Technology Addiction Essay

‘So you bought that new iPhone...you’ll be pulling you phone out and using it some 80 times a day, according to data that Apple collects”. Nicholas Carr tells us this to demonstrate how obsessed people are with their phones. Carr does this throughout his whole essay by using statistics, studies, and strong diction which in turn also explains how a person can become very dependent on their smartphone to the point of addiction

Technology separates people because it nurtures addictions. For example, in her CNN article, Sandee LaMotte says that the overuse of cell phones has made people addicted to them, and as a result, has negatively affected people’s relationships with friends and family. Specifically, she says that people can get ‘nomophobia’ characterized by anxiety when they don’t have their phone on them. This can cause depression, which in turn distracts people, and affects relationships, because no one wants to have face-to-face conversations. LaMotte quotes Caglar Yildirim, who created a scale to test addiction ‘ “[Overuse of phones] might negatively affect your social life and relationships with friends and family," [...] those who score high on the test tend to avoid face-to-face interactions, have high levels of social anxiety and maybe even depression” ’ LaMotte believes that addiction to phones can reduce physical time with other people, to an extent at which it can harm relationships, and slowly tear people apart. In another example, in her 2011 social media article, Deborah Mackey that addiction to phones and social media can limit the amount of time people spend with each other. Mackey states that a large percent of people use their phones while with friends or family, and many even use their phones at meal times.

The author uses technology based addiction first hand from other users, About technology addiction. They find that multiple people have blackberry or cellphone addictions. The author proceeds to give solutions to help break the addiction one might be struggling with, This article can be found via google search or WebMd search.

Many teens understand that there is a problem with the way that we are obsessed with technology. There was a study that showed that 52% of teeagers felt like they overused their phone. Another survey found that 72% of adolescents felt the need to immediately respond to a text or to social media. Wallace breaks her article down into sections, in those sections she discusses how kids are turning into zombies, and how parents are also starting to have a problem with their addictions to electronics as well. I have seen many kids walking down the hallway with their heads down staring at their phones, I have even joined them in doing so. There are many people, so of which are in our school, that are extremely addicted to their phones. Though I believe

Internet and smartphone addiction is increasingly serious nowadays. We can see that most people are using, or just scrolling their smartphones everywhere, in the restaurant, in the street, or even at home. The main cause of the problem is that people are too addicted to their phones, it leads many personal, family and social problems. Google Hong Kong had done a survey, it is about how Hong Kong users use the Internet on their smartphones. It is written that “82% access the Internet every day on their smartphone and most never leave home without it.” (Google, 2013, p.2) This statistic shows the fact that these smartphone users are too dependent on their cellphones, wherever they are and whenever it is.

A bus driver, who was responsible for transportation of children from school to home, pulled out his phone and began texting. Soon after, the driver swerved the school bus and entered into another lane crashing into another bus and toppled over, killing two children and one adult (Murdock). Phone addiction is a new addiction associated with the use of cell phones and using it for many hours. In recent times, the falling prices of mobile phones have led to the affordability of the devices with more people owning a mobile phone, especially smartphones. Studies continue to establish whether phone addiction affects people, how it affects them and the different ways it affects different genders and ages.

The majority of citizens today have access to a smartphone, and a large portion of a person’s time is spent on social media, research, and many other tasks. The smartphones we utilize in everyday life offer many benefits, and it is also an activity that the brain enjoys. This is due to dopamine, a chemical that is produced by the brain. This fosters an individual to further indulge in an activity. In extreme cases consequently, this can cause an addiction, which triggers an individual to be incapable of discontinuing their obsession. As a result, smartphone addiction has developed into a serious issue, especially in teenagers. Jean M. Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University and journalist on The Atlantic, shows concern when surveying her undergraduate students. As stated by Twenge, many students possessed the mindset of an addict in regards to using their phone in bed: “I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t help it”. Smartphones have altered the United States in many positive aspects; however, there are many adverse effects that it can have on a teenager’s lifestyle.

Mobile phones are a great boon for the modern generation. But an interesting phobia, which is quite new has started making rounds. This phobia is called Nomophobia which is the fear of being without your mobile phone. It can be said as the “paradox of technology”.

With Smartphones constantly evolving with a new feature available with each new model, it is hard to fully understand not only how the individual is going to react but society as a whole. Giving a device with the computing skills of a mini-supercomputer the allowance to do all of your planning and organizing seems blissful. This technology has surpassed its-self time and time again making it highly versatile in today’s ever changing world. It has become more of a necessity in most people’s eyes, and this pho-importance that has been placed on it has shown to have some aversive effects. These effects we are seeing are from long term usage and a developed dependency of the device. Looking at how smartphone technology may play an important role for the short term without fully understanding long term effects. Smartphones, yet useful in some situations, have proven to have sever side-affects, such as anxiety development, and how we interact socially with others.

When people wake up the first thing they check on is their cellphone and it is also probably the last thing they see before they fall asleep. It has even seemed that the smartphone is controlling humans today. In the research paper, “Are mobile phones the 21st century addiction?” The authors assess the various kinds of behavior based on cellphones, and argues that smartphone use could possibly be the biggest non drug addiction now a day. Because a smartphone provides so many things instantly on demand, it is clearly an amazing piece of technology. But the devices themselves are not the problem it is what they do to their users and the addictive features and applications that are the problem and how it impacts the concentration levels, social skill and anxiety because of the dependency they have on the

Innovation has allowed cell phones to become more entertaining and useful for everyone. Social media, tools, camera, map, and games are only a few features of today’s cell phones that have pulled users in for countless of hours of screen time. A study conducted at the University of Valencia concluded that “the main problem is related, precisely, with the impressive growth of technological functions and applications of the mobile.” (Chóliz). But without these things, individuals experience withdrawal because they are no longer used to living without it. This can mean physical distress, panic, confusion and even feelings of isolation just after an hour or so without a cell phone. It almost feels as if the phone is a necessity to live; people suffer from withdrawals.

As humans we are social creatures who thirst for interaction with others. With the creation of the cell phone, being able to do this has become incredibly easy. Unlike in the past, where one had to venture out of their home to communicate with others, today, it is as simple as the press of a button. More importantly, this results in quick fulfillment -- the ability to send a text and receive a reply in mere seconds provides people with instant gratification. Dr. Susan Weinschenk describes the process as a “dopamine induced loop [where] dopamine starts you seeking, then you get rewarded for the seeking which makes you seek more” (Firestone, 2017). With the constant update of having something new appear on the cellphone screen, there is an increased desire to review the contents of the notification. As a result, it is truly an ordeal to continually check and look through the phone until all notifications are cleared. The mobile device can be seen as the primary method of communication for people today, especially in adolescents. So much so that new pathologies are emerging such as “Nomophobia (No-Mobile Phobia and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) - the fear of missing out and disconnected [off] the Internet” (De-Sola Gutiérrez, Rodríguez de Fonseca & Rubio, 2016). These conditions exemplify the necessity of phones throughout the course of the day and how integrated they are in society’s daily life. Ultimately, it stems from the ease of access where news and connection to friends is instantaneous and readily accessible. Although refraining from checking the phone is difficult, there are methods that can be utilized to help. For example, using an application to

What used to be newspapers, magazines, radios, and home computers can all be found in today’s modern mobile devices. These mobile devices vary from smartphones to tablets and even laptops. People are connected to the world no matter where they are, that is as long as they have signal on their devices. By just pressing a few buttons, one can have all of the top news stories from that day or even be “facetiming” someone all the way across the world. These are great progressions in creating a more connected world, but what effects is it having further below the surface? People may be forming an addiction to their phones and not even know it. Addiction to their cellphone and social media, laziness, lack of face-to-face sociability, detrimental effects on sleep and health problems, distracted driving, cyberbullying, and effects on family relationships and friendships are things phones may be negatively effecting everyday lives.

Billieux, Maurage, Lopez-Fernandez, Kuss, & Griffiths (2015) state that “Despite accumulating evidence that mobile phone use can become problematic and lead to negative consequences, its precise incidence, prevalence, and symptomatology remain a matter of much debate.”  These researchers use the term “Problematic Mobile Phone Use” or PMPU.  They state that, although many scholars believe that PMPU is a behavioral addiction, evidence is still lacking that either confirms or rejects this claim.

Amid the most recent decade, smartphones have picked up fame everywhere throughout the world. In July of 2013, more than 50 % of portable supporters in the US and more than 65 % of versatile endorsers in South Korea were utilizing cell phones, and the rate continues expanding. Mobile phones can now have internet access and many users can now download any apps they want in the application store. Yet, that is why many people would view mobile phones as handheld PCs instead of customary phones [1]. In spite of mobile phones given colossal comfort to our lives, neurotic utilization of mobile phones has made another emotional well-being worry among the group [2–4]. Conduct addictions, including phone compulsion, are frequently hard to characterize since they are connected to physical, as well as psychological and social aspects [5–7]. The authors characterize cell phone fixation as the exorbitant utilization of smartphones that meddles with the day by day lives of the clients. Moreover, it has different clinical components, for example, resilience, withdrawal manifestations, remarkable quality, mind-set change, longing for, loss of control, and so forth. Smartphone compulsion is another conduct enslavement, more research information is still required [6]. Overall, it is pervasive around the world, and it is making concern in the general public. The strength of this source is the different types of apps that many people use that is consider smartphone addiction. The authors