The prevailing point of view at this time is that the effect of Ssmart phones on the human beings using them is behavioral. Whereas I am suggesting it is biomechanical, and may quite possibly be spiritual.
They say the hardest part of solving a problem is admitting that you have one. So I think the stories below are cheering in that they show a dim, but very real awakening is going on.
In 2011, there was an estimate of zero to 26% of adolescents and college students becoming addicted to the internet. Today, in 2017, 73% of teenagers have their own cell phone and 50% of those teens believe they are addicted to their phones.
So the phenomenon is increasing in intensity – has doubled in six years.
Wiki: “Nationally, 31%% of all drivers involved in fatal accidents during 2013 are known to have been intoxicated.”
That’s really bad, right? One should never, every drink and drive. Then how about this:
“26% of car accidents are caused by phone usage.” No outcry. Not a peep! WTF?
The whole self-driving car thing is a book-thickness sidebar, but I mention it here because it’s coming online as a rolling rescue cradle for the Ssmart phone addict.
But they say the hardest part of solving a problem is realizing that you have one. And this subject is starting to be discussed:
“I’ve been trying to sleep with the phone charging in the bathroom rather than beside my bed. I can still hear it ping during the night though and I can’t stand it…I can’t wait because I’m addicted.”
The same gal goes on to say “I like to tell myself that phone addiction isn’t so bad. After all, the only reason I want it near me all the time is because it’s my connection to the world, to the people in my world. Except that’s not really true. My phone inhibits relationships far more than it enables them. It creates a reality where my mind is always on the people not present, rather than the ones who are.”
It brings to mind the girl who killed herself after announcing to her nine-hundred-plus Facebook friends “I’m going to kill myself.” And not one of them did anything.
In my most recent “Positive Changes” post I noted how Millenials are figuring out “buy right, or buy twice” - spending more for appliances that are of higher quality, last longer. These are the same Millenials who are drinking less, smoking less, using drugs less, killing other people less, and, now, “Generation X More Addicted to Social Media Than Millennials, Report Finds.”
Funny, they couldn’t managed to phrase it “Millenials less addicted than Gen X”. Because positive spin isn’t something they do, ever.
The youth, who are The Future, seem to be getting with it, getting up and past this stuff. The difference in social media consumption was 6 hours and 19 minutes per day for Millenials, vs. 6 hours and 58 minutes for Gen X.
The author of that article provided the numbers, but carefully omitted printing the percentage, as doing so would be more impactful, so I had to do the math. It’s 11% less.
If the issue here is physical, and dose-dependent, then that 11% may be a very big deal. “I drank 11% less whisky last week.” If one has a drinking problem, that’s how one gets off the sauce.
It’s a moving needle, and I’m watching it.
Even this horrible game is going in the right direction.
December 1, 2016 – Some Crazy Statistics About Cell Phone Addiction
– People check their phones, on average, 110 times a day.
– 61% of people sleep with their phone next to their bed or under their pillows.
– 26% of car accidents are caused by phone usage.
– 50% of teens admit to being addicted to their phones.
January 12, 2017 – How phones ruin relationships: The dopamine rush we all crave
At brunch with girlfriends, my phone sits on the table rather than in my handbag. It is face down and set on silent; it’s a pathetic attempt to be ‘polite’. When I get up from the living room floor where I’ve been playing with my son, I take the phone with me to the kitchen. Why exactly, I’m not quite sure. I might need it, I reason to myself.
I’ve been trying to sleep with the phone charging in the bathroom rather than beside my bed. I can still hear it ping during the night though and I can’t stand it. Can’t stand to lie in bed knowing there is some stimulation, some new information, some interaction there that I haven’t accessed yet.
I can’t wait because I’m addicted.
I probably pay more attention to my phone than I do to my husband most days. Don’t feel too sorry for him though because he pays more attention to his phone than he does me. Such is the stuff of love in 2017.
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I like to tell myself that phone addiction isn’t so bad. After all, the only reason I want it near me all the time is because it’s my connection to the world, to the people in my world.
Except that’s not really true. My phone inhibits relationships far more than it enables them. It creates a reality where my mind is always on the people not present, rather than the ones who are.
January 13, 2017 – America's Smartphone Addiction Is Now An Epidemic – Forbes
January 27, 2017 – Generation X More Addicted to Social Media Than Millennials, Report Finds
January 30, 2017 - Middle-of-the-night phone addiction rising, reports show
A recent report by Deloitte shows that one in three adults check their smartphones in the middle of the night. The report also gives insight into the nocturnal use of smartphones.
"Two-thirds of smartphone owners do not check their phones at night; but of those who do, a third check for messages and a sixth reply to them. Just over a quarter checks for social media updates or personal email, affecting sleep quality," says the Deloitte report.
February 24, 2017 – Cell Phone Addiction Becoming a Serious Problem In High School
73% of teenagers have their own cell phone and 50% of those teens believe they are addicted to their phones. An even larger number of parents believe their teens are addicted with a surprising 59%. In 2011, there was an estimate of zero to 26% of adolescents and college students becoming addicted to the internet.