How Is Your Phone Changing You?

00:03:12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6CBb3yX9Zs

Summary

TLDRThe video highlights the significant impact of smartphones on our bodies and brains. While over 6 billion people globally own these devices, only 4.2 billion have access to working toilets. Smartphones are changing postures, contributing to rising cases of myopia, and creating behavioral addictions similar to those from nicotine or cocaine. Apps are designed to exploit our novelty-seeking behavior, keeping us hooked. Smartphones also affect sleep due to the blue light they emit, disrupting our circadian rhythms. However, despite these negatives, smartphones provide vital access to information and services, especially in minority populations where 7% use them as their sole internet access tool. The video emphasizes a growing trend of 'smartphone vacations' to boost productivity.

Takeaways

  • 📱 Cell phones are owned by 6 billion people worldwide.
  • 📚 Myopia is increasing due to screen exposure.
  • 🔄 Smartphones create addiction loops like nicotine or cocaine.
  • 😟 Nomophobia is anxiety from being without a phone.
  • 💡 Blue light disrupts sleep cycles.
  • 🧠 Phone transmissions alter brain wave patterns.
  • ⌛ 4.7 hours on average is spent daily on phones.
  • 🌐 7% of Americans rely solely on smartphones for internet.
  • 📈 Smartphone vacations can boost productivity.
  • 📊 Smartphones provide essential services and information.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:03:12

    The video discusses the overwhelming prevalence of smartphone ownership compared to access to basic sanitation and examines the substantial impact that smartphones have on our physical and mental well-being. Given that 6 billion of the world's 7 billion people own a cell phone, it's noteworthy considering only 4.2 billion have access to a toilet. Constant phone usage, averaging 4.7 hours a day, contributes to physical issues like poor posture equivalent to a child's weight on the neck, and increases in myopia rates due to screen time. Smartphones create compulsion loops similar to addictions due to dopamine surges from app interactions, leading to phenomena such as 'nomophobia' - fear of being without a phone. They also affect brain wave patterns and disrupt sleep cycles, with Harvard recommending technology-free periods before sleep to offset the effects on melatonin production. However, in marginalized communities, phones provide vital access to information and services, although successful individuals advocate for 'smartphone vacations' to boost productivity.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • How many people on Earth own a cell phone?

    Roughly 6 billion out of 7 billion.

  • What physical impact does frequent smartphone use have on the spine?

    It strains the neck similar to an 8-year-old child sitting on it.

  • How has smartphone usage affected vision over recent decades?

    Increased prevalence of myopia, especially in North America and Asia.

  • What is 'nomophobia'?

    The fear or anxiety of being without your phone.

  • How do smartphones affect brain waves during use?

    Transmissions boost alpha wave power, changing brain function.

  • What impact do smartphones have on sleep?

    The blue light emitted disrupts circadian rhythms and reduces melatonin production.

  • Why might someone take a 'smartphone vacation'?

    To increase productivity and reduce dependence on smartphones.

  • How do smartphones provide benefits to users?

    Offer access to information, online banking, medical info, and job searches.

  • What did a 2014 study reveal about smartphone use in minority populations?

    7% of Americans rely entirely on smartphones for internet access.

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  • 00:00:00
    of the 7 billion people on Earth roughly
  • 00:00:02
    6 billion own a cell phone which is
  • 00:00:05
    pretty shocking given that only 4 and2
  • 00:00:07
    billion have access to a working toilet
  • 00:00:09
    so how are these popular gadgets
  • 00:00:11
    changing your body and brain If you're
  • 00:00:13
    looking down at your phone right now
  • 00:00:15
    your spine angle is equivalent to that
  • 00:00:17
    of an 8-year-old child sitting on your
  • 00:00:19
    neck which is fairly significant
  • 00:00:21
    considering people spend an average of
  • 00:00:23
    4.7 hours a day looking at their phone
  • 00:00:26
    this combined with the length of time
  • 00:00:28
    spent in front of computers has led to
  • 00:00:30
    an increase in the prevalence of myopia
  • 00:00:32
    or nearsightedness in North America in
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    the 1970s about one quar of the
  • 00:00:36
    population had myopia where today nearly
  • 00:00:39
    half do and in some parts of Asia 80 to
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    90% of the population is now nearsighted
  • 00:00:44
    and it can be hard to put your phone
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    down take for example the game Candy
  • 00:00:48
    Crush as you play the game you achieve
  • 00:00:50
    small goals causing your brain to be
  • 00:00:52
    rewarded with little bursts of dopamine
  • 00:00:54
    and eventually you're rewarded in the
  • 00:00:56
    game with new content this novelty also
  • 00:00:58
    gives little bursts of dopamine and
  • 00:01:00
    together create what is known as a
  • 00:01:01
    compulsion Loop which just happens to be
  • 00:01:04
    the same Loop responsible for the
  • 00:01:05
    behaviors associated with nicotine or
  • 00:01:07
    cocaine our brains are hardwired to make
  • 00:01:10
    us novelty seeking and this is why apps
  • 00:01:12
    on our phones are designed to constantly
  • 00:01:14
    provide us with new content making them
  • 00:01:16
    hard to put down as a result 93% of
  • 00:01:19
    young people aged 18 to 29 report using
  • 00:01:21
    their smartphone as a tool to avoid
  • 00:01:23
    boredom as opposed to other activities
  • 00:01:26
    like reading a book or engaging with
  • 00:01:27
    people around them this has created a
  • 00:01:29
    new term nomophobia the fear or anxiety
  • 00:01:32
    of being without your phone we also see
  • 00:01:35
    a change in brain patterns Alpha rhythms
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    are commonly associated with wakeful
  • 00:01:39
    relaxation like when your mind wanders
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    off whereas gamma waves are associated
  • 00:01:44
    with conscious attentiveness and
  • 00:01:46
    experiments have shown that when a cell
  • 00:01:47
    phone is transmitting say during a phone
  • 00:01:49
    call the power of these Alpha Waves is
  • 00:01:52
    significantly boosted meaning phone
  • 00:01:54
    Transmissions can literally change the
  • 00:01:56
    way your brain functions your smartphone
  • 00:01:58
    can also disrupt your sleep the screen
  • 00:02:00
    emits a blue light which has been shown
  • 00:02:02
    to alter our circadian rhythms
  • 00:02:03
    diminishing the time spent in deep Sleep
  • 00:02:06
    which is linked to the development of
  • 00:02:07
    diabetes cancer and obesity Studies have
  • 00:02:10
    shown that people who read on their
  • 00:02:11
    smartphone at night have a harder time
  • 00:02:13
    falling asleep and produce less
  • 00:02:15
    melatonin a hormone responsible for the
  • 00:02:17
    regulation of sleep wake Cycles Harvard
  • 00:02:20
    medical school advises the last 2 to 3
  • 00:02:22
    hours before bed be technology free so
  • 00:02:24
    pick up a book before bed instead of
  • 00:02:26
    course smartphones also completely
  • 00:02:28
    change our ability to access information
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    most notably in poor and minority
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    populations 7% of Americans are entirely
  • 00:02:35
    dependent on smartphones for their
  • 00:02:37
    access to the internet a 2014 study
  • 00:02:40
    found that the majority of smartphone
  • 00:02:41
    owners use their phone for online
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    banking to look up medical information
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    and searching for jobs so while phones
  • 00:02:47
    are in no way exclusively bad and have
  • 00:02:50
    been part of a positive change in the
  • 00:02:51
    world there's no denying that they are
  • 00:02:53
    changing us but many successful people
  • 00:02:56
    have now decided to take smartphone
  • 00:02:58
    vacations in order to increase
  • 00:03:00
    productivity in our new ASAP thought
  • 00:03:01
    video we break down the top six reasons
  • 00:03:04
    you should take a smartphone vacation
  • 00:03:06
    and how it could benefit your life right
  • 00:03:08
    now and subscribe for more weekly
  • 00:03:09
    science videos
Tags
  • smartphones
  • myopia
  • posture
  • dopamine
  • nomophobia
  • sleep disruption
  • blue light
  • smartphone addiction
  • access to information
  • smartphone vacation