Selena Gomez Hits Refresh with Break from Cell Phone Use

image courtesy of google images

image courtesy of google images

Veronica Lanfranchi, Staff Writer

Selena Gomez recently took a 90-day hiatus. As an attempt to focus on herself, she did not use her phone for the 90 days. “It was the most refreshing, calming, rejuvenating feeling. Now I rarely pick up my phone, and only limited people have access to me,” Gomez stated. It is clear that this generation has become obsessed with their cell phones. Sad but true, excessive use of cellphones has been identified as a major cause of automobile accidents, a distraction from school work and professional work, and destructive to relationships and one’s self image. The tween and teen addiction to social media has prompted many studies and reflection on the risks and benefits of posting pictures and words daily that give the impression that perfection is attainable.

Arguably, the distraction comes from this generation’s strain to meet the body images, lifestyles and success rates of the mostly exaggerated lives plastered all over social media. The core of this obsession spirals from the immediacy of cell phones, with one CNN study finding that tweens check their social media accounts up to 100 times a day, resulting in overexposure to models and celebrities who present, in many cases, only what they want the public to see to enhance their career. 

To understand the scope of this growing issue, in a November 2015 article, CNN reported findings from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on helping children, parents and educators navigate the world of media and technology who found that “On any given day, teens in the United States spend about nine hours using media for their enjoyment.” “I think they’re addicted to the peer connection and affirmation they’re able to get via social media,” said child clinical psychologist Marion Underwood, the study’s co-author. “To know what each other are doing, where they stand, to know how many people like what they posted, to know how many people followed them today and unfollowed them … that I think is highly addictive.”

In response to the epidemic and ironic disconnect that some overuse of technology leads to , Selena Gomez gave up using her cell phone for 90 days.

 Gomez expressed to her fans that appearance is not what people will notice in the end; she says “’I don’t want to see your bodies on Instagram. I want to see what’s in here,” Gomez said, pointing to her heart.’ “I’m not trying to get validation, nor do I need it anymore.”’ There is nothing that can be proved to society about a person behind Snapchat or Instagram. Gomez took a break from her phone to help herself, and it is something she highly recommends that everyone does at some point to show that a phone is not the source of all happiness or entertainment.

During the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, take an hour or a day to put your phone aside and find something or someone that makes you happy. Gomez assures that it will be a refreshing experience.