Applications on smartphones not only distract people from their daily lives but also motivate the public an immense investment toward paying for these apps. Sure, I love getting lost in an hour of Instagram just as much as the next girl, but whenever I finally pry myself away and glance at the clock I always lament how much time I wasted when I could have been getting ahead on my AP World homework.

In the past 10 years, apps on smartphones have truly revolutionized our world. With application stores such as Google’s Android Market for Android phones and the App Store for Apple phones, apps are available on almost any brand of smartphones.

According to PSFK.com, Apple’s application store carries and sells the most apps, carrying more than 225,000 apps, with more than 4 billion apps downloaded from Apple alone.

In addition, in 2001 the Microsoft Tablet PC was introduced and since then many other tablets have been invented including Apple’s iPad. As a result of the accessibility to these apps, people have devoted a large amount of time using them.

According to CNN Money, Americans who own smartphones or tablets spend, on average, two hours and 38 minutes “glued” to their mobile devices. Only 20% (31 minutes) of that time is spent on a mobile browser — which could very well be considered another app. Time that would be better spent with family, concentrated on homework/work or activities in the outdoors.

Apps and technology in general preclude people from participating in outdoors activities and exercising. It’s no surprise to Americans that the United States held the number one ranked most obese country for years. Even though Mexico is now the world’s fattest nation according to a new report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the United States still struggles with obesity and lack of motivation to participate in physical activities and exercise.

According to CNN Money, more than 50 minutes of the 2 hours and 38 minutes are spent playing games — the single largest category of apps. Nearly half an hour is spent on Facebook; Twitter and the other social networking apps account for less than 10 minutes.

Comparable to the amount of time consumed playing these apps, people waste a tremendous supply of money buying these apps and games. According to PSFK.com, the average iPhone user spends $80 on apps over the course of owning their smartphone.

On the altar argument, some people believe apps and new technology are advancing our society and making us more globally connected. According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in 2013, over 2.7 billion people are using the Internet, which corresponds to 39% of the world’s population.
In today’s world, businesses are converting to become more web involved, including ads on social media as well as on the internet. Businesses can create apps to help prompt their products and aid the consumers with more associations with their enterprise.
As technology grows everyday and more apps are developed, we are left to wonder where this will all go? As of right now, it’s inevitable that people will continue over-spending money and time on these apps.