Smartphone Addictions are Causing Long-Term Imbalances in Our Brains: Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

Smartphone addiction is when a person spends more time of the phone on social media, playing games, responding to emails, in Apps and chatting among other unproductive activities in the social media. Today, many people are spending more time on their phones interacting with others without realizing the adverse effects that the addiction is causing negative consequences in their life. One of the impacts associated with smartphone addiction is the harmful effects to the brain. What the users do not understand is whether smartphone addictions cause brain imbalances in the long-term. The primary research question that the findings will be answering is "Are smartphone addictions causing long-term imbalances in our brains?" This research presents an annotated bibliography of different research articles that demonstrate that smartphone addictions are causing long-term imbalances in our brains including the brain chemistry, mental development, psychological effects, damage of the gray and white matter structure among others.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "Smartphone Addiction Creates Imbalance in Brain." Press Release. 2018.

In this article, the RSNA (1) was reporting on the findings of a study carried out by the Pew Research Center about smartphone addiction and how it creates an imbalance in the brain. The researchers used the magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in gaining a determined insight into the minds of smartphone teenagers by measuring the chemical composition of the brain. The study involved 19 participants who were diagnosed with smartphone addiction. The results show that 12 of the participants had cognitive behavioral therapy due to gaming addiction. The long-term effects of the addiction include tampering with daily routines, productivity, feelings, sleeping patterns and social life (RSNA 2).

The research approached the study topic directly and concluded that smartphone addiction causes long-term imbalances to the brain by increasing the neurotransmitter levels known as GABA found in mind. In that case, the addiction to smartphones tampers with the brain chemistry of young people. According to the report, 46% of Americans are addicted to their smartphones. The effect is that the brain function regulation is distorted when the GABA ratios are inhibited through increased smartphone addiction. The individual then starts experiencing the signs of depression, insomnia, impulsivity, and anxiety (RSNA 1).

Park, Cheol, and Park Ye Rang. The Conceptual Model on Smart Phone Addiction among Early Childhood. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 4, No. 2, (2014); pp.147-150.

In their study, Park and Park (147) were examining the antecedents and effects of smartphone addiction on children. Parental and children variables were evaluated based on the impact of the addiction to the children. Parental variables contributing to smartphone addiction included dual-income family, permissive parenting style, higher incomes, education, positive attitude towards smartphone and age. The parents with more of these variables were associated with smartphone addiction. The children variables included age, gender, fewer siblings and not attending an educational institution.

The study approached the subject indirectly and found out that children with the problem of smartphone addiction usually get lasting effects on mental and physical development. With slower brain development, it shows that a child tends to grow slowly physically including obesity, hearing senses and body imbalance (Park and Park 149). The long-term imbalances of the brain affect the child's mental development. Such a child is associated with disproportionate brain functioning even later in life with effects such as having emotional instability, depression, anger, lack of control and attention deficit.

Wilmer, Henry H., Lauren E. Sherman, and Jason M. Chein. "Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning." Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 8 (2017); pp.605.

In their study, Wilmer, Lauren, Sherman, and Jason were examining the effects of smartphone addiction on cognition. By exploring the subject directly, the researchers noted that the habitual use of smartphones causes long-term brain imbalances by adversely affecting the user's capacity to think, pay attention, regulation of emotions and remembering. In that case, the researchers confirmed the cognitive impacts of smartphone addiction to users. By reviewing literature from past studies on the subject, the research confirmed that smartphone-related habits affect the functioning of the brain and effects are lasting in a person's life.

Lin, Fuchun, Yan Zhou, Yasong Du, Lindi Qin, Zhimin Zhao, Jianrong Xu, and Hao Lei. "Abnormal White Matter Integrity in Adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder: A Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study." PloS One, Vol. 7, no. 1 (2012): e30253, pp.1-10.

Many of the people use smartphones to access the internet in reading and responding to messages. Too much of the screen time damages the brain in different ways. In their study, Lin et al. (1) found out that too much time of the screen on the smartphone or any other device that can be used in accessing the internet causes lasting effects on the brain. For instance, internet addiction on the phone has led to a severe mental issue all over the world. The study is essential in genuinely understanding the present topic. The effects of screen time are not only associated with psychological impacts in the long-term, but also the brain structure and functioning. By using the diffusion tensor imaging, the researcher investigated the white matter integrity for adolescents who spend an extended time on the screen. A decrease on fractional anisotropy in the white matter parts of the brain. The white matter integrity in mind is injured, and its structure impacted hence causing behavior impairments to a person in the long-term.

Weng, Chuan-Bo, Ruo-Bing Qian, Xian-Ming Fu, Bin Lin, Xiao-Peng Han, Chao-Shi Niu, and Ye-Han Wang. "Gray Matter and White Matter Abnormalities in Online Game Addiction." European Journal of Radiology, Vo. 82, no. 8 (2013): pp.1308-1312.

Weng et al. (1308) Examined the gray matter and white matter abnormalities on online game addiction. More screen time was associated with the increased destruction of the gray matter in the brain. Apart from affecting the white matter structure, the time spent on the screen through the smartphone addiction during online gaming also cause severe damage to the gray matter in the brain. By using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), the researchers investigated the microstructural changes in online game addiction. They also evaluated the relationship between these morphology changes and the addiction scale scores within the online game addiction. As per the results, the healthy individuals, the subjects with the online gaming addiction had gray matter atrophy in the bilateral insula, right supplementary motor area and right orbitofrontal cortex.

Works Cited

Lin, Fuchun, Yan Zhou, Yasong Du, Lindi Qin, Zhimin Zhao, Jianrong Xu, and Hao Lei. "Abnormal White Matter Integrity in Adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder: A Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study." PloS One, Vol. 7, no. 1 (2012); e30253, pp.1-10.

Park, Cheol, and Park Ye Rang. The Conceptual Model on Smart Phone Addiction among Early Childhood. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 4, No. 2, (2014); pp.147-150.

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). "Smartphone Addiction Creates Imbalance in Brain." Press Release. 2018.

Weng, Chuan-Bo, Ruo-Bing Qian, Xian-Ming Fu, Bin Lin, Xiao-Peng Han, Chao-Shi Niu, and Ye-Han Wang. "Gray Matter and White Matter Abnormalities in Online Game Addiction." European Journal of Radiology, Vol. 82, no. 8 (2013); pp.1308-1312.

Wilmer, Henry H., Lauren E. Sherman, and Jason M. Chein. "Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning." Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 8 (2017); pp.605.