Phones are a big part of everyday life for teenagers. People use them for texting, social media, games, and entertainment. After interviewing different students at OHS, it is clear that phones can be helpful and distracting.

I asked La Siya Quinn how many hours she usually spends on her phone. She said, “I spend about eight or more hours on my phone a day.” The apps she uses the most are TikTok and Instagram. I asked her why she uses those apps the most, and she said, “I use TikTok and Instagram the most because Instagram is the app I use to communicate with all my friends, and TikTok I use when I get  bored, and you can learn a lot of new things through that app.” Many teens use TikTok every day because there are a lot of entertaining videos and learn stuff from that app too.

Allison Cortez said that phones can sometimes distract people from important things like schoolwork or homework. “Notifications and social media can make it hard to focus,” said Allison. I asked her if she has ever took a break from her phone and she said. “I took a break from social media for a weekend, and at first it was hard, but later on I found stuff to do and spent more time with family. But not being on your phone for a bit is hard.” This shows that taking a break from phones can sometimes be good for people.

My question to Yamilet Dominguez is, do you think phones affect people’s mental health? How? This was her response, “If they are dealing with something hard at home or something their phone can distract them in way like them messaging their friends, or playing video games they could also do something else other than being on their phone though” I than asked her what she does first thing in the morning and she said, “I usually go on my phone and message people I forgot to reply back or go straight to TikTok to be honest.”  A lot of people have the same habit.

I asked Marshall Lopez if he thinks people spend too much time online, and this was his response. “I think a lot of people spend too much time online because of social media and games.” I then asked him if his phone ever affected his sleep schedule, and he said, “Yeah, a lot! Especially on days when we don’t have school, I would stay up until like 4 am and sleep the whole day. I stay up watching videos, scrolling, or texting my friends.” Phones can make it harder for people to get enough sleep and mess up their schedules a lot.

I asked Shayla Claros if she feels more connected or more distant from people because of the phone. She said, ” I feel more connected because phones make it easier to talk to friends and family, especially people who live far away. But sometimes people pay more attention to their phones than the people around them.” I asked her what advice she would give to someone who is trying to spend less time on their phone. This is her response. “I would say try setting time limits on apps and spend more time doing hobbies or hanging out with people in person.”

Even though phones have both good and bad effects, they help people communicate, stay entertained, and learn new things. However, they can also distract people, affect their sleep, and take up too much time. It is important for people, especially teens, to find a balance and not spend all their time on their phones.

The real question is, are we controlling our phones? Or are they controlling us? Tell us in the comments!