Do You Have A Toxic Relationship with Your Smartphone? Report Reveals The Stats

It’s fair to say that the vast majority of us have some sort of loving relationship with the internet. There are very few of us that aren’t reliant upon it in some way. The smartphone has only accelerated that love and today many of us don’t go without looking at our phones for more than a few minutes.

But is that healthy? And how is it affecting other parts of our lives? In fact, addiction to technology is on the rise, and a sharp one at that, and as with any addiction, it can have a hugely harmful impact on your life as a whole.

In fact, many people have had to have an addiction intervention to prevent loved ones from slipping away from them, all down to the dependency on a smartphone, especially.

So, what do the stats say? How many people do have a toxic relationship with their tech?

Smartphone Addiction in the Young

It’s predominantly in the young that the biggest problem lies. According to surveys, around 47% of parents believe their children are addicted to their smartphone, while over one in five people aged 18 to 29 admit to checking their smartphone every couple of minutes.

That’s a sure sign of an addiction, and the knock on effect to other aspects of life. Firstly, the longer spent on smartphones, the less concentrated someone is going to be in the “real world”, meaning physical relationships are harder to be developed, while concentration levels on a wider level are more likely to be impacted, with 67% of teachers claiming that students are negatively distracted by mobile devices. 

Naturally, that will impact grades and have a major impact on a person’s future.

Scarily, teens who spend five hours or more on electronic devices such as smartphones, computers and games consoles are 71% more likely to exhibit suicide risk factors compared to those who only spend an hour online.

The Signs 

But what are the signs that you do have an unhealthy relationship with technology? It’s far from just a young person’s problem, many children believe their parents are addicted to their devices too.

Around 46% of parents in the UK have admitted that they believe they’re addicted to their devices, and among the key signs that someone may have a problem includes:

• Lying about usage
• Someone expressing their concern you may have a problem
• An accident or injury due to phone usage
• Lack of productivity at work due to phone usage
• Anxiety around social media
• Becoming more isolated from loved ones
• Getting up at night to check your phone

And a number of others, all of which can lead to serious mental health problems if you don’t look after and address a problem with addiction to technology. So, if you feel that may be the case, reach out and get the help you need.