How the Use of Phones Affects Teenagers' Moods -- A Discussion Based on Motivated Forgetting Theory

Aiming to investigate the effect of mobile phone usage on teenagers mental state, the author studies the interaction between mobile phone usage and motivated forgetting in the role of shaping adolescents emotional well-being and how digital engagement influences memory regulation and mental health. Through a theoretical investigation of cognitive neuroscience and behavioral research, the study explores how platforms like TikTok exploit positive reinforcement mechanisms such as rolling the screen and contents that stimulate dopamine secretion to reinforce habits that impair cognitive control processes mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Findings reveal that excessive smartphone use correlates positively with anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, particularly among adolescent girls, as they face massive emotional fragility due to prolonged social media engagement but negative feedback. Boys, in contrast, exhibit milder psychological impacts, attributed to their preference for gaming over social media.