With the invention of smartphones, we thought they would make life easier and better. But for many young people in Taiwan, the phone has become a huge time-waster that secretly controls them. This isn’t just about they have no self-control but there are bigger reasons behind it. This article will explain why young Taiwanese use their phones too much. It’s mainly because of three things: social anxiety, the mechanism of algorithms, and lack of leisure options.

     First, young people can’t put down their phones because of strong social pressure. In Taiwan, social circles are often tight-knit, and the phone is the main tool they use to stay connected. If young people don’t reply to a message right away or don’t know about the latest social media topic, they start to feel anxious about being left out. This fear makes them check their phones often so they don’t miss anything.

     Another big reason for phone overuse is the design of social media apps. They are made to be addictive. These apps use algorithms. They can guess exactly what young people like to see and keep showing them the things they might be interested in, making them want to keep scrolling. The goal of this design is simple, to make users stay on your phone as long as possible. The phone becomes a powerful temptation full of instant fun.

     Furthermore, this problem gets worse because of external factors. There aren’t enough fun things to do except for using their phones all day. Parents and schools are not watching closely enough. Taiwanese students have heavy schoolwork, and there aren’t many places to have fun in the city. So, the phones become the cheapest and the easiest choice for leisure. At the same time, some parents or schools are too busy or don’t know much about phones, so they loose the rules or even use the phone as a reward.

     Young people in Taiwan use their phones too much, and it’s not just because they lack self-control. It’s caused by three complex problems: fear of social exclusion, algorithmic manipulation, and lack of leisure choices in real life.

     Overall, to fix this digital dependence, young people and the society all need to make an effort on each aspect. Young people must build better habits, and society needs to rethink the fun activities and digital skills to learn how to teach the next generation.