The use of cell phones is important to many, and to some a necessity. According to reviews.org, Americans check their cell phones around 344 times a day. For many, it is a habit.

 Between classes, during classes, lunches and breaks, PHS students are using their phones 25/8. Some have said that personally, they spend almost all of their time on their phones. Whether that is on Snapchat or Rocket League, students are almost always using their devices. 

“I’m usually on my phone every minute of the day,” freshman Juan Torres said. “I got my first phone at the age of 13, and I’m always on Snapchat and Rocket League.”

Because some students are using their phones all day, some struggle with keeping a healthy battery. For others, it isn’t a problem. 

“My phone doesn’t die as quickly as I would think it would [because] I am always on it,” Torres said. “As of today, I was on my phone for 7 hours and 5 minutes with 6 hours of my time being social media and another hour of games.”

While some use their phones incessantly, other PHS students concentrate and put their time into different activities. Junior Ryan Cordes spends his time playing baseball and watching anime rather than scrolling through Instagram. 

“I would say that I don’t spend a lot of time on my phone. If I do, it’s watching anime during my free time at school; otherwise I’m busy doing other things,” Cordes said. “According to my screen time, I spend around 3 hours on my phone, mostly on Tik Tok.”

​​For some it is a habit, for others, it’s a pure addiction. Some will go out of their way to make sure they always have their phone. When it gets to this point of addiction, phone use often gets in the way of many other things. Important things such as sleep lose priority because of the addiction to one’s device. 

“I’m addicted to my phone. I’m always on social media; whether that’s Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat or Twitter, I am always on my phone,” sophomore Abby Eaton said. “When I get my phone taken away, I usually will get my back up phone taken away too, but little does my mom know, I have another backup phone.”

According to statista.com, the average time spent daily on a device is 5-6 hours. 11% of the population spends 7 or more hours on their phone. Some students, including Eaton, take it to the extreme.

“I spend 19 hours and 37 minutes daily on my phone according to screen time,” Eaton said. “I don’t think my time will go down much, honestly, because of how addicted I am to my phone – that’s okay though.”