Phone Use is Destroying In-Person Communication 

Whether a family reunion, hangout session with friends, or a regular party, everyone has experience with an awkward social gathering. When these types of events happened in the 20th century, people might’ve tried to spark a conversation, bringing the gathering back to life. Nowadays, they will most likely use a phone and instead focus on the bright screen rather than the people next to them. Phone use should be reduced as mentioned in the 90s-style hangout summer challenge, for these reasons.

When calling others, people couldn’t multitask, leading them to focus completely on talking with whoever’s on the phone. The invention of the cell phone worsened how people interacted face-to-face.

The effect on people’s communication is one of the negatives that comes with phones. Research shows that people often look at their phones to avoid conversation with others. As a result, people begin to pull themselves away from social activities and instead only use phones to communicate. This worsens people’s communication skills as they do not experience body language, eye contact, hand gestures, etc.

Additionally, studies have shown that people’s writing skills are getting worse because of texting in informal language or abbreviations. The University of Peshawar’s study showed that students who didn’t text in proper language often had poorer writing. Students began to write informally in exams and research reports with many more spelling mistakes.

Phones also cause phubbing in family, friends, and couples. Phubbing refers to the act of ignoring someone in a social situation by looking at your phone instead of engaging with them. During family gatherings, family members using their phones limit interaction. It results in quiet, awkward dinners with parents staring at their children playing with their phones. In romantic relationships, when one on their phone begins to ignore their partner [Clarify any ambiguous phrasing. Be as specific and precise as possible: “when one partner, absorbed in their phone, ignores the other.”], it often leads to less satisfied relationships. Furthermore, parents ignore their children more when they use their phones, missing out on opportunities to help their children learn skills such as socializing. Research shows that 60-80% of parents on the playground use their phones [In an op-ed, you still need to cite/link the sources for your facts!]. Out of the parents that do use their phones, 56% of them don’t respond when their kids call out to them, compared to only 11% of parents who don’t use phones. Children seeing their parents addicted to their phones will imitate them.

Finally, phone usage can affect people’s mental health. At young ages, children are exposed to social media, affecting what they believe as well as how they act. Social media can often cause anxiety and depression in people. Content about appearances or body images can make people insecure and nervous to go to social gatherings.

Of course, phones did greatly advance communication as well. Phones offer easy, convenient, and fast connection with others. Text message apps and social media do allow people to communicate with their friends in seconds and plan outings. However, most of these plans never actually happen. The reality is phones have made people more accustomed to staying at home, simply facetiming their friends while doing their own tasks and calling it bonding. In the long term, phones hinder real-life interactions.

All in all the use of phones for entertainment and communication should be reduced altogether [Add a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause: “All in all, the use of phones…”]. It would lead to much more real-life interactions with actual people and experiencing new things. People might enjoy the small things, like the good weather or the cute dog running around in the park, more as they separate themselves from an online life.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/06/18/well/summer-challenge-90s-nostalgia.html