Centro Boliviano Americano

Cochabamba - Bolivia

Teacher: Carlos Portanda

Students:
1. Aki Camacho.
2. Ariana Montao

Cochabamba - Bolivia

CELL PHONE ADDICTION

Do you constantly check your cell phone for e-mail alerts, news updates, and the weather? If so,
you could be one of the 66 percent of people who suffer from "no mobile phone phobia"
nomophobia the fear of being without a cell or mobile phone, says SecurEnvoy, a UK-based
Internet security and mobile technology firm who conducted the survey. Living in a revolutionizing
digital age where everything is fast, instant and, most importantly, on-the-go, people are
disengaged from having one-on-one face interactions. While Apple applications like FaceTime, and
the program Skype help reinforce personal connections, the unhealthy usage of cell phone devices
continues to escalate. According to the Morningside Recovery Rehabilitation Center, the average
American spends 144 minutes a day using their phone. For those who suffer from nomopohbia,
the fear of being disconnected from the virtual world is heightened when they are restrained from
checking their phone. The lives of cell phone addicts are so contingent on their need to feel
socially connected on their phones that without mobile technology, they begin to express a sense
of vulnerability that can trigger certain moods and behaviors.
"Cellphones are addictive in the same way slot machines are," said Dr. Fran Walfish, child, couple,
and family psychotherapist and author in Beverly Hills, Calif., to Medical Daily. "The immediacy of
response, gratification, and excitation combine to make the user want more and want more now."
This type of addictive behavior can be explained in a situation where a person is dining by
themselves. Despite no sounds or alerts coming from the cellphone, addicts will take out their
phones from their pocket and start to press buttons or scan their phones with their fingers for a
sense of safety and security. While back-and-forth communication through text or e-mail is seen
as a threat to replacing nose-to-nose contact, it is when you are alone with your mobile device
that heightens this addictive behavior. The inability to sit by yourself in a public setting without
reaching for your phone can be a means to cope with loneliness but it can also be detrimental to
your mental health.

Predictors of Technological Addiction

Researchers have indicated that 77 percent of people aged 14 to 24 are nomophobic, compared
to 68 percent of those aged 25 to 34. College students are most susceptible to developing the cell
phone addiction because they are considered to be the heaviest users of information and
technology with an increased usage of smart phones throughout the day. In a study conducted at

Baylor and Seton Hall Universities, researchers evaluated cell phone, instant messaging, and
texting addiction among college students. The average college student sends and receives
approximately 109.5 text messages a day and checks their phone 60 times per day. The results of
the study showed that materialism and impulsiveness are what drove cell phone addiction in these
university students. "Cell phones are a part of our consumer culture," said James Roberts, Ph.D.,
author of the study and professor of marketing at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business. "They are
not just a consumer tool, but are used as a status symbol. They're also eroding our personal
relationships." The preoccupation of social status based on a mobile device and the impulsiveness
that derives from sending and receiving instant messages and texts are strong predictors for cell
phone addiction

Cell Phone Addiction or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Cell phone usage while driving has accounted for 23 percent of car crashes in the U.S., reports
Morningside Recovery. Using a mobile device while in dangerous situations, such as driving, has
been linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) traits rather than addiction, says the
University of Arkansas. Through the use of an online survey website, Moez Limayem, researcher
of the study, professor and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the Sam M.
Walton College of Business and a doctoral student, Zach Steelman collected data from 451 men
and women from various age groups and locations. The researchers examined the potential link
between cell phone usage and OCD behavior. The survey required all respondents to own a cell
phone but it did not limit the sample pool by demographics. To avoid multiple responses,
researchers traced the Internet-provided addresses and e-mail address. Common questions to
identify OCD traits in cell phone users while driving were:
- I answer calls/emails/text messages while driving.
- I make calls and send emails and text messages while driving.
- I browse the Internet while driving.
- I check social network applications while driving.

The participants were also asked how many years they owned a mobile device and how many
hours they spent talking, emailing, and texting. With more than half 57.6 percent of the
participants of this online survey owning a smart phone, researchers found that the fine line
between work and family life has been drawn thin due to accessibility to mobile devices. The
comfort of receiving family-related messages at work and receiving work-related messages at
home has developed an increase in the perceived responsibility that both types of messages are of
greater importance and has as a result increased an excessive compulsion to check the cell phone.
While the OCD explanation of increased usage of cell phones has been linked to a reaction based
on incoming messages, the addiction explanation reinforces that the constant need between a
back-and-forth communication exists in high levels of cell phone usage.

The facts about cell phone addiction

To be addicted as I will define here will be that the action is a recurring compulsion by an
individual to engage in some specific activity. Cell phone addiction as we see now is happening
everywhere. Everyone is using the cell phone as their means of connecting to the world, to play
games, to watch videos, to listen to music and even for some, to use as an alarm clock
And there are common forms of dependencies to human as we know of (as of other addictions):
1. Physical dependency
2. Psychological dependency
Causes includes
1. Genetics
2.

Biological/Pharmacological 3) Social factors

Yet in the case of cell phone addictions, hard facts are recognized as such:
Symptoms are:
1. People feel uncomfortable without their cellphones
2. Cellphones are very important to them (to the point of a need)

3. Need to talk insatiably

4. Cellphone bills stresses them up
5. Start having problems at school and work due to constant usage
6. Interpersonal problems (becomes rowdy and isolated)
7. High levels of insecurity
8.

Endangers health (long periods of exposure to harmful electromagnetic waves and when
driving)

Worst situations:
1. Hallucinations (phantom ringing of the phone, when it is actually not)
2. Extreme anxiety if the phone is taken from them or when there are no coverage in the
area
The harms brought about may be:
1. Young addicts spend so much time that they fail at school and drop out.
2. Turning to crime to pay bills (that run up to thousands)
3. Mental breakdown
4. Death
As commented on SMH.com.au.
"Psychiatrists say mobile phone addiction is an obsessive-compulsive disorder which looks set to
become one of the biggest non-drug addictions in the 21st century."
Cell phone addictions will only worsen and become more widespread as people gain in affluence
and are able to purchase more cell phones. We should learn to control our usage and not be
controlled by the gadget itself, only then will we improve and gain from acquiring such
equipments to improve our lives. Cell phone addictions can be countered.

Common Warning Signs of a Cellphone Addict

Whether you are simply a mere user of a cellphone or you are constantly connected through all
social networking sites, it's time to put your mobile device down (no peeking) as Dr. Walfish, Dr.

Elizabrth Waterson and Medical Daily will help you learn how to identify and recognize the
common warning signs of a cell phone addict.
Excessive Compulsion To Check Phone
The need to frequently check your phone without having an incoming call, text, or e-mail can be a
telltale sign of cellphone addiction. This reflects an unhealthy attachment to your mobile device
and can severely impact your mental health. In a study commissioned by Nokia, researchers found
that the average person checks their phone every six-and-a-half minutes, reports The Daily Mail.
Usage of Phone In An Inappropriate Place
Taking out your phone at the family dinner table can be an indicator of addictive behavior. "Many
parents complain that when they take the family out to dinner their teenagers are constantly on
their cellphones versus relating to their families at the table," said Walfish to Medical Daily. She
suggests for parents to establish clear limits for their children and to take away their cellphones
when they are being used where prohibited.
An unhygienic practice among cellphone users is taking their phones to the bathroom. While using
the bathroom can be a very private and personal thing, bringing your phone into the toilet seat
with you will not give you the due right privacy you deserve.
Replacing Face-To-Face Interaction
Dr. Elizabeth Waterman, psychologist at Morningside Recovery, told Medical Daily that one of the
most common warning signs of a cell phone addict is missing out on opportunities for face-to-face
interaction. Morningside Recovery Center is one of the first facilities to announce a recovery
program that deals with patients who suffer from nomophobia, a form of therapy that teaches
distraction techniques like "...stepping outside to have a face-to-face conversation with someone"
when they want to reach for their phone, she said to Medical Daily.

BIBLIOGRAFY
http://www.medicaldaily.com/technology-addiction-warning-signs-cell-phone-addict-247344
http://www.helium.com/items/590342-the-facts-about-cell-phone-addiction