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James Spinaris
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT-1103

April 24March 25th, 2015

Feeling Depressed? Theres an app for that.

Do you own a smartphone? Chances are, you do, or youve at least been exposed to one
of these magic little devices in recent times. Undoubtedly, you have seen the social effects that
can be attributed to them: lack of attention to the outside world, a downturned head fixated on a
screen, or perhaps even casual scrutiny of the device mid conversation. By now, smartphones
and tablets have invaded and colonized the pockets of 6471% of the American populationadults,
with that figure only having room to grow (Pew Research Center). These devices have had not
only an enormous impact since their debut with Apples iPhone back in 2007, but also an
unparalleled adoption and success rate if considered in an economical sense. They excel at
connecting families across great distances, providing efficient and powerful business solutions,
and being of general use in a multitude of other ways in day to day life. From the numerous
sensors, GPS, internet, and flashlight capabilities, a smartphone is potentially the most useful
multi-tool in existence. But despite all the positive potential uses of a smartphone, it seems the
mass adoption of the devices has led to decreased social interaction in the Millennialmillennial
generation and young adults, also as a general change in the way social situations are handled by
people in this age group. This change can be attributed to multiple things: increased importance

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placed on social media accounts, increasingly fast software and hardware to provide stimulation,
abuse of this stimulation, and just plain old boredom. While not all social interactions have been
affected and some have even been improved, the negative impact of these devices, like cell
phone addiction and depression, is too great to be overlooked and if ignored, could potentially
affect a major part of the population and spell a major change in how Americans interact with
each other.

With the rapid expansion of the smartphone, the world has seen a new breed of
technology appear. One more personal, handy, and close by like never before. For the first time,
all of ones favorite websites were able to be accessed instantly, at the personal cost of only a tap.
Because of their respective parent companies, smartphones are provided with an app store to
choose downloadable applications that can be used for almost anything, from social media to
many other utilitarian uses, and even games. Almost paralleling the number of devices, is the
amount of apps that are available to users. This number has grown dramatically, reaching well
over a million in both major marketplaces (Androids Google Play Store and iOSs App Store) in
the last year and employing hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide. Apps are the core
reason one uses a smartphone; they tie together the whole experience of owning a smartphone in
that the convenience afforded by them is matched by nothing else.
But not all stories of apps are of their great convenience and utility; one strongthere are
many examples of this, one that stands out strongly is the simplistic 2-D jumping game called
Flappy Bird, made by indie developer Dong Nguyen. The free game a fpp features the player
controlling a bird, trying to maneuver through small gaps between pipes by tapping to flap,
resulting in an incredibly difficult and frustrating, but also addictive experience for the player.

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This game, while having been released in 2013, gained popularity toward the latter part of the
year and eventually reached a climax in the beginning of 2014, before the developer pulled it
from both app stores on February 10, 2014 due to guilt that his app was addictiveaddictive
(Kloc). As stated in an Forbes interview with Forbes, "Flappy Bird was designed to play in a
few minutes when you are relaxed. But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has
become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever.
."(Dong Ngyuen qtd. in Forbes). Iit is obvious that this game had become a problem for many a
Flappy Bird player, causing addictive and even violent behavior. Examples of this can be seen
through Twitter, as Mr. Nguyen received many death threats and hate mail daily over the duration
of ththe apps popular period. Upon his announcement of the cancellinged support of the game,
Nguyen was, seemingly overnight, the target of hundreds of hateful homophobic and racist
tweets, with many calling him ungrateful as well as a myriad of other slurs. This sort of behavior
is exactly the reason he pulled the game from the markets, as he states in his tweet he cannot
take this anymore. (Nguyen) It seems obvious from this whole fiasco that the mobile
marketplace can be a hostile atmosphere, and that any and all inhabitants of this sphere must
have a smartphone to be included. This is disturbing because in previous days, despite a product
exhibiting an addictive traitss and garnering legitimate reasons for dislike, people were far less
capable of detracting from the creator of that products personal life. Now, through the power of
social media and a few too many well intentionedwell--intentioned game,programmed devices,
an independent developer was forced to sacrifice a source of his livelihood because of abuse of
his product, one that can only be accessed through a smartphone or tablet device. This narrative
is perhaps the most dramatic of its type, but speaks to the topic at hand: smartphones have caused
a negative change in the way that social interactions take place. This sort of thing would have

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never happened in a pre-smartphone era, not only because of the obvious technical
incapabilityramifications, but because of the societal changeimmature qualities recently starting
to become associated with smartphone userss spurred this sort of behavior.
Of course, theis phenomenon of hate speech and violence is nothing new to anybody
whos browsed the internet for an extended period of time, and the harassment of Mr. Nguyen is
all too real an example of it. Unfortunately, if they can be hidden behind a screen, many people
will say the most horrible things imaginable if only to get a rise out of somebody else, just for
enjoyment. For whatever reason, this trend has grown ever more popular, perhaps due to the fact
that there are no real consequences on the part of the offender. While this is nothing new, and the
collective internet even has a slang term for them, calling offenders trolls and cyberbullies,
there are still frequent occurrences of infractions happening, especially through social media.
Social networkingmedia has seen a massive expansion with the rise of the smartphone: 52% of
online adults now use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from 2013, when it
stood at 42% of internet users as well as roughly half, or 53% of young adults ages 18-29 now
use Instagram, according to the Pew Research Centers internet division (Social Media Update
2014). This growth can even be seen in both Apples app store and the Google Play store, as that
social media apps dominate the top 10 list of free applications, (comprising 40% of their lists,
respectively. (Itunes Charts, Top Free in Android Apps). With this massive growth however, the
rate at which personal attacks and cyber bullying have increased at a startling speed to match:
according to dosomething.org, nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online, with 1/4 having
this occur more than once. The fact that cyber bullying is generally a problem relegated to the
younger generation is telling enough, especially considering the high rate of ownership of
smartphones in teens and young adults. Because of how common they are, the smartphone has

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become the most frequent way to cyber bully others (11 Facts about Cyberbullying). This
perhaps is one of the largest problems associated with social networking, and technology in
general.
WSo, with so many people using social media, one could presume that it indeed is
bringing people closer together. But that conjecture would be incorrect in that there are multiple
reports discussing social medias negative effects on young adults and adolescents in a multitude
of ways: Influencing depressive behavior, body image and confidence issues in young women,
and even getting linked to personality and brain disorders (Procon Social Networking).
All of the negative aspects of social media however, are multiplied and propagated by the
rise of smartphones because they facilitate the use of social networks almost anywhere, at
literally any time. While this may seem like a convenience to those uninformed of the dangers of
social media, there is also evidence that these sites may have addictive qualities as well,
according to University at Albany in the case of Facebook (University at Albany). This is not
only disturbing because of the raw number of users of Facebook (1.35 Monthly Active Users, as
reported by Facebook in October 2014), but also because of the large portion of those users
accessing the site via their mobile devices. With the rapid growth of smartphones and their sister
services, the apps, one can see how the app ecosystem is another cog in the machine of social
problems stemming from smartphones.
PPerhaps one of the more interesting questions about this topic as a whole, is why
these changes have started to happen in young adults and adolescents. One study, from the
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, suggests that the answer may have something to do with sleep
and depression being intertwined. As adolescence is such an integral part of mental
development, sleep patterns are an imperative part of this critical time in ones life, if onehe is to

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stifle the onset of depression then and in onehis later years of adulthood. At such a vulnerable
time in a teens mental development, introducing a smartphone to the equation leads to later
bedtimes, more sleep disturbance, and obviously less sleep overall. This, in turn, as the study
discusses, could be the link between heightened smartphone use and depressive behavior in
young people. In a sample of 362 adolescents aged 12-17, the study concluded that extended
smartphone use before bed has a direct correlation with more sleep disturbances and shorter
sleep duration, as well as a direct correlation to increased depressive symptoms in young adults.
The study further details that more than 80% of the adolescents included in the sample had
owned a smartphone of some kind, and that more than a third of these adolescents reported to
write text messages or were still online most of the nights when they were already in bed before
sleep. . Not only did this study conclude with findings such as this, but it has been concluded
over and over by studies cited in the article that this is the generally the case. The final
conclusion of the article states that adolescents might benefit from education regarding sleep
hygiene and the risk of electronic media use at night as improving sleep quality may be a key
factor in the prevention of depression.(Lemola). Aas a seemingly obvious answer to the
question of the relation of sleep and depression. While the study has its flaws and states them,
one of them being that this study was done through a survey so some bias may be present.that
some bias may be present due to it being administered in the form of a survey, it provides strong
insight of the habits of young adults in relation to sleep. Means of combatting this loss of sleep
are debated, as it comes down to the parents of the adolescent in question. Despite the devices
well-lauded ease of use, technical skill would almost undoubtedly be required on the part of the
parent to thoroughly ensure that a young adult couldnt use their devices at a time the parent
didnt approve, so essentially, as the study concludes, the best way to minimize use at night

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would be education of the risks. Perhaps parents could educate their children on the long term
cause and effects of too much smartphone use, as given as few years they will be dealing with
the results of their uninformed decisions.ons.
Dong Nguyen, having ridden a rollercoaster of internet fame, returned to his quiet life of
developing mobile games, having learned something valuable about people, something he won't
forget for a long time. For someone to have had the opportunity to make $50,000 a day in
advertising, what Flappy Bird reportedly earned in its prime (Hamburger), and abandon it as a
continuous project, that person mustve had to suffer through some serious conflict and
annoyance. To even consider in any way augmenting that source of income, one that could set
you up for life over the period of a month, is ludicrous to most who hear this tale, but it really
speaks as to how terrible people were to him. All for creating a free game to relax with. While
this is perhaps the most extreme case of the smartphone generation having an extreme temper
tantrum, this sort of behavior is becoming more and more common, perhaps because of more
access to resources allowing a non-face-to-face interaction. Regardless of why, people have
become more negative and less social in their habits around and regarding people, and
smartphones are at the middle of the puzzle.
Perhaps this has to do with the fact that so many of these device users are actively
engaged in behaviors that can be attributed to depression, with the strong possibility of addiction
these negative influences. For one, smartphone addiction, a ridiculous term if considered 10
years ago, is now a very real ailment being discussed by psychiatrists. The inherent problem with
smartphones is their Kafkaesque nature, as there are so many facets and parts to the user
experience that it becomes difficult to lock down one feature that is necessarily addictive. Say a
user is addicted to Instagram, an app that can only be accessed through a smart device. Does that

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count as an addiction to both the device and the network, or is that simply an addiction to the
particular app? Or, what about some of the heavy users of these devices, borne out of necessity
from their jobs, are they considered addicted to their devices if they need them for work?
The process of narrowing these questions down to one answer is very complex, not to
mention that more and more goes into this answer as more time passes between the user and the
device, as their relationship with it becomes ever more complex. At the center of this concern, is
the fact that it seems that most adolescents are involved heavily with technology and services
that can cause depressive trends.
The solution to this, it seems, would be to encourage young adults and adolescents to use
their devices less, and experience the outside world more. Rather than relegating ones
conversations to those on a friends or contact list, perhaps a person could decide to put their
device away and converse with somebody then and there. Or rather than sharing a picture on
Instagram, why not show a person looking at the same thing? This sort of sharing is encouraged
in online presence, but is painfully absent from the real world. This sociality, this fearless
niceness would not only mitigate the antisocial tendencies that are starting to develop, but would
also work towards the goal of a society that is friendlier, one that is more connected in humanity
than it is in technology. Dong Nguyen, having ridden a rollercoaster of internet fame, returned to
his quiet life of making mobile games, having learned something valuable about people,
something he won't forget for a long time. For someone to have had the opportunity to make
$50,000 a day in advertising, which is what Flappy Bird reportedly earned in its prime, and
abandon it, that person mustve had to suffer through some serious conflict and annoyance. To
even consider losing that sort of income, one that could set you up for life over the period of a
month, is ludicrous to most who hear this tale, but it really speaks as to how terrible people were

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to him, all for creating a free game to relax with. While this is perhaps the most extreme case of
the smartphone generation having an extreme temper tantrum, this sort of behavior is becoming
more and more common, perhaps due to a lack of sleep. Regardless of why, people have become
more negative and less social in their habits around and regarding people, and smartphones are at
the middle of the puzzle of why.

James Spinaris
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT-1103
April 27th, 2015
Works Cited

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"11 Facts About Cyber Bullying." 11 Facts About Cyber Bullying. DoSomething.org, n.d. Web.
27 Apr. 2015.

"Craving Facebook? UAlbany Study Finds Social Media to Be Potentially Addictive, Associated
with Substance Abuse - University at Albany-SUNY."Albany.edu. University at Albany, 9
Dec. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Hamburger, Ellis. "Indie Smash Hit 'Flappy Bird' Racks up $50K per Day in Ad Revenue." The
Verge. Vox Media, 05 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

"ITunes Charts." ITunes- Browse Top Free Apps on the App Store. Apple, n.d. Web. 27 Apr.
2015.

Kloc, Joe. "Flappy Birds Creator Made App Gold, Then, He Killed It."Newsweek.com.
NewsWeek, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Lemola, Sakari, Nadine Perkinson-Gloor, Serge Brand, Julia F. Dewald-Kaufmann, and

"Mobile Technology Fact Sheet." Pew Research Center Internet American Life Project. Pew
Research Center, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

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Nguyen, Dong (dongatory). I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take
'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore. 8 Feb. 2014, 2:02 p.m. Tweet.

Nguyen, Lan Anh. "Exclusive: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Says App 'Gone Forever'
Because It Was 'An Addictive Product'" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 27
Apr. 2015.

Roberts, James A., Chris Pullig, and Chris Manolis. I Need My Smartphone: A Hierarchical
Model of Personality and Cell-phone Addiction Personality and Individual Differences
79 (2015): 13-19. Sciencedirect.com.Web.

"Social Media Update 2014." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project. Pew
Research Center, 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

"Social Networking ProCon.org." Social Networking Procon.org. Procon.org, 24 Mar. 2015.

"Top Free in Android Apps." Android Apps on Google Play. Google, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.