We live in a world where we are led to believe that we cannot live without our mobile phones. Though I have to question, am I really LIVING LIFE with it?
The average person spends between 1 and 4 hours a day on the mobile phone, around a quarter of their waking life can be spent tapping away, some people spend much more time than that average. It can amount to a colossal 11 years of our lives - that's over a decade - it is more time than we spend doing any other activity.
Researchers have recognised our behaviour when the device is taken from us, undeniable withdrawal sets in, and this fear of being without our mobile phone has now been given a name: "nomophobia" - short for "no mobile phobia". How did you feel when your phone last got left somewhere? Lost? Or broken? When the battery ran out unexpectedly? Was it inconvenient? Did it affect your mood? Did you take it out on others?
We will all have full justification of why we absolutely NEED our mobile phones with us throughout the day. The justification could be things like the necessity to check email, (Are there no time boundaries around email and working hours any more?), the need to keep up to the minute on social media, trawling others activity and posting miniscule victories throughout the day (Is it not better to meet friends face to face and talk about life, seeing and sharing real emotions together not emojis). Every possible justification is being used for hanging onto the phone, and using it instead of doing REAL LIFE, but no justifications about why we could or should put it down seem to be picking up speed these days.
As a part of human nature, we like to be in control, we believe we have the power to make choice. When you receive a notification buzzing on your phone, do you automatically reach out to see what/who it is? or do you have the will power and choice to abstain? When you are prompted by an email to click a link to continue - even though you have other emails to read and other things on your agenda, do you allow yourself to be diverted and waste/spend time doing something else that was not in your plan?
These are signs of being controlled, not signs of being IN control. We can begin to justify how the mobile is a great assistant, the calendar, the reminders, alarms are all reasons to think that it would help with productivity and manageability.
However, have you ever considered what type of behaviour is unmanageable around the mobile usage? And if you, personally, ever display any of this type of behaviour?
How many people can honestly say they have never touched their phone while driving? Or they haven't missed something a close family member, child or colleague said because they were glued to the screen at some point? Have you ever made yourself late or watched teenagers be late, or seen them divert from homework because they cannot stop watching a show or playing a game? Has your work or your grades suffered?
The mobile phone is undeniably making unmanageability easier.
Here is the first Step in addition programs for Mobile Phone Addicts:
"We admitted that we are powerless over Mobile Phone use and that our lives had become unmanageable."
Armed with the facts and having considered the questions in this post, do YOU believe that mobile phone use can be an addiction?
It makes us powerless and our lives are becoming unmanageable, steals our time, makes us more introvert, takes us away from society and interaction with people, costs us missed opportunity, keeps us up late, affects the way we feel and think, and yet has us absolutely hooked, hour by hour, unable to put it down.
My own conclusion is that Smart Phones are surely cause for concern and have potential to cause serious addiction. My battle tactics against this becoming a problem, is to have some digital detox time.
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