Topics: Health, Technology, Science, Phones, YouTube
You might be less inclined to put your cellphone to your ear when learning of the type of bacteria that could live in the device.
As of this year, it was reported that over 300 million people in the US have a smartphone, as per Statista.
Smartphones such as Androids and iPhones are used for a host of different reasons; for social media and texting, to phone calls and emails.
With the vast amount of things we can do with our cellphones in mind, it probably comes as no surprise that we use them around 144 times a day on average, Forbes reported in 2023.
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As we use them so much, it only makes sense that we should be cleaning our devices a lot and experts say we should could wipe down our smartphones once a day - but it turns out only 21 percent of Americans do this, while seven percent don't clean them at all.
If you're part of that seven percent and don't think cleaning your smartphone regularly is needed, this scientists video will make you feel differently.
YouTuber Jens Braun shared a clip to his channel called Another Perspective and used a microscope to look at three smartphones: one being two weeks old, another being two years old, and a third being 20 years old.
Zooming into the two two-year-old device, Braun found a lot of dust and skin particles around its LED light. Ew.
Going on to look at his 20-year-old Samsung phone, he discovered that the lens on the piece of tech was 'completely taken over by fungus'.
Looking into the grooves of the cellphone, Braun says he thinks he discovered the skin of a mite, implying that one of the tiny insects once lived in it. He even found a tiny mushroom growing in the edges of it too.
Fortunately much less horrific things were found on Braun's two-week-old cellphone, but it was still dirty and dusty.
In regards to what might happen to you if you don't regularly clean your phone, one thing might be increasingly bad skin.
"When you hold a dirty phone to your face for a prolonged period of time, bacteria can enter your pores, increasing your chance of getting acne, which occurs when oil and debris clog your pores," explains Northwestern Medicine.
It can also increase your chances of contracting a viral or bacterial infection.
Sarah Latoria, APRN, primary care clinician at Northwestern Medicine, said: "Chances are you’re not regularly getting sick from germs on your phone, but viral diseases like influenza and bacterial diseases like E.coli can spread through contact with a phone carrying viruses and bacteria."
Experts say the best way to clean your cellphone is with a lint-free cloth slightly dampened with soap and water, and to avoid using spray cleaners.
Also make sure your device is unplugged when you're cleaning it.
