How Obsessed Are You with Your Smartphones?

I am always interested with technological addiction issue. Thought I would like to share with you all an interesting study conducted by Lookout with 2,097 adults, age 18 and older within the U.S in 2012. It supported the notion that people are getting more obsessed with their smartphones and combining their daily routines with technology-based tasks: 40% check their phones while on the toilet, 30% during a meal with others and 24% while driving.

Source: Screen-captured from Lookout's Mobile Mindset Study, 2012

Check their full findings here:

Lookout’s Mobile Mindset Study, 2012

My questions are: How obsessed are you with your smartphones? What's the worst 'sin' have you ever committed when it comes to multitasking with your smartphones? 

Me? Hhhmm, I did texting while I am driving and during class. Apparently that's common particularly if compared with shocking findings from the 2013 Mobile Consumer Habits study conducted by Harris Interactive for mobile company Jumio, which I found in Time article in July 2013: 9% of Americans claim to have actual sex while texting. 

Social Media Addiction? Is it Real?

Source: http://www.lousycv.com/10-confessions-of-a-recovering-social-media-addict/

I remember I mentioned this during our webinar. I will share the findings from my experiment in my other post. Right now, I would like to share some notes about this as an introduction.

The term “technology addiction” was introduced to refer to excessive use and poorly controlled urges or behaviors related to internet and computer use (Shaw & Black, 2008) that could impair users’ psychological well-being, academic performance, occupational responsibilities and social interactions (Beard, 2005). Moreover, internet addiction has been legitimated as a clinical disorder that often requires professional treatment, which explains the increasing number of hospitals and clinics providing services and rehabilitation centers (Young, 2007). According to Young and de Abreau (2010), technology addicts have psychological dependency on computer/internet and would experience withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and irritability, if they are not connected.

My question is: Are you addicted?

Try to answer below questions (I am taking this from BergenFacebook Addiction Scale (BFAS), developed by Andreassen, Torsheim, Brunborg, and Palessen, April 2012):

How often during the last year have you…

1. Spent a lot of time thinking about Facebook or planned use of Facebook?
2. Felt an urge to use Facebook more and more?
3. Used Facebook in order to forget about personal problems?
4.  Tried to cut down on the use of Facebook without success?
5. Become restless or troubled if you have been prohibited from using Facebook?
6. Used Facebook so much that it has had a negative impact on your job/studies?

Answer this by using 1: Very rarely, 2: Rarely, 3: Sometimes, 4: Often, 5: Very often. Try to total your answer, if you score more than 18, then maybe you have to start asking yourself THE question: Am I an addict?

References:

Beard, K. W. (2005). Internet addiction: a review of current assessment techniques and potential assessment questions. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(1), 7-14.

Shaw, M. and Black, D.W. (2008). Internet Addiction: definition, assessment, epidemiology and clinical management. CNS Drugs, 22 (5), 353 – 65.

Young, K. S., & de Abreu, C. N. (Eds.). (2010). Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. John Wiley & Sons.

Young, K. S. (2007). Cognitive behavior therapy with Internet addicts: treatment outcomes and implications. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 10(5), 671-679.