Mobiles as Addictive as Drugs/Gambling

September 14, 2006 - source: BWCS

One in six school children and students in the UK are addicts, claims a new study. However, the teenagers are not hooked on drink, drugs or smoking, but rather they are addicted to their mobile phones. While this may be good news for the industry as whole, it raises important psychological questions about our relationships with the pocket sized terminals.

The study argues that mobile use among youngsters has become as addictive as cigarettes or gambling. According to Psychologist Dr David Sheffield, who carried out two studies into mobile phone use and stress, 13% of those questioned grew irritable if their phone was taken away.

In results which showed that some teenagers had a lot in common with pathological gamblers, 14% admitted that they lied about how much they actually used their phones. The most shocking finding, perhaps, was that 7% of those interviewed claimed they would rather give up their job than their mobile phone.

Commenting on the emotional and psychological effect that mobile use can have on youngster, Dr Sheffield of Staffordshire University said "Getting calls can make you feel better. No calls can make you feel down or less important."