TOPIC: Mobile phone addiction & dependence

Have you noticed how much people have become addicted to their mobile phones? A survey showed that 66% of users are afraid to be separated from them and 41% own more than one. What's disturbing among the younger generation especially is that face to face interaction and its associated emotional development is being lost in favour of an addiction to texting, facebook and twitter via their handset. I first began witnessing phone addiction in the corporate workplace around 2002. In fact, having a mobile phone had become a status symbol, but these days it's hard to imagine someone without one.

What concerns me are the smartphone game aps that encourage users to pay for their addiction and which can lead to gambling addiction later on. In America a game called Candy Crush Saga has commuters (in particular) spending all their travelling time playing it, and some spend hundreds of dollar per week during their daily journeys to and from work. It may be old fashioned thinking but whatever happened to reading books and conversing? It looks to me that the world is being dumbed down enough without this serious incursion on people's mental health and well being. It's like gambling - its unashamed advertising of all sorts appears on television as if it's a harmless pastime without consequences, and yet alcohol and cigarette advertising are banned.

An over-indulgence in being 'connected' can't be good for us. What does it say about a society when a large proportion of its people turn to their phone for comfort and reassurance, fearing to be without it, and interacting with the world through it instead of communicating naturally and developing of social skills? Taking time out, reflecting on life (downtime) is increasingly disappearing because whenever there's a break from proceedings a person immediately turns to their phone. It's almost as if they have a 'free thinking' phobia and have to receive external stimuli to generate their thoughts and life processes. That's sad!

It's easy to label it as part of the conspiracy to dumb-down and distract, but is it? A lot has been said about inane TV which chucks out an endlessly banal supply of soaps, reality shows and celebrity trivia, but is there really some power/s behind the scenes aiming to make the masses stupid? Or is it more a case of commercial exploitation (games, gambling) and network rivalry for advertising (television and radio)?

I'm happy to say (without a sneer!) that I have just a regular mobile phone and about 75% of the time I forget to take it with me when I go out! But I have an advantage - the signal where I moved to is very poor, and actually I'm glad of that. Yesterday I went for a coffee and believe it or not, among the laptop users and phone addicts someone was reading . . .
. . . a book!!!

miacat wrote:
I don't believe cell phones or TV are part of the conspiracy to dumb-down and distract us.

Cell phones and TV are used by people who make the choice to use them because they pay for it.

Billions of people are still living on this earth in the 3rd world without these luxuries.

.......... wrote:
I don't think it is a choice - it's a must have. People then become addicted and a prisoner to it.

miacat wrote:
How is it a must have when so many people can't afford them?

That's not fair to all the people in the 3rd world who don't have them and wish they could talk to their relatives around the globe.

A cell phone is not an excuse to be lazy, they are not stopping people from riding bikes or walking nature trails.

What is so addictive about a smart phone?

3rd world countries living mostly without these toys does NOT mean there's no addiction to the tech in western countries, which is quite damn true. People have grown way too attached to their trinkets. Face down in cyber space. Some people look like zombies with their fancy Iphones and tabs and all that.

First people used internet, then they 'went into' internet, now they 'are in' the internet. I just had a talk about how people describe the using of the blingy tech toys, I think its pretty telling that people say they're IN the net, not just using it.

miacat wrote:
This is the entire psychology of advertising - to turn people's "wants" into "needs". We need food, water, clothes, shelter; thereafter, anything else is a want. But, thanks to advertising, people NEED moisturiser, jewellery, cars, and modern technologies.

Hexhammer wrote:
You make a fair point Hex but when i think of addictions like Heroin, Alcohol, Cigarettes which cause withdraw it's not comparable.

Cell phones are more of a luxury than addiction.

Personally I don't use cell-phones anymore, and have no addictions to them.

Here in Chile, people are addicted like crazy to cell-phones, just the old Fixed phone is enough for me.
The addictions to internet is big , don't need anymore.

.......... wrote:
I don't think you're seeing the reality here - smartphones have undoubtedly become addictive and a must have in the Western world as evidenced by research and in-depth surveys. I don't know why you brought up third world countries because it's not about fairness but existing ownership and addiction.

What is so addictive about a smartphone? People are glued to them - have you not noticed? There's the internet, shopping, email, twitter, facebook, youtube, messaging, games, gambling... Sorry but I think you must be out of touch to ask such a question!

miacat wrote:
I totally understand what your saying, but my point is that's just how advancement in technology works.

Same could be said about video games, TV, computers ect, there is no turning back now it's what the people wan't.

If people really want to ride a bike, walk a nature trail or play sports they won't let a cell phone stop them.