Common Sense Media, an organization that studies and rates media and technology for kids and families, has issued a report about the smartphone addiction among teenagers, which has indicated that half of them “feel addicted” to mobile devices.
They conducted a survey that consisted of 1,240 interviews on children between the ages of 12 to 18, along with their parents. The survey revealed that the use of mobile devices is causing increasing levels of tension at homes, with over one-third of families arguing about it on a daily basis.
The generation of Nomophobia
About 59 percent of their parents also think that their children are addicted to smartphones. The alarming sign is that over 25 percent parents also confessed that they can’t live without checking updates on their smartphones. When a quarter of parents are not able to control their own smartphone addiction, how can they effectively stop their children from over-usage of smartphones?
Other key findings include the fact that 72 percent of teenagers and 48 percent of parents feel the need to immediately respond to texts, social-networking messages, and other notifications while 69 percent of parents and 78 percent of teens check their devices at least hourly.
James Steyer, who is the founder and chief executive of Common Sense Media, stated that Digital devices have completely transformed people’s lives. They are changing everything from parent-child relationships to human interaction, to our ability to focus on the task at hand, and particularly for young people who are growing up as digital natives.
Concerns also go for public health issues that include anxiety, trembling, disorientation and, at the worst, tachycardia. On the emotional symptoms, there are depression, panic, fear, also dependence and the feeling of loneliness. It seems that people have become completely dependable on their phones and social media.
Acceptance of the problem
As a true sign that both parents and teens recognize this is a problem, about half of parents and one-third of teens surveyed said they very often or even occasionally they try to cut down on the amount of time they spend on their devices, and about 52 percent of teens said they agree that they spend too much time on their mobile devices. Adding to this, Common Sense also found that teens in the U.S. spend an average of nine hours daily on media.
Source: Common Sense Media