Smartphone addiction has been developed since the development of the technology. But, have you ever wonder what happens to your brain when you look at a screen for too long?
What does our brain power have to do with smartphone addiction? It turned out to be very closely related.
Delayed Gratification
Various scientific studies show that a powerful way to hone our brain power is persistence to live something deeply and in a long enough duration. This process requires the power of concentration and a deep focus of attention on what we’re doing (Duckworth, 2017). Our brain will expand positively when we do this process.
In addition, our mental strength and mind will be more resilient when we can do thing is known as “delayed gratification” (Mischel, 2006). Or the ability to delay instant gratification or instant rewards.
Delayed gratification is the ability to be willing to pursue a long and tiring process, to postpone immediate pleasure, in order to achieve goals in the future. In short, delayed gratification is the ability to float upstream, swim later, or get sick first, have fun later.
Our mental and brain power will grow when we diligently practice concentration and deep focus of attention, as well as the ability to undergo delayed gratification.
Now, all of those key components were shattered and damaged by the presence of smartphone addiction.
Yes, that’s right, the power of perseverance, the power of concentration and deep focus of attention, as well as the ability of delayed gratification. All lay dead in the roar of the onslaught of smartphone addiction that is increasing.
Screen Addiction Will Reduce The Attention Span
In fact, studies on smartphone use confirm this grim truth: using cellphones too often, will significantly reduce the “attention span” in us. It becomes increasingly difficult for us to build deep attention on a point of interest. Our attention span is getting shorter.
Through the pattern of scrolling and clicking on our cellphone screens repeatedly, our minds are trained to keep jumping from one point of attention to the next.
When using cellphones, we often rush from one content to another. Scroll, pause, and then scroll again. This continues to be done repeatedly, every day.
Such patterns train our brains to keep jumping up and down, and never have room to build long and deep focus of attention.
Our ability to build deep focus and long-term concentration becomes increasingly lost due to the habit of playing cellphones that keep jumping and rushing.
Instant Satisfaction Pattern Developed From Smartphone Addiction
In addition, the ability to cultivate delayed gratification skills is also getting rare.
Why? Because when playing cellphones, we continuously get instant rewards. Every time you look at the screen, scrolling and clicking, your brain happens to find enjoyment instantly. Your curiosity is instantly satisfied. This kind of pattern is also slowly growing instant culture. We feel that everything should be like playing a cell phone. Whatever we want to enjoy, it can come instantly as easy as scrolling and clicking.
These habits and mindsets make us even more unable to appreciate a long and tiring process. Without realizing, you ruin your ability to postpone pleasure for the sake of a later reward. Because when we are trapped in smartphone culture, our brains have been trained to get used to finding rewards instantly, or experiencing instant pleasure.
Attention span is getting shorter; loss of focus and concentration; and the lack of ability to appreciate the long and deep process due to the culture of wanting everything to be instant, such as playing with cellphones; all of this has a bad impact on strengthening our brain and mental.
Bottom Line
Perseverance to go through the painstaking process, deep focus and power of concentration, and the ability to delay immediate gratification. All are key components for us to be successful in realizing our dreams.
However, all of the key components collapsed due to the invasion of smartphone addiction.
In other words, smartphone addiction will make our perseverance and tenacity to realize the dream of life slowly turning into death in a very painful sorrow. And with that, our beautiful dreams will also be buried in it.
