand every single kid in the huge district a computer.
This same school conducts regular active shooter drills.
My point is, when will we as a culture begin to connect a few dots? When will glorified technology begin to enter into conversations not only about the hazardous effects of technology on us as individuals, but about the obvious problem we are facing collectively-- that we, as a culture, are creating a human society that is increasingly dangerous, out of control, ill, miserable?
I'm glad this article is asking us to pause and consider our experience of cell phones, but I would like it to do more. I"d like it to connect "impulse control" with the new normal of a mass shooting a day in America....
12
@Wendy Maland
Exactly there was a just 2 school shootings in Chicago I heard about in the news. I feel so bad for everyone who had to go through that and my school near me they cant have there phones during school or dances.
3
I’m a teacher. When I have the misfortune of walking down the hallways when classes are ending, students burst out of classrooms so frantically checking their phone you’d think they were Wall Street investment bankers checking for the latest stock prices.
16
Un-mentioned in this article is that the phone is just the vehicle. It's the social media sites, comment sections,work email, etc which you can also access on a computer, that surely are actually causing the stress. (Personally, most of my phone use other than texting and phone calls is the NYT and a message board I go to for fun where I know most of the people, and random searches for info, sports scores, etc. No Fbook, Twitter, Instagram and whatever else people are on these days, and thankfully plenty of "real-life" friends. Highly recommended. )
7
I have a 10+ year old Samsung Juke. App? What's an App?
I note that one commenter says that his/her cellphone helps him/her track things to help get through life. I hope my life never comes to that.
My wife on the other hand is a phone junkie. A few days ago she dropped her phone in the yard while walking a dog. It spent overnight outside. Serious withdrawal.
Lest you think me a dinosaur, I do have a computer. One the Apple Store guy called 'vintage'. Works great, otherwise I'd have to mail in this comment.
19
What about computer games? Do They have similar result?
4
@Paulo Cesar Quines I have the same question and ditto porn! The Facebook app literally dropped off of my phone due to inactivity and a few weeks ago, my phone lost the login info to look at it via the web BUT I am constantly checking on my word games! :)
Oh and what about porn? Asking for a friend? ;)
7
Absolutely.
Specially when walking on the street, crossing the street with buses and cars coming who narrowly miss you. Or while driving.
Put the phone down!
Instagram and the Kardashians can wait!
7
Like many people, I have been addicted to Twitter since the lead up to the 2016 election. It is the go-to platform for politics and news. It breaks news before non-Twitterers even get their "breaking news" notifications. And there a many smart people giving insights and opinions on the day's events in real time, and for free. The constant dopamine hits were great. It is a lot like playing slots.
I found lots of great things on Twitter in addition to great political commentary and clarification. For example, I found a lung cancer patient support group where none existed at my treating hospital or in my community.
But, alas, the near constant infusion of cortisol took its toll. Reading the constant outrage, particularly from people or bots completely ignorant of science, history, etc. was exhausting. In the lead up to the "release" of the Mueller Report, I found that I was in a new constant stage of agitation. The day after Barr's summary, I deleted Twitter from my phone. I needed a "cleanse." I quit cold turkey, and I can literally feel the chemical difference in my brain: less anxiety, less of an impending sense of doom, less depression. I can't say I won't ever go back, but if my "reset" doesn't hold, I know exactly what to do.
21
I am reading this on my cellphone. It's not the cellphone that raises stress...its the hectic lifestyle that requires a cellphone that creates the stress. The cellphone helps me keep up and keep track of all the things that I have to do in order to just get through my life. My schedule. My appointments. My bills. My "To Do List". Everything is on my phone with reminders and alarms so that I am on time and don't miss appointments, events, birthdays, aniversarys etc. My life is on my phone. God help me if I lost it. That would really be stressfull. I would probably have a heart attack or stroke😉. Just Joking!
8
I don't have a smart phone, and certainly don't want one. There's a telephone at the office, and another one at home. I'm reachable 24/7 for anyone who wants to call. I'm not reachable for texting, and everyone who knows me knows it. Have something to say? Please call and speak to me.
On the rare occasions when I'm traveling, I have a phone with minutes on it. Works just like my home and office phones. Doesn't make a sound unless someone is calling. So I don't need to look at it, ever.
There's nothing more perplexing, or sadder, than watching a person, surrounded by family, or in the midst of nature, staring at their phone like a Borg connected to the Collective. And there's nothing scarier than looking in my rear-view mirror to see the person behind me staring at their screen while driving 65 miles an hour.
Whatever benefits may accrue from owning this little piece of high tech hardly seems worth the cost in living an actual life using the 5 senses, and having in real conversations where we respond to voices, not pixels.
40
@alexander hamilton If we impeach someone is this call to justice required within the realm of today's devices that(also) detect too much information that can render one's self hopeless.
@alexander hamilton
Like AH, I've never owned a smartphone. I am a public school teacher and some of my work requires teaching students how to use technology as a tool. However, emphasis on building healthy relationships with diverse groups of people--which requires person-to-person interaction--is more important.
And can we please redefine FOMO (fear of missing out)? The fear I have is when folks (young and old) stare at their screens and miss what is front of them, be it the natural world or fellow citizens.
I've heard people state that life w/o a smart phone must be peaceful, and it is, and others can make the same choice. I know that many will hide behind the rationalization of their jobs and busy schedules, but the reality is that the majority of smart phone use is not for work, but for distraction. So I ask, what are you paying attention to and is it worthy of your attention?
The New Yorker recently published a review of two books about smart phone use. According to one of the books, I am a digital minimalist because I don't phone swipe or binge watch programs. It further posits that sitting alone in a room is for experts. Wow—we’ve certainly lowered the bar.
One of my greatest fears as a parent of young children is navigating all things tech. I’m hoping for a pendulum swing, but as the late Reinhold Niebuhr once stated, “Man’s story is not a success story.”
12
@alexander hamilton Glad to hear you are not a cyborg which is what I feel like several people are with their phones. It's like its physically a part of their body. It's sad to see when I ride the bus, walk, and ..(scary) drive. Life is beautiful when you are actually connected to it. It is REAL unlike the virtual world even if we are making connections with real people through it. All this anxiety cyborgs have is due to their lack of real world connections with people. Although, I do have a "smart" (questionable) phone, I am definitely a digital minimalist. I'd much rather do calls than texts, but others don't care for that so I work with them so I still have relationships. But one thing is for sure, I will not to social media!
3
Reading this article on my iPad was stressful.
7
For All's sake, stop squatting at the gym looking at your phone, texting,...and other banal ills, while I wait to use the gym equipment. Be mindful and put the phone down. You are not working out.
8
As a regular pedestrian/cyclist/public transport user, I have a lot of interactions with random people.
I attribute the general rise in rudeness, impatience and stress to cell-phones...the minutes we used to gaze off into space and not think are now completely consumed by whatever our cellphones are emitting.
There's no time to decompress.
20
About ten years ago, while in London, I met a man who was lamenting that his children watched TV and played media games upwards of 8 hours a day and more hours on the weekends. He didn't know what to do about it. I told him that my step-sister had raised her two daughters without a TV in the house. He looked at me like I was crazy and asked, "what did they do without a TV?" Well, I said, "they read books, talked to each other, went outside to play and took walks. They grew up to be incredibly smart, highly educated, and very thoughtful women"
He thought about this and responded, "my wife and I couldn't do that. It wouldn't work anyway, they would just go to their friends homes and watch tv or play those games. We can't control what kids do."
I responded, "Oh, you could take the tv out of the house, you could have your children focus on other healthier activities, but maybe you don't want to make the effort. You, as the parent, have a choice."
Right there is where I saw how some parents have consciously or unconsciously abdicated responsibility for actually raising their children with a well thought out plan about what is healthy and what is not healthy.
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@Olivia I'm 70 and retired from university library administration. Over 20 years ago we got rid of our TV when our kids were adolescents. There was a ten day or so withdrawal period, then, before long, we found ourselves reading more and talking. Admittedly, the late '90s was in that sweet spot before Big Internet. My kids wound up in college at McGill and University of Chicago.
I was an early-adopter cell and smartphone guy, and reading this I can see why the Nokia, Blackberry and iPhone definitely were stressors. After the election I quit Facebook, and now I understand why it was driving me crazy. I also ditched volunteer commitments that were stress-inducing, because of bickering, vicious email cycles, snarky texting etc. Although the world is not all rainbows and unicorns, exactly, I don't worry as much about stuff. When I had cancer I felt like I was going to throw up every time the phone rang. But that has been in abatement for the last few years.
The stats say I look at my iPhone on average about 2 hours a day. If I could get that down to half an hour a day it would be better.
8
@Olivia
Reducing over-usage of technology is great, but completely eliminating all screens from a kid's life isn't realistic, or healthy either. If a kid isn't ever allowed to play videogames, watch TV, etc, this could stunt their social skills development, because it isolates them from all of their friends at school who use all of those things.
3
@mike I believe kids develop social skills just fine without screen time (we did for eons, right?). There are lots of other venues -- sports teams, religious bodies, school, work, and family, just for example -- in which social skill development can happen just fine.
Just because so many age peers are glued to their screens doesn't mean all kids need to be. As everybody's apocryphal mother is supposed to have said, "If all your friends were jumping off a bridge, would you jump, too?"
8
Try stepping away from your phone for a few hours, and you will probably have a few angry messages from significant others, friends or bosses. People expect 24/7, instant availability and feel slighted when they don't get it, so a sense of obligation is correct, but rooted in others expectations. How's that for Cortisol levels?
7
@ Ken. Re-train the people in your life. They don’t have the right to be so demanding. It will make you sick.
10
@Ken - I leave my phone off most of the time and rarely take it out of the house. I have been seriously considering just getting rid of it altogether.
Once a month I get a call from the pharmacist and twice a year I get a call from two different doctors about the semi-annual visit.
One old boyfriend still calls about twice a year. Other than that its nothing but daily calls from the Marriott Hotel that starts in English and then switches to Mandarin. Or, in the middle of the night it would ring because someone visiting our building gets the wrong address and buzzes me. That got old so I just turn the dang thing off.
@Ken I am a high school teacher and every morning at 7:30ish I turn my phone off and do not turn it on until 3 or so in the afternoon. Everyone in my life that needs to know understands that I won't get their texts or voicemails until after school. Never has there been any angry messages. If there truly was an emergency someone would contact me via phone at work. Maybe you need to evaluate the types of people you are communicating with, no one in my life expects anyone to be available 24/7.
3
I got to the downtown subway platform, 80% of the people texting, on social media, games. Incredulously believing that I'm innocuous to social conformity, I was one of them. The 2 hours spent that morning meeting a Craigslist vendor was consumed by phone use. Iphone pedantics that morning: alarm, check text/whatsapp about 20 times in 2 hours, social media, news, weather, check subway stations, ETA of subway, bank account, play a game or 2 on subway, talk to the Craiglist guy, compare prices, payment at Starbucks, pix of what I bought-shared; on the return subway trip likely to fall back into the heuristic: game,news,social media... The # of ads I inadvertently glanced at or gamed into watching likely totaled 50, a dubious number my college admittance officer would happily call a reduction of 4 IQ pts.
Like when I was 13, a TV addict, I didn't think a world without Cable TV was possible. The cord was cut, and as a more erudite friend asked, what is the replacement? 7.5 billion humans, 7.2 billion mobiles in circulation worldwide. As often is the case - the toxic mix of capitalism, mob mentality, profound absence of individual and society discernment, turned the Iphone from the potential for good (remember Jobs in 2007?) to a repugnant mess. We are glib to change, like myself, castigating others without a plan for cleansing.
So titrated down my data max to 500MB, aiming for 300. I welcome tips on 'friendship' when the only way to have one is texting/Whatsapp them!
Why would I want to extend life in this “paradise” we call Earth circa 2019? I’m so very happy I am entering the third act of this tragi-comedy of errors.
But I surely don’t want to love extra years of this never changing idiocy called “modern society”
No thanks. I’m clicking even more now. Perhaps it will hasten the remedy to existing in this banal and mediocre age.
3
@Rene Pedraza Del Prado
Loved reading your point of view, cannot totally agree though.
4
@Rene Pedraza Del Prado
Suicide by smartphone...
4
Part of the problem is the phone requires so much attention. I spent three hours in the Apple store today -- three hours -- because I was locked out of my iCloud account for which I needed a password that could not be sent to the account, which was -- yes -- locked. See the vicious circle, the Kafkaesque nightmare that was only resolved when I went to the Verizon store to verify that I had indeed purchased the phone and then went back to Apple and agreed to have the phone scrubbed to set up a whole new iCloud account.
That's three hours when I could've been writing instead of babysitting a phone. And all to download an app for a fitness tracker that was a Christmas gift.
People make fun of me for being something of a Luddite but I think it's important to use technology rather than let it use you. -- thegamesmenplay.com
11
If not for work, children, and aging parents, I wouldn't have a cell phone at all. But in 2019, school, offices and caregivers all assume they can call, and I will answer and respond. I look forward to giving up my phone at the first possible moment, going back to having only a landline, and being able to leave my apartment with my thoughts and daydreams and not have to worry about answering calls or texts. At most, have a flip phone for emergencies.
16
Just another nail in the coffin of western civilization.......maybe eastern as well. TV was an earlier nail.
5
So the cortisol only flows if I read the Times on my phone not if I read it on paper. Interesting concept?? No one thinks the cortisol isn’t related to what is in the news. It could be, I don’t yell at the phone or the paper when I read the Times. But I yell at the TV when I see the news there. Hence, don’t watch TV news.
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@Rich Murphy The article is very clear about the physical proximity and dependence we develop with our phones for several hours a day. I don't see anyone obsessing over newspapers beyond morning coffee!
8
My iPad holds me captive all evening, keeping me from doing normal chores around the house. I know need to pull myself away, but it's just so hard.
6
@Sue T Try setting a ScreenTime limit. I've done that and it has helped me reduce my use tremendously. You can find it under Settings on your iPad.
2
I think I remember the same article about TV in the early fifties.
3
@Rich Murphy and yes television is also not the healthiest habit if we overdo it.
1
Give this a try #distractionfreeday
A day without your phone, or at least a portion of the day, or hour or whatever you can manage and slowly increase your time away from the addiction. Fill the time with something lovely and light for yourself instead.
13
Two years ago, I retired from a job in healthcare administration, where I was required to keep the work provided phone with me 24/7. I often received calls off hours.
I am now using the phone sparingly. While I use the tablet for reading my newspapers, I'm so happy to be free of the expectation the phone created, that of total access for my employer. With the problem, the phone is only the means to a crazy end.
2
Is this true for only phones? Or does it include all screens? I and some colleagues use phones all day to monitor student behavior. Many school are one to one with ipads, Chromebooks, Apple laptops, etc. Student are on these devices more than 4 hours a day, not including gaming at home several hours a night. Thoughts on if this article includes all screens or just phones?
3
@Valere That would be an interesting study. I tend to lean towards the cellphone being a more applicable device. With their personal customization of contacts, apps, and accounts, its a person's doorway to their own virtual world.
These devices have become a digital "woobie" for those who may be uncomfortable with, what was , normal socialization. Perhaps a virtual environment and persona provides an outlet for the socially anxious? Personally, I think the dependency on these devices is stunting the social development of generations.
And iPads, and newspapers, and TV news reports.
2
If I remember correctly Tony Curtis wanted to be buried with his cellphone.
He was.
3
"...the time we spend on our smartphones is interfering with our sleep, self-esteem, relationships, memory, attention spans, creativity, productivity and problem-solving and decision-making skills."
This sounds just like the effects from taking illegal drugs with one notable exception: Illegal drugs have often helped people increase their creativity (at the cost of shortening their life span).
There is no doubt devices decrease creativity since the user's brain is turning over a lot of thinking to the machine under the false premise that this then frees the brain to do more important tasks. Anytime you base your thinking on what the machine is telling you, your thinking will be constrained...by what the machine is telling you. You cannot program a machine to be truly creative, at least not yet.
5
I switched to my iPad to read my NYT and WaPo articles, and that has cut down my phone use by 30%.
2
Does that count? Device time is still the same.
10
@Steve Cohen, I would think that what you use the screen for changes the outcome. If you chose to watch a movie or read an e-book, let's say, that's a long-form use where you immerse yourself in a single task, as opposed to reacting to a constant stream for short-term novelty, like scrolling through social media.
8
The tech lords at places like Apple, like their brethren the drug lords, are interested in one thing and one thing only: Your money. They will serve anyone, including terrorists and dictators to get your money. And like the drug lords, the tech lords know how to get and keep users addicted to their products. It is NOT in their interest to do anything else.
6
This article does a poor job of interpreting the main study it links. The scientific study they reference to assert that phone use elevates cortisol levels does not, in fact, support that claim. Instead, the study points to a correlation between phone addiction withdrawal symptoms and elevated cortisol levels in adolescents.
This NYtimes article could easily have argued that ADDICTION to phones can cause stress and used the study as a solid reference, but instead it argues that the content we look at on our phones causes stress, which is simply not proven. I'm extremely disappointed with the misleading title and claims in this article!
22
@Sophie I beg to differ. The article does not cite any one study, and it is not clear what specific study your comment had in mind. It does quote numerous experts on the subjects of technology overuse, internet exposure and the danger of elevated cortisol levels. The first gentleman, Dr. David Greenfield, says exactly what the article says. Check out his website for yourself.
3
As several articles in reputable business media have pointed out in the past few months, social media monetizes for their owners the use of *your* time, I.e., takes from your life, rather than contributing to your life, and makes $ doing it. On top of that, constantly documenting your whereabouts for “friends” also documents them for those who are not your friends. E.g. insurance companies (selfie of you hanging from a mountain ridge could raise your rates), burglars (selfie of you sipping ouzo in Greece could make your quiet home in the woods handy for them), and prospective employers who, yes, stalk your social media for compromising info, rather than just contacting the references you provide them.
Consultants have learned the hard way to shut off devices at a certain point(s) in their day, or we’d get nothing done let alone not sleep. Best apps to secure private time from your iPhone: Do Not Disturb, which you auto-set for a certain time every day, say from 9PM-8AM, and Airplane, if you really want to zone out at night without a chance of anything coming through. I have been off Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram for months now and don’t miss a thing.
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@Liz DiMarco Weinmann
Why do you need an app to limit your screen time. Simply turn off the phone.
2
@Liz DiMarco Weinmann I started using Downtime on my phone a couple of months ago. It starts at 11:00 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m. I just decided to set it back another hour to start at 10 p.m. I'm hoping that I won't miss it much and will be able to scale it back even more, to 9:00 p.m. I think anything earlier than 9:00 is unrealistic for me.
I also use the ScreenTime app to limit my total social media time to 1 hour per day. I've been a Facebook addict for years, so having something that helps me reduce the time I spend on social media is really helpful. It really does help!
The article suggests mobile phones are causing undue stress and threatening long-term health. Got a news flash for ya...no cell phone for me, never felt the dire need to be connected 24/7. But I can attest to the fact my stress levels are through the roof w/o being connected to a smart phone 24/7. It's living life with lemons with no opportunity to pause long enough to enjoy that pitcher of lemonade everyone talks about. So I live with hypertension, sleeplessness and constant worry that "something bad will happen" - cause it usually does.
3
Four apps on my home screen : camera,maps, music, Kindle.
That's all I need on a daily basis. I am happy with this set up. Very little stress. Life is good.
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I was on prednisone for five years. Prednisone is basically cortisol. Prednisone increases irritability and leads to weight gain etc just like cortisol from emotional stress. Misery!
The reason why doctors prescribe this awful stuff is because increased cortisol suppresses the immune and allergic response in a way that can save lives. It would be interesting to know whether people siffering from illnesses for which predisone is comminly prescribed benefit medically from over-using their phones.
6
I have a prepaid account with cricket and when I feel like my phone usage is getting too much, I take the SIM card out and put it in a flip phone for a month or so. I am provided a work tablet so in all honesty, I don't NEED a phone with internet for work. And once I get home, then do I lounge around on the laptop and websites. But out and about, I enjoy the trees, people, and reading more to pass the time I would normally spend aimlessly on my phone.
4
Most of my phone time, which is considerable, is spent reading the New York Times. And while I’m quite willing to believe that raises my stress level - especially with he who shall not be named occupying the White House - I hardly think that’s my phone’s fault.
212
Yes, President Cortisol Spike is a big factor. I'm feeling it myself.
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@Stephen Reichard Right, but at the same time... do we have to be informed of all his transgressions, the second they happen? For all responsible citizens, there's very little he could do at this point to change our perspective on him, short of instigating an actual coup to make himself dictator. He's given us all the motivation necessary to vote him out, to canvas for votes wherever we can, and so on- I'm fine with reading the 'highlights' of his misdeeds at the end of the week. Reading about *all* his idiotic comments and decisions, at this point, seems like a lot of stress that won't actually change your behavior. Kind of a tangent, but it could be good for you.
2
And I am reading this on my phone... *IRONY*
26
I just spent 2 weeks in Hawaii with my messages and email turned off. During that time a bad work related problem happened that, if my phone had been turned on, I would have known about,. But I could not have fixed it because I was thousands of miles away. the situation required my physical presence. People muddled through without me and were very frustrated that i was not there.
And I am glad I had no clue about it. I had a marvellous 2 weeks. I came back more refreshed that i have been in 10 years (as this was the first holiday in ten years without an active phone). this article reinforces why I need to start turning my phone off at home every night after work and at least once day on the weekend.
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@phil. And Hawai’i is one of the best vacation spots on the planet!
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@phil
I used to tell my secretary that on a vacation longer than a few days, I would call in periodically to check on things. There was no way for her to reach me, however, so I could actually enjoy the vacation. When she asked what she was to do if a "real emergency" arose between my check-ins, I told her "Pretend that I have died. You'll know exactly who to contact and what to do without me." The emergency never arose, but if it had, I'm sure the world would have survived just fine for a few days without me.
18
When I got my first smartphone I secured a new email address for it - and gave it out to 4 people. I refused from the first day to have a life defined by a cellphone. Maybe you heard it here first but all those emails on my MAC? They wait very patiently in my inbox til I get back to my office. The world has not imploded, I have not lost a client or a friend or contract and when there is a real crisis - not an imagined one - I always have the option of giving out my cell email, "Use this for the next 12 hours,", I'll say, and when the issue is resolved, I wean them off it without them even knowing by replying on my MAC email. They of course, hit reply...
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@ijarvis
We're all gonna die horribly early deaths at the hands of our cell phones, surrogates for the perfect parent we never had.
4
What are the sources of citation as regards to the effects cell phone use, aka cortisol levels, have upon the human body?
3
I'm always amazed when people walk their dogs and talk on the phone..cant they just enjoy the time being outside with their buddy?
147
Woof woof! I mean, you're right!
28
Or in a restaurant with their family, spouse...
23
Or out with their baby or child, who needs them to be talking... to them!
33
'Cortisol is our primary fight-or-flight hormone. Its release triggers physiological changes, such as spikes in blood pressure, heart rate'
beg to disagree - AFAIK 'Adrenaline ... is ... Commonly known as the fight or flight hormone' - https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2013/04/19/adrenaline-cortisol-stress-hormones_n_3112800.html
Adrenaline fires up the fight-or-flight response by speeding up the heart
cortisol - while also produced by the adrenal glands - I've read is more likely a slower metabolic response to resupply energy from glucose
'Adrenaline primarily binds to receptors on the heart and heart vessels. This increases heart rate, force of muscle contraction and respiration ...
Cortisol binds to receptors on the fat cells, liver and pancreas, which increases glucose levels available for muscles to use. It also temporarily inhibits other systems of the body, including digestion, growth, reproduction and the immune system.'
https://www.livestrong.com/article/207432-adrenaline-cortisol/
so - if I'm suddenly faced with an attacking animal, I'm gonna be looking for adrenaline to get me out of there first !
but yeah - long term cortisol is toxic - so peace man - meditate - destress - as we used to say in 'straya, have a cup of tea, a Bex (aspirin–phenacetin–caffeine) and a good lie down !
7
It’s so true. As I sit here on my iPhone reading your piece and other NYT Health pieces I feel awful. Thank you. I hate you lol
48
Couple of years ago, I decided to, not to look at my phone, when I am having a meal alone or with anybody, it was difficult in the beginning, now it is not that hard, even when the person across from me is looking at the phone, I am trying to control myself and others.
4
No way. I use my cellphone for listening music, reading NYT, communicating with my family, checking the email, checking the weather, the time, GPS localization when I am hiking in backcountry, even I tried to learn Go. I mean, a cellphone is very important for our modern daily life. A substitute is almost imposible. I admit I am being very optimistic...
5
@Gabriel "GPS localization when I am hiking in backcountry" - oooooo, hardcore outdoorsman, Gabe! Nice way to ruin the potential of adventure and learning something new.
2
@Mary Sojourner at least this person is outside, getting exercise even if his use of the cell phone does not meet with your purist approval. I don't read into his comments that anything is "ruined" by his use of the cell phone - he obviously knows how to use the tool optimally while others clearly do not.
1
How one uses their phone has to matter as much as the amount of hours spent on it. If I were to spend four hours--even just two--on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, serious mental health problems could be expected. Two hours spent reading the NY Times, using my meditation app, texting my significant other to arrange a date, and texting old college friends adds tremendous value to my life.
91
What about the ever-increasing barrage of junk/scam calls? Most of these now spoof local area codes and use deceptive names to get you to pick up the phone. More and more people I know just don't pick up the phone unless it is obviously someone they can identify. How does this affect stress levels?
11
I’ve read so many articles about disconnecting from my phone, and I read them all on my phone. The irony “gets me” every time.
46
This is interesting because I have been slowly disconnecting myself from social media apps this past year, culminating with deleting my Facebook account about three months ago. I noticed yesterday that ever since I did this I barely look at my phone once I get home. I decided to get out of twitter and Facebook because of how toxic they have become. I remember joining Facebook when I started college and back then it was only millennials that used it. I used to use it to play silly games, look at memes and basically keep up with what some of my friends abroad were doing. In the past few years it honestly has been plagued by people sharing their political views. Political views that are so extreme that they never dare share them in public. Anyways, highly recommend disconnecting. I am reading more books, playing more video games and I am not angry all the time.
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@Jorge Núñez A great start, but I am sorry but playing video games also needs to go.
24
Eh, most of the time when I read on my phone it is relaxing and not stress inducing. But getting work messages in off hours does temporarily raise stress levels, but that is why it is called work and I get paid. And there is a corresponding sense of relief when I am done.
That all being said, one of the things I love about camping or hiking in the mountains/wilderness is that in addition to other stresses of city life my phone by an large becomes mostly just a camera at that point. At most I occasionally think about what I am going to do when I get back online later when I return to civilization.
At then end of the day having an internet connected smartphone in you pocket is about proper boundaries and moderation just like most other things. All sorts of things can cause stress when you are not putting things in their proper box. Too much _______, not enough ________. Pick your poison. Yet as a properly utilized tool those same things can be a tremendous benefit or perk in our lives. Smartphone overuse is just an outlet for someone's symptoms, not the cause.
17
Re insects and microwaves. I just found out that in the late 1990s a device was patented specifically for sending microwaves through areas, including solid walls, to kill insects. Over the last 20 years, have cell phones also been having this effect?
3
@ST
To a small extent, possibly. The real dangers are the Cell Towers that pop up everywhere. These cell antennas can broadcast at power levels 10,000 times or more than your smart phone. Any households within about a 100 yards of these beam-lines are likely to free of all sorts of pests, -insects and vermin alike. Also, not a very healthy place to live yourself.
There are numerous accounts of people suffering nausea, headaches, discomforts, agitations from local WiFi base-stations alone, which aren’t nearly as powerful as a cell phone, but they operate continuously within the same microwave-oven frequency band.
The increasing numbers of cell towers to boost “coverage” are also boosting everyone’s exposure to microwave energy pollution. There is no doubt in my mind that this also increases the agitation level in localized neighborhoods around cell towers, leading to more personal depressions and domestic violence.
When people describe leaving their cell phones behind/off while taking a walk in Nature and feeling so much better; it is not only leaving the nagging nuisance behind, they are also moving to an area with far less cell tower radiation. This alone will make anyone feel better, whether they use a cell phone or not.
16
When I put my phone away for a couple hours I feel so relieved, so free, not anxious on who is calling, texting or anything along that line. Social Media is now becoming so unhealthy as a young adult I recently started having low self esteem and anxiety when seeing all the almost perfect images of people and their lives on Facebook and Instagram and ever since deleting these accounts it drastically changed my self image perspective into a positive one. And now realizing that not all what we see is deemed to be reality, so much of what see is meant to be promoted for others to like and envy. Now I focus more on self care and not comparing myself to the lives of others.
154
I imagine not reading the news would as well!
56
Changes in lifespan due to cortisol are not significant for individuals in comparison to other factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, and genetics. But beyond that, it is impossible to predict, let alone avoid, the parts of one's life that trigger stress-related cortisol release.
1
@notbitter
On behalf of all those of us who suffer from PTSD, I beg to differ. One important piece of learning to live better with PTSD is indeed specifically identifying and proactively reducing one’s exposure to cortisol-elevating triggers. It can be done. And in doing it one gives one’s brain the relief and safety it needs to heal.
20
I beg to differ. I had Cushing’s disease, which is when your body produces excess cortisol (in my case due to a pituitary tumor). My blood pressure was sky high, my muscles wasted, I was weak, couldn’t sleep, bruised when I was gently touched, was losing hair... left untreated it would have killed me in a matter of a few years, tops. My levels were extremely high, even for Cushing’s, but cortisol is no joke over the long term.
8
I started to notice this stress response in my own body in the days after 9/11 when even sitcoms would be interrupted with images of that terror attack to deliver some urgent message that was not at all urgent. Most televised news and a significant amount of video entertainment has the same effect. I believe it is intentional in order to prime us to be receptive consumers of whatever soothing balm is going to be advertised. It's not so much the device that is the problem, but the programming. Don't believe me? Measure the cortisol levels of Rachel Maddow's fans.
A device sabbath, social media fast, or low-information diet is a great idea.
13
We bought a ten-dollar battery-operated alarm clock and banished our phones and other electronics from th bedroom. We sleep a lot better.
37
And buy an alarm clock! Otherwise that is just another excuse to keep your phone by your side in bed.
10
Why in the world do we think this reaction is restricted to phones? The same reaction likely happens on computers and millions upon millions of us have to use them everyday at work.
9
@SW you can walk away from a computer. you leave work. neither lives within a meter of your body 24 hours a day. you do not rely on a computer as your alarm clock. you dont keep a computer on the table while you eat. you're missing the point- most of the issue is simply never putting the phone down
14
Please provide documentation showing phones are "explicitly" designed to release dopamine
@biron
It is not so much the cell phones themselves causing dopamine levels to rise, but the many gaming & other such app’s that are designed to keep people “glued” to their cell phones to use up more minutes, and thus earn more money for the cell carriers. Very similar psychological and subliminal techniques are used in slot machines and gambling casinos for the very same reason; extract more money from unsuspecting customers in a very addictive fashion.
4
@biron
Check out the post-Google work of Tristan Harris, that company's former Design Ethicist.
1
Because I read the news on it, I am sure my smartphone will be much less stressful when Trump is no longer the president.
389
Good points there
4
@Francis @Francis It wouldn't be the Times unless every single article on every conceivable subject did not draw comments from at least a few people who want to virtual signal to everyone that they have taken the radically bold move to be critical of Trump. Simply revolutionary. Now you can kick back knowing that you have waged a valiant fight for democracy. And then go cast your vote for whomever the Democratic candidate will be in 2020. Che Guevara is jealous.
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@Francis
Wow......this is the farthest reach that Ive seen so far for "Trump derangement syndrome"! I cant even enjoy an interesting (anti-) technology article without our controversial president being mentioned.
1
The observation made by Ms. Price is right on target.
Another form of the same advise also applies to TV watching.
These at some of the changes I have implemented in my life to keep the stress levels to a minimum.
1. Only befriend folks on social media whom you actually know.
2. Never reply or engage anyone who is attacking you or anyone else, or expressing anger.
3. Never say anything on social media that you would not be willing to say to someone’s face.
4. Never watch horror films at night.
5. Never watch angry talking heads on TV from the Left or the Right.
If you need to train yourself as to what is appropriate to say or not say, I suggest this very forum. The NYT has very effective way of censoring posting that violate their rules of conduct.
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@Truth Is True
I take exception to #4. ALWAYS watch horror films at night!
6
There goes your cortisol sky high. And, your flight or fight responses to the max. And, your are glued to the couch while all these mayhem goes on inside your body. And, another month of your longevity lopped off.
Not worthy.
I am on my way to the garden now to do exactly the opposite. You should try ‘walking meditation’ some day. I do it while I garden. And the world will spin as fast as it wants, for it should not have any effect on you, unless You allow it.
6
There are only a handful of people in anyone life that really matter. The so called hundreds of so called "friends" on a social network are not friends, and no one has 500 members of a family. Limit your list, limit your stress.
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@Lily Yes, I was a late adopter of FB and it works well for me because I limit my FB friends to family and real friends, so my list is about 70. I love these folks and they love me and I'm happy to see what they are up to (I live several states away).
Social media can work well if you use it properly.
1
@Lily I'm not on facebook or twitter but do have a LinkedIn account for professional reasons. One study showed the the max number of people one individual can really keep up with -- not just superficially -- hovers at about 150, regardless of age, nationality, etc.
2
To be unreasonably optimistic, maybe cell phones are like new toys to children: they play with them obsessively until they tire of them and then throw them in a junk pile. The process may take years, but let's hope this happens before too many people become cell phone zombies beyond hope.
6
Sell-phones are far more insidious than changing the cortisol & dopamine levels in our brains, they’re actually slow-cooking our brains from the start. This is a more severe root cause underlying brain dysfunction found heavy cell phone users today.
In Physics, a “magnetron” is used to generate microwaves. And any magnetron tuned to 2.54GHz can resonant water molecules to the point of “boiling”. These magnetrons are the working piece of every microwave oven ever built.
Now I ask, “Would you ever put your head in a microwave oven?” -most would say “No.”
Then why put a cell phone up to your head?
In fact, 2G, 3G, & 4G cell phones and cell towers all operate at this same “microwave-oven” frequency. The FCC deems cells phones safe at 800mWatts at 1 meter distance, which might be reasonable; but at 1 inch from your head, the intensity is 760 louder than at one meter, making them roughly equivalent to 650 Watt microwave ovens in open air that are quite literally boiling away our brain cells and nerve cells on a continuous basis. If you cook enough of them off, either cancer and/or gangrene will set in; but certainly not stupidity.
The new 5G cells are radiating out in the 32-35GHz region, making all these new, more convenient, instant time-saving devices and tower radiations roughly 15 more destructive to cell tissue, brain function, immune disorders, endocrine damage, and head cancers.
Remember, Just because they are convenient, -does not mean they are safe.
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@ G Bender
Thank you for this data. Something I’ve been wondering for the last two or three years is whether the proliferation of cell phone activity in the environment is contributing to the decline of insect species. Insects are relatively so small and are sensitive in ways we are barely beginning to understand. If they see ultraviolet, sense earth magnetism, and respond to minutely subtle changes in air content, isn’t it plausible that they would be attuned to the effects you describe?
Do you know whether anyone is looking into that?
2
@ST
Thank you for your inquiry. This is a very important question to consider.
While I have not heard of any studies dealing with insects and microwave cell towers as of yet; I do know in fact, that Cell Towers have been linked to killing off large flocks of song birds, as many as 10,000 in one night! Any migratory birds that fly up the beam-line of a microwave tower that wasn't there the previous year will be cooked to death in mid-air within a minute of flying towards that cell tower, thus ending the life cycle for many flocks of migratory birds in a matter of days.
It is very realistic to consider that Cell Towers would have the same effect on the declining Bee populations as well as the dwindling Monarch migrations. The long-term environmental implications of this are staggering. This thought alone should give us a pause to consider the true costs of our convenient sell-phone lifestyles that go well beyond social group & self-esteem disorders, truncating our language base, loss of common skills such as self-navigation, and personal brain cancers.
“Convenience is the new Mother of Invention.”
Our insidious need for it has blinded us all to what is happening with these seriously dangerous technologies that have immersed us with instant shopping & free deliveries of yet more disposable products.
Cell phones are dangerous tools to be used sparingly with caution and safety; they should not become the be-all & end-all of our daily survival, or we will all suffer dearly.
6
Yet more evidence about the negative impacts of smartphones on so many parts of our lives. Some of us with 20th century brains still know how to navigate the world without constantly checking our handhelds. We can even turn them off - for hours! and wander around happily unconnected - and miraculously survive! Many digital natives on other hand have been the subject of a kind of dangerous brain experiment and become hard core phone-addicts who start twitching if they go 5 minutes without a hit. Ultimately however it's about balance - balancing the convenience of the phone with intentional off-line time to live IRL. Nothing Luddite about it. It's about being human. And nourishing our brains with a balanced diet.
39
We also forget about some other effects phones have on our bodies. We get text neck, our postures get all out of whack. Add to that, eye stress. Looking at a bright object all the time can't be good for our eyes. I'm sure what I said also helps increase cortisol levels in our bodies.
One of the problems though is we as a society continue to say that we can't live without these devices, i.e. we're getting rid of newspapers, books, slowly but surely the phone is the only device we'll be able to have to consume any kind of news that may very well be important to us. How do we reverse that? Is it "economically" feasible to do so? Is it a Luddite thing to say?
21
Although my ring tone is nothing particularly dissonant, my cats don’t like it one bit when my mobile rings in the bedroom when they are trying to nap. However, if I leave it or my iPad lying on the bed I can be sure one of them will make a beeline for it, lie down on it and go to sleep. Cats are clearly experts in reducing cortisol levels.
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The most fundamental tip for avoiding phone-induced anxiety was not given in the article and I'll give it again for the umpteenth time: Use your device for reading, folks! I'm talking about reading books and articles for fun, not work. People drown in social media and forget how great reading can be. There are even free apps out there that can make reading on a screen easier by adjusting font size and brightness. So, let's all read and be much happier, beginning today!
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@Paulo Or, ditch your phone completely and read an actual, physical book. I went cold turkey on Facebook 3 weeks ago and have read 2 awesome novels. I do agree though, it's not the phone, it's what you do with it that drags us down.
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@JIM Ditching my phone completely would be very difficult, since it's the only way I can have access to foreign publications, which I read copiously. But I agree with you - physical books are great too.
12
@Paulo Sorry, didn't mean ditch phone completely, just for book reading. My mistake. I need my phone too, but it's a black hole into which I can easily disappear.
6
That smart phone you hold in your hand? A device that is increasingly a ubiquitous presence in our society, is one of the most powerful devices humans have ever devised. The device itself is powerful, but it's the concomitant ascension of the global telecommunications grid, that pushes its power (and allure) off the scale.
I would argue that it is akin to the invention of the printing press in its impact on all our lives. A device; a portal and a doorway to an infinite amount of information. Or as I read it depicted by someone in another article, it's an Infinity Scroll. It is all of that and more. Much more.
But it is also an ultimate opioid. It's a Digital Narcotic. We all need to become aware, if you are not already, of its negatives because they are real. It distracts. It stresses. It can harm your mental state and divorce you from your relationship to other social beings if not properly managed. So watch how you fondle, how you use, your device. It bites.
John~
American Net'Zen
61
My own cell phone usage had spiked since I got a new, and larger, phone in December, so that's bad enough.
However, I find that the daily news I'm reading, on that same phone, has a visceral effect on my mood and outlook. I feel more irritable and anxious (probably raising those cortisol levels), which depresses me, street which I don't engage in activities that would calm me or raise dopamine levels.
The phone is a blessing and a curse, a tool that needs to be managed by carefully.
9
Though not clearly stated in the article it would seem that the supplies only to people for whom stressful messages are liable to appear. For someone such as myself, and doubtless many other people, this is irrelevant. I use my phone for finding my way, for reading, for reminders. But not for stress related activities. Perhaps the approach of this article is misleading. Quite relevant to some and not at all to others.
4
Well then there’s the problem of recent articles about texting and email etiquette. We are told that if we receive a text message, the sender expects a response in minutes. This of course makes the receiver anxious, especially if the sender is a boss or someone personally important. The solution to that problem is to either limit who receives your texting number or activate an automated reply that says you’re busy and will respond later. That buys you some time, but not if the sender knows that you know the automated reply has been triggered. More anxiety. So what about email? Used to be that the expectations for a response were far more liberal than with texting. Days, even. But now the etiquette experts are telling us that the gap is closing and it’s downright rude not to reply to email messages in minutes. Minutes. Nobody wants to be rude. But given the sheer number of emails many of us receive, this is a recipe for perpetual anxiety and, evidently, a Niagara River of cortisol and an early death. I read all of that and wrote this on my device. It’s depressing.
29
@MWR You can turn off notifications for both text messages and emails on your phone (and computer), and only check them when you choose. I keep my text notifications on, since I have teenage kids and don't receive too many texts on a daily basis (and can't hear the notification if the phone is in another room or I'm in a noisy environment - yes, you can turn the volume down too). I check my emails only a few times a day or if I'm expecting a particular message. I also don't run for phone calls - or even answer, if I don't want to talk to the caller at that precise moment - isn't that the reason we invented answering machines in the first place?
My husband, by contrast, constantly gets - and answers - notifications of all sorts and at all hours from work, from volunteer positions, from friends and Facebook, etc., including during dinner hours or mid-conversation with his family. My 89-year old mother has become a similar addict. It's incessantly frustrating to be around them and know that, regardless of the circumstances, whatever is happening on their phones is regarded as much more important than the people they are "spending time" with. I'm trying to teach my teenage kids to not sacrifice their IRL friends for their screens, but it's an uphill battle.
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@ MWR
So be “rude.” I think the one texting is rude In presuming they have the privilege to interrupt and hijack our attention. The fundamental issue behind being “polite” or “rude” is consideration of the other’s circumstances and feelings. Imposing implicit time expectations on someone else simply by reaching out to contact them is a means of exerting control over them. Resist the tyranny!
15
Actually, many people want to be rude these days or don't care if they are.
In the context of email and text, the people who are rude are those who never respond.
1