Cellphone Addiction

Ramana suggested this week's topic -Cellphone Addiction. Merriam Webster (online) describes addiction as a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence : the state of being addicted.The question, then, is does cellphone use fall into these categories and the answer is a resounding yes. I'd say that when family members inside the same  house text each other or call each other rather than take a few steps and meet face to face their cellphone use has reached addiction levels.

There is a terrific article on smartphone addiction on PsychGuides.com I urge you to read here. 
 

Could cellphone addiction be changing your brain? CNN seems to think so CNN

Addictions.com says "Cell phone addiction is a psychological dependence on the use of a cell phone. This addiction type shares many of the same traits as a behavioral addiction like compulsive gambling but is considered an impulse disorder. Those who suffer from cell phone addiction tend to pay an excessive amount of attention to their phones and are unable to control urges to use."

 My daughter is addicted to her smart phone - in fact before cellphones she was addicted to our regular phone.  One ring would get her moving faster than I thought humanly possible to answer the darn thing. She would spend hours talking on it - sadly that behavior extended eventually to certain chemicals as she truly has an addictive personality.

Me? no - I am not addicted. I have a bad habit of not carrying my phone with me and I almost never check voicemail. I relish the point at which the mailbox gets full and no more messages can be left. Cell phone addiction is a psychological dependence on the use of a cell phone. This addiction type shares many of the same traits as a behavioral addiction like compulsive gambling but is considered an impulse disorder. Those who suffer from cell phone addiction tend to pay an excessive amount of attention to their phones and are unable to control urges to use. My blogging partner, Ramana, is trying to get me to use What's App. He can attest to the fact that I have  yet to respond successfully to one of his messages - guess I need to delete and reinstall the dang program.  And no - I am not suggesting Ramana is addicted to his cellphone LOL.


Hawkeye news.net says  "Cell phone addiction is a psychological dependence on the use of a cell phone. This addiction type shares many of the same traits as a behavioral addiction like compulsive gambling but is considered an impulse disorder. Those who suffer from cell phone addiction tend to pay an excessive amount of attention to their phones and are unable to control urges to use. Their article, which can be found here ends with some common sense -
Cellphone addiction is no laughing matter and could often lead to many problems. Sure, there are good ways to utilize them, but it is important not to get carried away. While it seems society has plunged itself deep into the void of technological dependency, we still have the opportunity and the responsibility to end this epidemic before it’s too late."

Hmmm - do ya think 45 is addicted to his cellphone or is his a Twitter addiction. 

So what does the future hold in the battle for humanity being waged by cellphones? I honestly doubt things will get much better/worse - depending on your viewpoint. Until the next great communication technology arrives I expect cellphones to be the order of the day. Do I expect society to collapse (assuming it has not already done so)? Nope - but we should all be aware of the ways in which cellphone use can be abused and prevent that from happening. It is somehow ironic when you consider some of te most paranoid folks on the planet embrace technology that can so readily be used to keep track of us.


I'll close this tome with this brief Ted Talk - out of the mouths of babes.

See ya next week for another 2-on-1 blog.