Quick test! Imagine you’re in an earthquake, and you have to leave the house immediately. What’s the first thing you grab? Your phone, right? No matter where you are, what state you are in, living without your beloved phone seems like an unimaginable feat. Unfortunately though, your phone isn’t exactly the friend you make it out to be. Here are just a few ways in which your phone is actually screwing you over:
1. It can cause serious damage to your arms
You know that numb feeling at your fingertips and weird finger cramps that you get? How about the constant pain at your elbows? Yep. Continuous scrolling, texting and gaming on your smartphone can cause inflammation in your tendons and make existing conditions like tendinitis and carpal tunnel worse.
2. It’s one of the biggest causes of back pain and spinal stress
Apparently , the effect on your spine each time you lower your head to send a text message is the equivalent of strapping a 60-pound weight to your neck. A study conducted in UK claims that 84% of the young adults who complained of back pain basically suffered due to bad posture from constantly looking at their phones.
3. Not only is it straining your eye, it can lead to massive headaches
That tiny font size in your phone is not helping your eyeballs at all. In fact, don’t be surprised if you experience eyestrain, blurred vision, dizziness and dry eyes. Plus, blurred vision and sore neck muscles are a sure shot ticket to headaches. Yep, your phone is destroying your life.
4. Exposure to blue light can lead to sleep disorders and worse
If you’re one of those people who text into the wee hours of the night, you’re in for trouble. Increased exposure to blue light emitted from your phone suppress the production of sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. If you’re sleeping late and waking up grumpy, your phone is the culprit. But lower melatonin levels can lead to much, much worse things. Increased risks of breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer, to be precise.
5. Your phone can increase your stress levels
If you think your smartphone has brought new levels of chill in your life, think again. Since you have your phone on you, you’re constantly accessible to people. This builds up stress and anxiety more than you’d imagine. Studies show that people are increasingly more conscious about the fact that they might have missed a call, or that their phone is lost. Nomophobia , anyone?
6. Cell phones increase the risk of road accidents
Let’s just say cell phones are very, very good at causing distractions. Studies show that your reaction time in an emergency can increase by as much as 23% while texting than otherwise! You know how some people play candy crush to while away time at the red lights? Yeah, probably not a good idea .
7. Your phone is at least ten times dirtier than your toilet seat!
You breathe on it, put your dirty hands on it, put your sweaty face against it, and you lend it to your friends. All of that and never getting washed/disinfected. That cold/stomach flu that keeps coming back? Probably via your phone.
8. It’s putting your unborn babies at risk! WTAF?!
Apparently, cell phone usage during pregnancy slows down the rate of brain development and may lead to hyperactivity in the foetus. Scientists attribute the rise of behavioural disorders among children to mobile phone usage by their mums during pregnancy. PLUS, radiations emitted by mobiles can lead to miscarriage. AND keeping your phone in your pocket can lead to higher temperatures in your crotch area, causing serious damage to sperm in men. Aren’t you glad you belong to the older generation!
9. Not just babies, your cell phone can cause neurodegenerative disorders in you too!
The harmful radiations emitted by your cell phones can damage your DNA . DNA damage in brain cells can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Remember the decreased melatonin levels? That has been known to cause neurological disorders too. Yay, us!
10. There’s a chance that your phone could give you heart disease
According to a report published in European Journal of Oncology, radiations from cordless phones (including mobile phones) can cause irregularities in normal functioning of heart. It was found that cell phones emit radiation which forces red blood cells to drip hemoglobin. The hemoglobin then builds up in the body and this can result in health complications including heart diseases.
11. It can lead to loss of hearing
People who are subjected to long-term mobile phone use are at a higher risk of developing hearing loss . A person who spends more than two to three hours on the cell phone every day runs the risk of partial deafness over three to five years. Remember that the next time you plug your headphones in.
12. Lastly, YOUR PHONE CAN ACTUALLY EXPLODE ON YOU
Yup . An overheated phone, a bad charger, an old battery can easily transform your phone into a cute little bomb. In the rare case, they’ve been known to cause death too.