Current Health Issues Paper

Greyson Hunsaker
What stood out to me from the videos/readings (share 3 specific references)
One thing that stood out to me in the video “The drug-like effect of screen time on the teenage
brain” was when it said that “50% of teens are addicted to devices and 60% of adults are too
addicted to devices” I found this statistic very interesting especially just recently coming out of
high school because this wouldn’t have been accurate for my grade or our parents but as more
and more grades came out of middle school and into high school after us the amount of kids on
their phones constantly slowly increased. It was interesting to see in my high school as I walked
through where the seniors hung out and the juniors, sophomores and freshman all hung out
that as you would walk through you could see how it went from no phones to some phones to
all phones and how as you went through the younger grades the face to face communication
slowly went away. Another thing that stood out to me especially as a psychology student was in
the “Your phone is trying to control your life” video where the man says once he takes his eyes
off his phone “all this psychology emerges from this one thing”. I find this interesting because it
is very true. When people are on their phones they are calm and keeping up with everything
but once they stop looking at their phones it feels like they’re missing something or not getting
back to someone which changes their mood. The final thing that stood out to me was in Elder
Stevenson’s talk “Spiritual Eclipse” when he says “All of the virtues and appropriate use of these
technologies notwithstanding, there are risks associated with them that, when drawn too close,
can put us in a spiritual eclipse and potentially block the brightness and warmth of the gospel.”
This stood out to me because it’s extremely true and relevant. There are so many parts of social
media that if not used right can blind us from the gospel and our connection to the lord.

What I did
My goal was to go a whole 24 hours without using my phone for any reason other than picking
up phone calls or contacting people. I left my phone upside down where ever I was all day and
only turned it over to pick up the phone.
What does the Spirit encourage you to do differently in terms of how you use
your phone?
I usually don’t feel any encouragement from the spirit to do differently when it comes to my
phone use. I feel like my phone use doesn’t have a negative effect on me or the spirit so I don’t
really feel that spiritual eclipse.
Identify one scripture reference that demonstrates how the Savior interacts
with others.
In Luke 22:27 it says “For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not
he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.” The savior was kind and loving
to everyone and went out of his way to help others. I strive to be like the savior and help others
no matter what situation im in.
What I observed/experienced
One thing that really stood out to me when I did this experiment was that I felt much closer to
those around me that day because I wasn’t stopping to look at my phone or anything and I was
always interacting with them with no distractions. I already feel like I don’t use my phone a lot
and that I do a good job of that but not looking at my phone at all made such a big difference.

What I want to do differently regarding my phone use

I love interpersonal interaction, so I have always tried to use my phone less and be more
present when hanging out with friends and family because I value that connection but its
honestly hard to use your phone less if you’re the only one doing it. I still always try to use my
phone less but nowadays if one person starts it seems like everyone does it. I would love to use
my phone less though.