With technology advancing and phones becoming very popular many people, especially children turn to their phones for many hours of a day. Phones can probably be a very big distraction in many people’s lives. For many people, including many teenagers, phones are something that are spent next to people every minute of the day. However, that is not always a good thing considering that phones can be very distracting and a waste of time in certain situations. 

Certain apps that people download on their phones can be what makes phones distracting. Apps such as games or social media can be a wasteful way of consuming time, however certain apps can be beneficial. The first set of apps that many people have said are beneficial would be news apps. CNN, Fox News, NBC, and many other news organizations have apps available to be downloaded on your phone. Many people find news apps to be beneficial because they are able to keep updated on the news, and they can get notifications when something important happens around the world. When people enjoy reading the news, then this app can be beneficial so that they can keep in touch with what they are interested in without consuming so much of their time. Another type of app that can be beneficial are the apps made for organizational people. Calendars, task reminders, or apps that hold to-do lists are very beneficial to people who easily forget what needs to be done. Calendars are helpful to remember important dates, such as birthdays, or last minute plans with a friend that are needed to be remembered. Task reminders are helpful for people that need to get certain things done by a certain time, such as deadlines on assignments, which are very helpful also. Student apps can be very beneficial when going through school. Students can download their school apps such as canvas, google docs, and their email on their phones that way when there is not a computer available they can work on certain assignments on their phone if needed. However, many apps are not beneficial to students such as games and social media. 

There are many available games on the app stores that can, yes, be very fun and a way to spend free time, but also they can be very time consuming when things need to get done sooner than later. Entertainment apps such as Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Max are very distracting when trying to be productive because they make you just want to sit down and watch a show or movie. Games that require you to win or move up in levels can be very addicting because it keeps you wanting to move up and win more often until the game is completely over. 

Phones overall are very beneficial with the technology they are able to provide, but they also can be very harmful to our productivity and willingness to get tasks done. They also can be harmful to social lives, because they can cause people to communicate over the phone instead of meeting up in person. Taking time away from phones and screens can be very beneficial to our daily lives.