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Texting addiction
can lead to
physical and
emotional disarray
By: Kristin Medina
ENG 101
Introduction
Smartphone use is becoming global.
According to recent statistics, over one
billion people worldwide own at least one of
these devices and they use them for a wide
number of tasks, from placing a phone call
to checking email, surfing the web, and
listening to music. These technologies have
been adopted at a rate faster than any other
in history and the web currently accesses
more Internet usage from smartphones than
any other type of device. The iPhone and
similar smartphones have been described as
addictive technologies.
Some argue that mobile phone usage
is rewarding and, like any other rewarded
behavior, the habit to mobile phones is quite
dominant, but not problematic. Other
researchers suggest that mobile phone
compulsion is problematic and the use and
abuse of the technologies can be harmful.
Yet, there are noted problems with
the accuracy of self-reports in general and
with recalling behaviors associated with
smartphone usage in particular. Such an
understanding can be helpful for assessing
the thoroughness of smartphone addiction
and providing a more precise assessment of
the specific aspects of smartphones that can
be particularly addictive.
Expert Opinions
A smartphone or handheld device
(HHD) combines advanced skill, such as
internet communication, information
retrieval, video, and other features, that
make device highly popular among people.
According to Pew research center, the
number of smartphone owners covers 56%
of American adults in 2013 and their
average daily use of the device is about 195
minutes. The number of cellphone users
increases every year. Various studies show
the connection between cell phone usage
and physical state of the users health. Some

studies report that users complain about a
headache, hand tremor and finger
discomfort. In his research, Berolo noted
that mobile hand-held device users complain
of discomfort at least on one area of upper
extremities, back or neck. Long-term usage
of the device leads to additional tension on
tendons, muscles, and parametric tissue,
which could result in visual display terminal
(VDT) syndrome. In the similar studies on
working with desktop, the scientists
recommend regular rest periods, stretching,
and exercises
Deepak Sharan, Mathankumar
Mohandoss, Rameshkumar Ranganathan and
Jeena Jose conducted research on the
extensive usage of handheld devices and their
impact on musculoskeletal disorder. In their
work the scientists acknowledged that
prolonged use of cell phone is known to
cause symptoms of musculoskeletal disorder
keeping this into consideration, more studies
should be done in the future to create
awareness among cellphone user regarding
the seriousness of this matter.
The problems associated with the
HHD usage are becoming more frequent. For
example, "texter's thumb" (aka "Blackberry
thumb") develops as a result of using the
thumbs for sending text messages. It is a form
of deQuervain's tendinitis. "Texter's neck" is
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the term used to describe neck pain that
results from prolonged poor posture while
using a smartphone.
Methods
This data was collected over a week
period. 26 people participated in a survey
assessing the characteristics indicators of
smartphone use and addiction. I designed a
survey that I posted on Facebook containing
10 questions which were multiple choices
and an open-ended question. This survey
was open to anyone who occupied devices.
The purpose for this was to collect responses
from device users in order to see how
addicted they are to their devices. Twenty
(76%) of the participants were between the
ages of 18-35, while six (24%) were 36 and
up.
Results
Twenty-Six participated in the
survey. The survey consisted of 10 questions
which were conducted through Facebook.
One of the questions that were asked was

How many texts do you roughly send a
day?
To determine the amount of texts
that was sent out, this question was asked.
10 participants responded that on a daily say
they tend to send out 0-20. Therefore 12
contributors would send out 21-40 and 4
individuals sends out about 41 and up daily.
When asked Which of the following
best describes your relationship with your
phone? The choices were I can remember
what it was like before cellular phones and I
wish it had stayed that way or I can
remember what it was like before cellular
phones, but I prefer to own one or I cannot
imagine my life without a cellular phone.
Discussion
I found that more than half of our
users self-reported an addiction to their
device to at least some degree. These users
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launched applications on their devices much
more than the other users that reported they
were not addicted. Additionally, their
average usage was two times more than their
peers. At the broadest level, this study
suggests that users, who accessed their
device more and for longer periods of time
are aware of their addictive behavior and, in
general, did not think it was problematic.
Using the Mail application to view a new
message or compose an email is a more
practical use of the application that requires
more time relative to checking of any new
emails that have arrived. It might also be
that the participants could have saved longer
tasks such as composing or reading a long
message for larger format computers (e.g., a
laptop). Specific application usage
discriminated users that perceived
themselves as more addicted to their
smartphones compared to others. To my
surprise, game-playing did not distinguish
addicted users from no addicted users.
Instead, the web, Facebook, SMS, and Mail
were the applications that were used more. It
could be argued that users in this study were
not addicted to these apps at all, but rather
were instead exhibiting a (normal) desire to
stay connected to their friends.

Conclusion
People are becoming more aware of
their own personal habits and behaviors
regarding interaction with their devices, and
some people believe the obsession
surrounding instant and constant
communication will diminish by the time the
parents of this Generation have their own
children. Some people claimed that these
addictive behaviors and habits arise because
they dont want to be disconnected from
their friends and family. They need to have
their cell phones so they are able to respond,
or reach out to people instantly, and
impulsively. Others believe that the use of
technology to communicate has decreased
our ability to communicate with one another
in person. As one survey participant put it,
I think people often forget how to interact
face-to-face because we use technology as a
crutch to avoid true interaction. All it takes
to see the truth behind this is observe
families and friends at a restaurant. Try to
find one group of the targeted individuals
who can go the entire duration of their meal
without reaching for their cell phone. People
also tend to feel much more comfortable
behind the screen of a cell phone than in the
presence of another person. This is where
people lose the ability to face difficult issues
and have vocal confrontations with one
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another. Scientific studies and surveys have
shown that there are negative psychological
effects related to cell phone addiction. Many
young adults need validation that they are
pretty or popular, and they use social media,
accessed through most cell phones to
achieve this self-gratification. Many
individuals feel a heightened level of stress
and anxiety when they are with their phones,
because they are so used to constantly
having instant access to communication;
others feel free without them because it
gives them a chance to disconnect and think
their own thoughts without interruption.
Overall, it is clear that many members of
this Generation are aware of addictive
behaviors they picked up and the additional
negative consequences.
Appendix
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Work Cited
Deepak Sharan, Mathankumar
Mohandoss, Rameshkumar Ranganathan
and Jeena Jose. Musculoskeletal Disorders
of the Upper Extremities Due to Extensive
Usage of Hand Held Devices. BioMed
Central: Annals of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine. Google Scholar-
https://aoemj.biomedcentral.com/articles/1
0.1186/s40557-014-0022-3. 6 August
2014
Goel, Ritu, and Joshua M. Abzug. De
Quervains tenosynovitis: a review of the
rehabilitative options. Hand (New York,
N.Y.), Springer US, Mar. 2015,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
4349843/.
Michaela Cullington. Does Texting Affect
Writing? They Say, I Say. April 18, 2010
10 Pages
Pew research center: Smartphone
Ownership 2013. Retrieved
http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/05/
smartphone-ownership-2013
Shambare R., Rugimbana R., Zhowa T.
Are mobile phones the 21St century
addiction? African Journal of Business
Management. 2012; 62((2)):573577.