Illustration of an animated phone yelling through a megaphone. "Ding! Buzz! Ping!"

Illustration by Mark Oliver (main art); Shutterstock.com (all other images)

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Ding! Buzz! Ping!

Your favorite apps demand a lot of attention. Here’s what you can do to prevent them from taking over your life.

December 4, 2023
By Rebecca Zissou

As You Read, Think About: How can app notifications be both helpful and harmful?

Courtesy of family

Scarlett Mojica

Scarlett Mojica gets dozens of notifications on her phone each day. Ding—there’s a new show on Netflix! Buzz—a friend wants to play Roblox and chat on Discord. Ping—there’s a sale on lip gloss! 

The messages come at all hours of the day. They buzz when Scarlett’s trying to do her homework, during dinner, and even in the middle of the night. 

“It’s annoying,” says the sixth-grader from Los Angeles, California. Sometimes the only way Scarlett can focus is to turn off her phone completely.

A new study found that many kids are even more inundated with alerts than Scarlett is. An organization called Common Sense Media recently surveyed about 200 kids ages 11 to 17. It found that about half of them get at least 237 notifications each day. Some get close to 5,000! 

All those alerts can not only be distracting but also harm your health. How can you stop them from disrupting your life?

Digital Decisions
Watch a video with tips for making smart decisions online.

Always Online

Scarlett spends about six hours a day on her phone, sometimes more on weekends. One big reason is all those notifications. Each ping encourages her to go back to her device. 

“Most of the time I’m on my phone just to see what notifications I got and who texted,” Scarlett says.

Of course, some notifications are necessary. You need to know if your parents sent you a text, for example. Plus, people don’t usually respond to every single alert. You’re more likely to respond to a notification that a friend sent you a text than to react to a prompt to update your phone’s settings.

Still, notifications can get out of hand if you let them. More than two-thirds of kids in the study say they have a hard time putting down their phones. Amanda Lenhart helped conduct the study for Common Sense Media. She says notifications are one way tech companies keep people hooked on their phones (see sidebar, below). 

Health Threat

Shutterstock.com 

For many people, not using their phones at all would be impossible. The devices allow us to stay in touch with friends, watch videos, and play games. And who hasn’t used their phone to find answers to a question? 

But studies show that excessive screen time can affect kids’ health and happiness. For example, using your phone right before bed can make it difficult to fall asleep. Not getting enough rest can leave you tired and stressed.

Plus, many kids report feeling overwhelmed by their phones, especially when they’re flooded with alerts. If that happens, experts recommend turning off notifications. 

Scarlett recently tried that for a few days. She feels more in control without all those interruptions.

“I focus more, and I’m more relaxed,” she explains.

Setting Limits

Lenhart points out that phone use ramps up as kids become teens. That means more notifications too. So it’s important to develop healthy digital habits now. Lenhart suggests that kids talk to their families about setting screen time limits. Or they can use the “do not disturb” setting at certain times of day, especially during class. 

Lenhart urges kids to find the right balance between being online and offline. You should spend plenty of time exercising, reading, or hanging out with friends in person.

“Make sure your phone doesn’t take over your life,” Lenhart says.

How Your Phone Keeps You Hooked

Auto-Play

When you’re using YouTube or Netflix, the next video or episode may start automatically, even if you didn’t hit “play.” 

The Fix: Turning off auto-play can help prevent you from losing track of time. It’s usually found in an app’s settings.

Endless Scroll 

It’s impossible to reach the end of the Explore page on Instagram. New content just keeps loading and loading. 

The Fix: Set limits for how long you’ll spend on your phone—and stick to them. 

Content Just For You 

Apps like TikTok and YouTube always seem to know exactly what you like. 

The Fix: Avoid clicking on every video the app suggests for you. That may prevent you from staying glued to your screen.

1. What is the meaning of the word inundated? What context clues in the article help you understand the word’s meaning?

2. What are the main ideas of the section “Health Threat”?

3. According to the article’s sidebar, what are three ways tech companies try to keep people hooked on their phones?

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