It is not well-known in society that cell phone addiction is a real thing and is on the rise in younger demographics. I remember first hearing about this years ago and it almost seemed like a joke or sarcasm at the time. But since then, there has been research done on this topic that proves that it is a real addiction. In fact, the addiction mechanism works the same way as that of hard drugs, in that dopamine is released. Once your brain knows what will release dopamine you want more of it, thus leading to an addiction (Deckin, 2018).
Whether or not cell phone addiction is technically classified as an addiction doesn’t matter so much as the problem itself. In Sehar Shoukat’s article “Cell phone addiction and psychological and physiological health in adolescents,” he says that according to a study, “mobile addiction not only has physical effects but also psychological and academic effects at the same time.” In addition, “sleep deficit, anxiety, stress, and depression” are also associated with internet use and phone usage (Shoukat, 2019). His article is very well-researched and citations are provided too, so I take it to be credible.
I also began to wonder if it’s actually phone usage that is causing those things, or is phone addiction just correlated with other characteristics or other habits (such as drug use). Luckily, Shoukat’s article mentions a 2017 study that investigated “whether anxiety and depression independently contributed to smartphone addiction” (Shoukat, 2019). Interestingly, the result was that researchers found that depression and anxiety are predictors of high phone usage (depression being the strongest predictor). This supports my thought that other factors also cause high phone usage while also being the result of it, resulting in a downward spiral just like other addictions. This is also supported in a study, which concludes that “if internet addiction continues, it will undergo the same results as alcohol addiction” (Shoukat, 2019).
I believe that this information is very important for our youth and everyone else to know. For example, parents might not be aware of any of this research and they would think it’s just “kids being kids” when they see their kid on the phone all the time, just like their friends. Most people associate addiction with drugs or alcohol and may not even think it’s possible to be addicted to a phone. Hopefully this information is getting out there to parents so we can help nip this issue in the bud.
Resources
Dekin, Sam. (2018, May 11). Is Smartphone Addiction The Same As Drug Addiction? Mission Harbor Behavioral Health. https://sbtreatment.com/blog/smartphone-same-as-drug-addiction/
Shoukat S. (2019). Cell phone addiction and psychological and physiological health in adolescents. EXCLI journal, 18, 47–50. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6449671/