Addiction

Numerous surveys have shown that kids think it is adults who are more addicted to their phones and other digital technology and they may be right. American adults will invest an average of 12 hours and 1 minute every day consuming major media this year. According to eMarketer reports, almost half of that daily consumption will be with digital media, nearly four hours with television and nearly an hour and a half with radio, while mobile multitasking is the primary driver of increased media consumption.

Many teens and their parents agree that digital devices are a source of concern, anxiety and conflict, according to a new study from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The study, “The New Normal: Parents, Teens and Digital Devices,” is based on a on a comprehensive survey of 1,200 teens and parents. Conducted in April, it is the first such study of teens and families in Japan, where 90 percent of parents and teens own a smartphone, and the first to compare those insights to existing U.S. data from Common Sense Media on digital media use among families in North America. The study found that most parents of children ages 13-18 felt their teens were addicted to mobile devices, and many parents felt addicted themselves. In both countries, one in three teens thought their parents were addicted to their mobile devices.

In addition, American teens and parents feel that digital devices a greater source of conflict among teens and parents than do those in Japan; in fact, one in three U.S. families reported having an argument every day. More teens in the U.S. also felt that mobile device use has hurt their relationship with their parents, while in Japan, more parents felt their family relationships have been hurt by mobile device use.

According to a study of college students, chemicals in the brain associated with anxiety may be contributing to the increasing amount of time individuals spend on social media. Researchers looked at how often college students check their smartphones, and found that feelings of anxiety emerge from chemicals that are released the longer they go without checking in on social media. Notifications popping up on the screen when messages arrive, and even the small numbers next to an app on the screen, also drive anxiety.

We are living in a time when adults spend an average of three hours a day on their phones, the average work email gets read in six seconds, and forty-six percent of people would prefer to have a broken bone than a broken phone. We are living in a world with technology addiction. A new book by Adam Alter entitled Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked shares ways to survive in the age of behavioral addiction.

One of the things Atler suggests is to think about proximity. If you don’t need your phone by your side, put it somewhere you cannot easily reach it. He also advises to turn off some non-essential notifications. Another tip is to bury those apps that are the most addictive for you to the last screen page. All of these actions can help you control your phone, not the other way around. Interested in more? Take a look at this article on the Time web site.

Just by having your smartphone next to you without even using it could slow down your brain, a recent study suggests. Researchers at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin conducted a study on nearly 800 people, looking at how they performed tasks when their devices were within hands reach. The scientists found that the mere presence of your smartphone, even if it is off, can reduce brainpower. The study could give some insight on why we cannot concentrate at work or school while our smartphones are laying in front of us at our desks, and may urge parents to make sure their children and teens put their phones out of sight when they are working on homework or other projects.