Allison Saraniti checks her phone about 20 times per hour.
“I have one class where I’m not allowed to (check my phone)," Saraniti, a freshman studying child and family studies, said. "I feel uncomfortable … it’s really weird.”
As of 2015, more than 85 percent of people in the United States ages 18 to 29 have a smartphone, according to Pew Research Center.
About 70 percent of smartphone users feel their phone is “connecting” instead of “distracting,” and about 90 percent of smartphones owners describe their phone as “helpful,” according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.
Joseph Slade, a r
“We actually like the electronic means of communication more than the face-to-face, so it’s a really interesting phenomenon,” Slade said.
One of the first thing Jackie Levine does in the morning
“I just lay in bed, and I’ll watch my phone, scroll through it,” Levine, an undecided sophomore, said.
Throughout the day, she constantly checks her phone.
“Even in class,” Levine said. “It’s bad, but it happens.”
Nearly 50 percent of faculty members surveyed ban the use of smartphones in class, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education 2016's Almanac.
“Part of the problem is that we are perhaps losing some of the social skills people once had or bothering less with trying to learn them,” Slade said.
He said the downside of smartphones is not spending quality time with people.
However, when Levine is spending time with someone, she said she tries not to check her phone so much.
“I like to keep it away just because I’m there with that person,” Levine said.
Another potential downside of smartphone use is physical problems.
Sleep disturbances have been linked to smartphone use, according to an Ohio State University study.
Eye strain, neck problems and anxiety are some other symptoms of cell phone overuse, according to Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.
For a week this summer, Levine went without her phone.
“The first day was a little rough,” Levine said.
She said she told only a few people about her plans to go without her iPhone and she got used to not constantly having her phone with her.
“It was awesome, being away from everyone,” Levine said. “I didn’t miss much.”
Megan Pecoraro dropped her phone in the toilet earlier in the month and did not have a phone for two weeks.
“It was weird because when I was walking to class, I didn’t have something to look at,” Pecoraro, a sophomore studying health service administration, said. “I had to look around more. Whenever I would sit in places, I would look around to be in the moment.”
Slade said smartphone consumption reflects a need to stay up-to-date with the world.
“I think people are trying to get their minds around why the electronic connections should be more satisfying ... than face-to-face interactions,” Slade said.
