Smartphones are addictive, say experts

Starting in July 2015, all smartphones manufactured by the companies will come with free anti-theft tools preloaded on the devices or ready to be downloaded.

Starting in July 2015, all smartphones manufactured by the companies will come with free anti-theft tools preloaded on the devices or ready to be downloaded.

Published Mar 4, 2015

Share

 

London – Do you feel moody and jealous when someone takes your precious smartphone away? Then you may be addicted to it, according to experts.

An obsession with taking selfies and posting them on social media is another key indication of smartphone addiction, as well as a fixation with physical appearance.

Researchers classified more than one in eight – 13 per cent – ofparticipants as addicts, based on their answers to an online survey. The 256 volunteers spent an average of 3.6 hours glued to their phone, the study by the University of Derby discovered.

The devices can also have a detrimental effect on relationships, as nearly a quarter admitted their smartphones cause communication problems in real life.

Psychology lecturer Dr Zaheer Hussain, who co-authored the research into the connection between smartphone addiction and personality, found that the more you use one, the higher your risk of becoming addicted.

He added that taking selfies and posting them online is a key sign of a problem – as the risk of someone becoming addicted is higher if they are already fixated on their looks.

He said: ‘A significant positive relationship was found between narcissism and addiction to the phones, suggesting that the more narcissistic a person is, the more likely they are to be addicted to their smartphone.

‘There are various smartphone apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Candy Crush, as well as Skype and email that make smartphone use psychologically more attractive and can lead to addiction.’

The study was published in the International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning, and was written by

Claire Pearson and Zaheer Hussain.

Daily Mail

Related Topics: