Instructions

Read the article. Then, answer the questions that follow. (25 points)
Questions:
1. Do you agree with the data presented by the author? Why?
Yes, I agree with the data that the author presented. They survey a large number of students
which makes the study more reliable and informative. I agree that spending too much time with
smartphones can cause unhappiness because I experienced it myself. Our lack of face-to-face
interaction and non-screen activities cause us unhappiness and low self-esteem. The rise of
smartphones has become a hindrance for some of us to have a face-to-face interaction with
others and this has a negative effect on our emotional and psychological well-being.
2. What are the effects of prolonged screen time to the respondents of the study?
Researchers from San Diego State University and the University of Georgia gathered data by
surveying students from grades 8,10 and 12. According to their study, the effect of prolonged
screen time on those students is unhappiness. Students who spend too much time using their
smartphones are unhappy compared to those students who engage in face-to-face interactions
and non-screen activities. The study also discovered that the sudden increase of smartphones
and other gadgets causes a drop in young people’s life satisfaction and self-esteem. Consuming
too much time using social media can cause unhappiness because of the negative things that
we may see or read in there.
3. What conclusion did you form after reading and analyzing the article? Support your
answer with pieces of evidence.
The article and study aim to inform us how smartphones affect the emotional and mental state
of teens. They provide a reliable study that will help teens to realize that too much use of
smartphones will cause unhappiness because there are negative things that we can see on
social media that will affect our emotional health. Their study surveyed 1.1 million teens and
they find out that those who spend too much time with their smartphones are less happy
compared to those who engaged in face-to-face social interaction. Many teens are experiencing
this situation and I am one of them. Because of the pandemic, my social interaction with people
is limited, everything is online. I spent too much time browsing social media and it thus caused
unhappiness. There are so many toxic and negative posts/people on social media that will cause
unhappiness. This article is one of those articles that is eye-opening, and I hope other people
will have the chance to read this.