Isn’t that obvious? Excess consumption of anything – be it TV, ****, books, alcohol or anything else – makes us addicted to it in a way that we feel incomplete without it.
Sadly though, unlike, say, drugs and alcohol, phone addiction doesn't get as much attention as it should when, in fact, it is equally dangerous.
The harmful side-effects of using mobile phones beyond a threshold level include:
• Higher stress level
• Loss of sleep
• Increased anxiety
• Chances of depression
• Risk of cancer (due to the electromagnetic radiation. Although there have been a handful of reports that refute such claims.)
• Bullying, which can step into many psychological effects
• Vision problems
• Accidents
• Problems due to bad posture
• Bad fitness level (People today download fitness apps but don’t do any fitness activity in the first place)
• Social isolation
• Attention deficit disorder
• Regular health issues (because the phone surface has 10x more bacteria than the toilet seat)
* This list can go on and on if we look at the problems microscopically.
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(And these side-effects of using mobile phones are prevalent just as much on the grownups as they are in the teenagers.)
Even with all these grave issues, we all continue to use our phones every day obsessively. In fact, many of us deny the existence of any such thing as “phone addiction”. (DENIAL: this is really the first sign that the person is addicted to something. They will never admit it. They will always tell others and themselves that everything is under control.)
The real picture of phone addition is very very chilling. Here are some of the numbers that will put things into perspective for you:
• The average time people spent smartphones is 2 hours and 51 minutes. This is more time we spend on eating, exercising, and with the family.
• An average user will tap, swipe, and click her/his phone for 2,617 times a day.
• 12 percent of adults use their phones in the shower and 20 percent of people aged between 18-34 have used their phone during sex.
• 50 percent of people feel uneasy when they leave their phones at the home.
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(These numbers and infographic are taken from Bank My Cell and Daily Infographic)
These numbers are serious. And guess what? With phones’ penetration increasing across the world, things are becoming even more serious. People can watch TV on phone, read the news, play games, shop for food, hire a taxi—so why would people not use their phones more when they can virtually do anything and everything with their handheld device?!
Indeed, the growth in the number of smartphone users is imminent. We can’t stop that. And we shouldn’t really. More phone users have many benefits economically and socially.
What we need is not a paranoia against phones. We need awareness about the side-effects of using mobile phones. People must be informed about phone addiction. And they must be taught about how to use their phones responsibly so to avoid any sign of addiction.
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