IT has now been almost 12 years since the invention of the smartphone, but has it actually been a positive thing for society?

Look at the negative impacts first, it has promoted the use of social media, which around there is already a huge debate – it has caused so may issues but can people really live without it?

Social media was invented before the smartphone, but smartphones have allowed us to have constant immediate access to it which has been linked to mental health problems.

Furthermore constantly staring at a phone has been said to cause health problems - phone screens emit a light which can damage your eyes.

It is recommended that you do not look at a screen for an hour before you go to bed because it can cause a disturbed sleep and may take you longer to get to sleep.

Research from the University of Glasgow has claimed phones can be linked to cancer and heart disease.

This is because if people spend their leisure time looking at a screen, then they are not doing any physical activity.

However, others have said that ‘screen time’ is not a negative thing.

But I do not agree with this because spending time looking on social media has had a negative effect on the well-being of young adults.

But smartphones do have some positive attributes.

Phones have made life so much easier to communicate with people and can be critical if in a dangerous situation – the use of a mobile phone must have saved many people from a crisis.

Additionally, technology has been used for advertising, which has allowed companies to earn money. It creates jobs too which boosts the economy.

Due to the invention of the smartphone, it is now so much easier to research things.

We are in a new ‘Google’ age where we do not need to store so much information in our brains because it is easier just to ‘Google it’ nor do we need to laboriously search through books and archives to find information.

Overall, I think that the invention of the smartphone probably was a terrific idea at first but there are now so many negative.

For me, I believe we are better off without them.

By James Sullivan