Impact of Smartphone in Digital Era

M. Irfan Kusnadi1   Agill Dwipa2   Adek Rizky3   M. Addarimi Hifzy4

1,2,3,4 English Language Education Study Program, Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram

Have you ever wondered how much your daily routine depends on your smartphone? Smartphones are designed to make communication easier and to improve human lifestyles. Research shows that Indonesia is ranked among the top four countries with the highest number of smartphone users, reaching around 187.7 million people. Therefore, it is important to examine how smartphones influence people’s daily activities and social life (Puspitasari & Ishii, 2016). 

To begin with, smartphones provide many benefits that improve people's daily activities. such as, they allow users to communicate instantly through calls, messages, or video chats. In addition, smartphones give access to various apps that support education, health, business and entertainment. As a result, students can learn through online platforms, and workers can manage their task more efficiently. It can be argued that smartphones have become essential tools in modern society.

On the other hand, smartphones also create several negative impacts when used excessively. Many people, especially teenagers, spend too much time on social media, which can lead to addiction and lower productivity. In addition, overuse of smartphones is often linked to health issues, such as eye strain, poor sleep quality, and lack of physical activity. Moreover, relying too much on smartphones may reduce face-to-face interaction, which is important for building strong relationships (Kabadayi, 2024). 

That is why it is important for everyone to look for a balance in using smartphones. Even though smartphones bring a lot of advantages, using smartphones too much can cause problems if not managed accurately. For instance, parents can guide their children to use technology wisely by setting rules about screen time. In schools, teachers can combine digital literacy into the curriculum in order that students understand how to use smartphones for learning instead of wasting time on social media. By doing this, people will be able to enjoy the benefits of smartphones while minimizing the negative impacts that come from misuse. As a result, using smartphone in a balanced and responsible way allows us to maximize the advantages without being harmed by the disadvantages (Onofrei et al., 2020). 

Smartphones have both side (positive and negative impacts) on our daily lives. They help us in communication, education, and work. But, at the same time, they also can cause health problems and reduce real social interaction if not used wisely. Therefore, we need to use it cleverly and in balance so that we can enjoy the benefits without being trapped by the harms.

REFERENCES

Kabadayi, F. (2024). Smartphone addiction, depression, distress, eustress, loneliness, and sleep deprivation in adolescents: A latent profile and network analysis approach. BMC Psychology, 12(1), 608. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02117-6 Onofrei, R. R., Amaricai, E., Suciu, O., David, V. L., Rata, A. L., & Hogea, E. (2020). Smartphone Use and Postural Balance in Healthy Young Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(9), 3307. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093307 Puspitasari, L., & Ishii, K. (2016). Digital divides and mobile Internet in Indonesia: Impact of smartphones. Telematics and Informatics, 33(2), 472–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2015.11.001