What are the harms of using mobile phones?
Nov 17, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Introduction
The harms of using mobile phones typically include damaging eye health, affecting the cervical and lumbar spine, disrupting sleep quality, reducing social interaction, and decreasing attention span. Prolonged staring at phone screens keeps the eyes in a constant state of tension, easily leading to eye strain, dryness, and blurred vision. Additionally, exposure to screen blue light may accelerate eye aging and increase the risk of myopia, astigmatism, or dry eye syndrome.
The harms of using mobile phones generally include eye damage, negative effects on the cervical and lumbar spine, disrupted sleep quality, reduced social interaction, and decreased attention span. A detailed analysis is as follows:
1. Eye damage: Prolonged staring at a phone screen keeps the eyes in a constant state of tension, easily causing eye fatigue, dryness, and blurred vision. Additionally, blue light emitted by screens may accelerate eye aging and increase the risk of myopia, astigmatism, or dry eye syndrome—especially when using the phone in dim lighting, where the harm is more pronounced.
2. Impact on cervical and lumbar spine: Holding the phone while低头 (keeping the head down) or maintaining a fixed posture places excessive pressure on the cervical and lumbar vertebrae. Over time, this can lead to neck stiffness, back pain, and even conditions such as cervical disc herniation or lumbar strain, disrupting the body's natural spinal curvature.
3. Sleep disruption: Blue light from phone screens suppresses melatonin secretion. Using the phone extensively before bedtime disrupts normal sleep rhythms, leading to difficulty falling asleep, lighter sleep, and increased dreaming. Long-term use may result in chronic insomnia and negatively affect daytime alertness and mental well-being.
4. Reduced social interaction: Excessive reliance on mobile phones reduces face-to-face communication with people nearby and causes neglect of real-life relationships. This may gradually weaken social skills and even trigger feelings of loneliness and anxiety, harming mental health.
5. Decreased attention span: Frequent pop-up messages and notifications from phones easily distract attention, making it difficult to focus on work or study tasks. Over time, this may lead to poor concentration and reduced memory, impairing efficiency and learning ability.
In daily phone use, it is important to limit usage time—taking breaks every 30 minutes to rest, adjust posture, and look into the distance. Avoid using phones for at least one hour before bedtime. Engage more in real-world social activities and outdoor exercise to reduce overdependence on mobile devices and maintain overall physical and mental health.
