Are Smartphones Really Destroying The Brain Summary

The rise of smartphones approached my generation with the release of the iPhone in 2007 (cite). There have been many challenges that technology has brought, but the prominent discussion now is: Are smartphones negatively effecting the youth of society?

Carlin Flora's article "Are Smartphones Really Destroying the Adolescent Brain?" published in Scientific American discusses the complex relationship between teenagers and their smartphones that she believes is largely misunderstood. She first explores the relationship between the brain and smartphones. One concern is the amount of cortisol that is produced in response to the stress a smartphone could bring upon an adolescent. Researches fear an abundance of cortisol could hinder development of the young prefrontal cortex. Next,

Flora questions whether smart phone use is negative if it is not interfering with healthy life activities, such as sleeping, homework, and exercise. She wraps up by considering the idea that there is an excessive amount of worry around the smartphones and reminds the reader that there are other threatening issues that

Aside from teenagers being enamored with the show they are watching on Netflix, studies do show that the blue light that cell phones light emit effect sleep patterns in a negative way, often making it difficult for one to sleep soon after being exposed to it (Letter). So, even once someone puts their phone down to sleep after being on it too long, they will be deprived of even more sleep while they wait for the body to adapt to the night time. Sleep is not the only thing being pushed aside for the phone, when a group of classmates and myself work on homework, it is highly likely someone will be distracted by the ding of the phone. It is an easy out on homework. It is difficult to put down because it is such quick satisfaction and