Smartphone Addiction As Bad As Drug Abuse, Claim Researchers
Smartphones have become inseparable parts of our lives and we depend on them for mostly everything ranging from our daily communications to our daily feed of news and entertainment. Several studies have pointed out the perils ofgetting overly dependent on smartphonesincluding risks such as loneliness andmental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and a new study echoes these findings with an alarming warning.
The research conducted at the San Francisco State Universitycompares smartphone addiction to substance abuse. The team linkedsmartphone dependency to opiod addiction– including pharmaceutical drugs like Oxytocin – or other pain-relieving controlled substances. Using 135 students as subjects for the study, researchers discovered that those who used their smartphones the most were at a higher risk feeling lonely,isolated, depressed or anxious.
The study, which was published in the science journal NeuroRegulation, notes that the feeling ofisolation is partly because smartphones have replaced interpersonal communicationto a great extent. This prohibits users from effectively using body language and other forms of expression in conversations, leading to a feeling of dissatisfaction.
As a result of constantly texting, researchers claimedusers are “semi-tasking” and not as engaged in conversationsas they would be when talking to others in person. The scientists largely blamed apps with push notifications, saying such alertstrigger those neural pathways thatare associated with fight-or-flight situations in our brain.
Researchersurged users to take controlof their smartphone lives, and the first step involves addressing the fact thatapps and game makers are manipulating this feeling in our minds to boost profits. The group recommends users check smartphones or respond to notifications only at specific times during the day, which should stop them fromdistracting youfrom your daily tasks.
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