It’s fair to say that smartphones have really improved our lives in a wide variety of ways. A big part of this has to do with the fact that it has made communicating and gaining access to information far more efficient than it would have been otherwise, and this is the kind of thing that has made these pieces of technology so prevalent in society with more and more people using them on a daily basis.
However, there is definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing. Smartphone addiction is a term that has been thrown around quite commonly, but up until now it was mostly just used colloquially without any official confirmation that it was an actual issue that people were facing. Research that was conducted at King’s College London has made it official, though. Smartphone addiction is a very real psychological issue, and it is one that is affecting a shocking number of people in the world today.
The actual term for the condition is “Problematic Smartphone Usage”, and the research which was published in the Psychiatry journal published by the British Medical Council has indicated that it affects about 23% of people under the age of twenty five. Hence, if you tend to use your smartphone a lot, you might be suffering from this affliction.
Big tech companies such as Apple have been taking note of this issue for quite some time. Apple launched Screen Time, something that was meant to give you an inkling of how often you were using your smartphone so that you could figure out whether you may be using it a little too often or not. However, the fact that this research has been published definitely indicates that even more steps need to be taken, with other big tech companies having to take steps to curb this issue.
One big problem is that there is no legislation that currently prevents companies from creating applications and hardware that are designed to take up all or most of your time. Authorities need to take action if this scourge is to be dealt with otherwise next generations are definitely going to suffer.
It’s important to note that just using your smartphone a lot does not mean that you are addicted. Rather, if you use your smartphone in an unhealthy way this could indicate an addiction. Avoiding necessary tasks just so that you can use various apps and features on your phone is one big indicator. Basically if you start to feel anxious and unsettled when you don’t have your phone, this might mean that you need to get help and fix this issue.
Read next: How to Free Yourself From Your Smartphone - infographic
However, there is definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing. Smartphone addiction is a term that has been thrown around quite commonly, but up until now it was mostly just used colloquially without any official confirmation that it was an actual issue that people were facing. Research that was conducted at King’s College London has made it official, though. Smartphone addiction is a very real psychological issue, and it is one that is affecting a shocking number of people in the world today.
The actual term for the condition is “Problematic Smartphone Usage”, and the research which was published in the Psychiatry journal published by the British Medical Council has indicated that it affects about 23% of people under the age of twenty five. Hence, if you tend to use your smartphone a lot, you might be suffering from this affliction.
Big tech companies such as Apple have been taking note of this issue for quite some time. Apple launched Screen Time, something that was meant to give you an inkling of how often you were using your smartphone so that you could figure out whether you may be using it a little too often or not. However, the fact that this research has been published definitely indicates that even more steps need to be taken, with other big tech companies having to take steps to curb this issue.
One big problem is that there is no legislation that currently prevents companies from creating applications and hardware that are designed to take up all or most of your time. Authorities need to take action if this scourge is to be dealt with otherwise next generations are definitely going to suffer.
It’s important to note that just using your smartphone a lot does not mean that you are addicted. Rather, if you use your smartphone in an unhealthy way this could indicate an addiction. Avoiding necessary tasks just so that you can use various apps and features on your phone is one big indicator. Basically if you start to feel anxious and unsettled when you don’t have your phone, this might mean that you need to get help and fix this issue.
Read next: How to Free Yourself From Your Smartphone - infographic
