Compulsive texting hurts productivity

As a teen, it can be hard to admit that phones can have a negative impact on lives. As a fellow teenager and user of the cellphone, I can state that in the few past months, I have indeed developed a certain “addiction” towards texting and the overall usage of my phone.

I was never really into texting; that was all until my friends and I created a group chat for us. I would have never thought of myself using technology for communication so often but I found myself enticed to the conversations we were carrying.

This ability to communicate daily and regularly — even during school — was a result of my desire to feel connected to my group of friends. In my opinion, the want to text is not an addiction in itself, but it’s a want to feel a social connection that leads to compulsive texting.

I’m sure many can relate to this feeling. I felt like I needed to text more in order to feel more accepted in this group of friends and feel more connected towards them. Our conversations would drag on until late at night and even sometimes until the morning.

This, of course, dramatically impacted the way I concentrated on my homework. I already arrive home late from musical practices and now I am finding myself having difficulty completing my assignments due to the constant vibration of my phone.

Not only does the vibration encourage me to check my phone, but a strange mental need to glance every few minutes back at my phone keeps me off topic. This need is driven by my want to feel as if I do matter to my friends and that my friends are wanting to communicate with me.

Of course then, the constant urge to check my phone kept me from completing my homework the night before they were due. For a week, I did little to no homework and rushed to complete my assignments before school and in class.

The struggle to complete assignments resulted in my hindered ability to focus in class. During the time I was into compulsive texting the most, my grades were most directly affected. Tests that I needed to study for were ignored for my urge to text my friends instead. As expected, my tests didn’t go as well as they could have.

This was a realization for me that I needed to control the amount I texted and my attachment to my phone. It’s perfectly fine to text your friends, but when it starts to affect your ability to concentrate and carry on with daily life, self-control is needed.

As a person that has experienced compulsive texting first hand, I understand that it’s difficult to obtain self-control, but it’s needed to keep from addiction.