The Smartphone Junky

Scientists are now saying 60% of teenagers describe themselves as highly addicted to their Smartphone. 47% ( and 22% adults ) admitted to using their device in the toilet. 51% adults and 65% teens says they use their Smartphone while socializing with people standing right next to them.  Work employers around the country are prohibiting their employees from even carrying their phones on them while on the clock, stating that work productivity has suffered greatly due to these devices.  Why are these device so addictive. Psychologists say they are addictive because they are “psychoactive” they alter your mood and often trigger enjoyable feelings.  Sound familiar, most drug addicts I think would describe their drugs with the very same words.  Emails, and status updates in particular give us satisfaction due to what psychologists call “variable ratio reinforcement”. which can be described much like gambling, we don’t know when we will get a satisfying email or update so we keep checking over and over. We are looking for the ever elusive winner and unable to walk away or at least put it down.  A good test to see if you have formed a dependency is to pull your battery from your phone, and count how many times in a day you reach for your phone. Also make a mental note of how you feel when you realize you can’t use your device.  If you are feeling anxious, irritated, or depressed, these are classic symptoms of  addiction.