The rapid development in mobile phone technology in the past two decades has revolutionized how people communicate and interact over distances. In the past decade, the advancement of smartphones has increased the use of mobile phones beyond just voice calls, text messages, and simple applications. There has been increased development of applications that enhance entertainment and other interactive platforms. These applications include social networks, video streaming, and interactive games. As a result of this advancement in smartphone technology, mobile phone addiction has affected many people, especially teenagers and adolescents, who spend a considerable chunk of their time on their smartphones. The additional has adverse effects, including mental health that is covered in this paper.
Brief Description
The increased use of smartphones globally has brought about addictive behaviors. Smartphone addiction is one of the significant technological addictions that involve human-machine interactions. The current trends in smartphone addiction are comparable to gambling addiction. However, smartphone addictions vary from one individual to another. This changes from time spent on the smartphone to the level of concentration. According to Yu-Hsuan et al. (2016) , behavioral outcomes are also different from one individual to another. Then again, smartphone addition is connected with substance addiction and other behavioral addictions.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Causes of Smartphone Addiction
The major cause of mobile phone addition is increased depression and loneliness that forces people to turn to their phones. Conversely, excessive usage of social media could lead to anxiety and depression, which in turn increases mobile phone addition. As explained by Choi et al. (2015), increasing stress is also considered a significant cause of mobile phone addition. With the many responsibilities of the twenty-first century, people are experiencing pressure at school or at work that causes stress. Moreover, the pressure fuels anxiety that is associated with mobile phone addition.
The fear of missing out is a significant cause of smartphone addition. Many addicts developed their addiction since they did not want to miss out on what their peers who following over the Internet. Jeong (2016) indicates that t he emergence of many interactivity platforms such as social media has overloaded addicts' smartphones since they want to be on almost every platform. For this reason, people find themselves trying to follow-up on everything happening in these platforms hence spending a lot of time online that leads to addiction.
Signs and Symptoms of Smartphone Addiction
The main indication of mobile phone addiction is the need to use smartphones over and over since it provides a certain kind of satisfaction and fulfills one's desire. Such an increased need to use mobile phones extends to persistence to use smartphones anywhere and anytime. This is evident in teenagers who will even try to multitask so that they do not miss out on using their smartphone for a moment ( Bozoglan, 2019) . Some may even stop on roadsides for many minutes without taking their eyes off the smartphones since they are busy trying not to miss out on something, maybe live video or group chats.
Smartphone addiction can be portrayed when one turns to the phone when they are unhappy or unimpressed with a particular situation. Bozoglan (2019) indicates that addicts use the mobile phone as a means of reducing anxiety or depression. With increased pressure as one grows up and gets more responsibilities, mobile phone addicts lose the sense of time. In that situation, the addicts spend their time on mobile phones without being concerned with time. It could lead to a lack of sleep primarily when mobile phones are used when one is on the bed.
Effects of Smartphone Addiction on Mental Health
Worsening attention deficit disorders is significant effect of mobile phone addiction. The constant flow of messages and notifications on smartphones can distract people from concentrating on one thing, thus making them stuck on the screens of their phones for many hours. Excessive use of smartphones will thus diminish a person's ability to concentrate and figure things out creatively. Neherta et al. (2018) state that t his limits the development of one's mental health in the long run.
What is more, the lack of enough sleep due to the usage of smartphones for many hours can have severe effects on overall mental health. Mobile addition could also increase narcissism, making people spend too much time taking phones or videos of themselves. This could prevent mobile phone addicts from broadening their thinking.
Smartphone addiction is associated with people becoming socially-disabled in terms of face-to-face interactions. Such a way of life makes mental development limited for teenagers who find themselves unable to get involved in face-to-face communication. For many adolescents and teenagers, the inability to connect with parents could make their mental growth limited ( Neherta et al., 2018) . As a result, they may develop a conflicting relationship with their parents. Such conflicts may cause a depression that is associated with suicide.
Self-help Recovery Tips for Smartphone Addiction
The first approach to deal with mobile phone addiction is to look for triggers that attract one to use mobile phones. According to Moon (2017) , the triggers could be anxiety, depression, stress, or as a form of self-soothing. After understanding the triggers, they can find alternatives to deal with these issues that trigger their desire to turn to their mobile phones. For problems such as depression, there is the need to get professional help, especially for those experiencing elevated levels of depression and anxiety.
Another strategy to deal with smartphone addiction includes recognizing and understanding the difference between online and in-person interaction. After understanding the difference between the two, one can be able to strike a balance between the two. If the online communication surpasses the in-person interaction, there is the need to replace most of the online interactions with in-person interactive activities ( Bozoglan, 2019) .
References
Bozoglan, B. (2019). Multifaceted approach to digital addiction and its treatment . Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Choi, S. W., Kim, D. J., Choi, J. S., Ahn, H., Choi, E. J., Song, W. Y., Kim, S., ... Youn, H. (January 01, 2015). Comparison of risk and protective factors associated with smartphone addiction and Internet addiction. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4, 4, 308-14.
Jeong, G.-C. (April 28, 2016). Relationships among Mental Health, Internet Addiction, and Smartphone Addiction in University Students. The Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 16, 4, 655-665.
Moon, T. J. (2017). The process of supportive communication and its therapeutic benefits in a smartphone-based addiction treatment group . Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin.
Neherta, Meri, Valencya, Trivini, & Hernanda, Yoshi. (2018). The Relationship of Smartphone Addiction with Teenagers Mental Health in Vocational High School Padang Indonesia 2017 . RK Sharma- Institud of Medico Legal Publications.
Yu-Hsuan, L., Chih-Lin, C., Po-Hsien, L., Li-Ren, C., Chih-Hung, K., Yang-Han, L., & Sheng-Hsuan, L. (November 15, 2016). Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Smartphone Addiction. Plos One, 11, 11.)
