How would you survive without your smartphone? For many of us, it's the gadget we're most hooked on – looking at it hundreds of times a day. We depend on it to perform a multitude of tasks and to connect with our friends and family. But have we become addicted to our phones?
Certainly, the inventor of the first mobile phone, American engineer Martin Cooper, thinks we might be. In a BBC interview, he suggested people should stop scrolling and "get a life". But of course, once we start doom scrolling or watching videos, we just can't kick the habit. Psychologist and author Jean Twenge says we're all guilty of "compulsively checking [our] phone if [we're] waiting for a text or getting really into social media then kind of, looking up and realising that an hour has passed." There's even a word – a phubber – to describe a person who ignores the real people around them because they are concentrating on their phones.
But does it matter if we make the most of this technology? Possibly, because like a drug, the problem arises when it is withdrawn. A study from King's College London found young people they studied couldn't control the amount of time they spend on their phone. Such addictive behaviour means that people become 'panicky' or 'upset' if they are denied constant access, which can cause anxiety and mental health issues.
Interestingly, another study by the London School of Economics and Political Science suggests we don't just look at our phones because we are prompted to by a text or email. The people they studied felt automatically urged to interact with their phone, just as a smoker would light a cigarette. Prof Saadi Lahlou, co-author of the study, told the BBC: "We must learn tricks to avoid the temptation when we want to concentrate or have good social relations."
One solution could be an app that rewards students for time spent away from their phones. Another option is converting your smartphone to a dumbphone that has none of the intoxicating distractions on it. But mainly, perhaps, we just need to look up more and reconnect with the real world!
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