Gadget addiction is becoming more and more common in the current age, with people developing an obsession with their tablet, cell phone or other electronic device. According to a study, people who had to remain without using their gadgets for 1-3 days of time displayed various traits of anxious behavior, and were only calmed down once they got back access to their gadgets. While symptoms may differ with each person.
Symptoms
The most common sign of gadget addiction is “the fear of missing out”. People who experience this syndrome feel that they must stay online constantly in order not to miss out on anything exciting or interesting, which their friends might have shared. The same refers to fear of missing an important news, or a message regarding the health of a person’s friends or relatives. This symptom can also manifest itself in the desire to comment on every small little thing happening online. This may be done so that the person feels that he or she is participating in their friend’s lives.
Various other symptoms may include the phantom cell phone syndrome. This one is pretty common among people, who have little or no gadget addiction. In this syndrome, gadget users often feel that their phone is vibrating or ringing, or alerting them about an update or incoming message. However, when checked, there is no such message or alerts, it is just their imagination. This is usually caused by the anxiety to use phone, or an urge to answer all the incoming mails and messages immediately after receiving them.
Consequences
Gadget addiction may also lead to attention disorder. A good example of this would be that many people having this problem experience lack of concentration or the ability to focus on something for long durations. They also tend to forget stuff easier, and their decision making capability deteriorate, making them generally poorer than people who do not have gadget addiction. More Physiological problems directly related to long exposure to gadgets include regular headaches, shortsightedness, aches in back and the neck (because of leaning)
Some researchers also connect the gadget addiction problem to fertility, supporting their claims with over-exposure to electro-magnetic waves/fields emitted by gadgets. However, this theory needs to be checked. Along with this, stress and anxiety are a given conditions of gadget addiction, as one always try to compare their own lives with the virtual lives of others, thus, creating communication disorders.
Gadget Addiction in Children
An alarming note is that recently gadget addiction has started to begin among children of young ages. Psychologists believe that with the years to come, children may develop this addiction at an even earlier age, before teenage. Symptoms in children can be as following:
- Child shows lack of interest towards toys or stuff, which he or she enjoyed before.
- Child becomes excessively defensive or aggressive when their use of gadget is mentioned.
- Child spends an excessive amount of time lying down with their gadgets.
While gadgets have eased up our lives by a great deal, we must not forget to take care of our own bodies. We must not let gadgets destroy our lives outside the house. Excessive usage of gadgets must be avoided, and children should be told to play games outside instead of staying in front of computers. Parents need to understand this aspect and not give their own gadgets to their children to play for long number of hours. Once this practice is initially done, the children will themselves start to leave the gadgets.
Usage of Gadgets must be reduced outside the working hours, especially inside of homes. Smart phones are now so easily available to us that we forget of the harm they are potentially causing us. Special care must be taken while dealing with gadgets throughout the day, as it may cause various problems in the future.
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