Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone?

The Growing Threat of Technology Addiction

 

By Mike DuBose with Blake DuBose and Surb Guram, MD

 

Technology is booming, and advancements increase exponentially every year. Today’s smartphones, for example, can perform functions that formerly required more than five separate devices. We are beginning to see more and more “wearable” technology in the form of Google glasses, smart watches, and even medical devices that can be implanted in our bodies or ingested to take images and monitor functions. Through the use of technology, we can now easily communicate with others, share files or conduct videoconferences with people far away, and quickly and simply manage our finances, music libraries, and travel schedules. Thanks to these and other technological developments, millions of people have been able to live longer, healthier lives, and organizations have seen their efficiency and quality of work soar to new heights. However, with all of these improvements also comes a serious threat: technology addiction. People are becoming obsessed with their mobile devices and computers, and it’s wreaking havoc on their work and personal lives! Read on to find out how to recognize technology addiction and fight it in the office or your personal life.

How Technology Can Harm Us

Clearly, there are many potential benefits to applying technology to everyday life—but there are also serious dangers involved, including physical injury or death (for example, 50% of adults admit to texting while driving, even though it’s six times more dangerous than driving drunk). Technology addiction is an even more widespread threat. People are shirking interpersonal relationships to interact with machines, according to Psychology Today, which reports that “the phone, computer, tablet and other high tech devices have become not just an object, but for many a best friend.” As a society, our most common communication methods are now texting, “tweeting,” Facebook posting, and e-mailing each other, rather than talking in person or on the phone.

Many tech users feel stress and displeasure when separated from their beloved devices, even for short periods. In one British study, 41% of participants reported feeling “anxious and not in control” when detached from their smartphones, and 51% reported “extreme tech anxiety” at times. We all know that sinking feeling when you realize you’ve left your phone at home and have to live without it for the day!

There’s a reason we’re so tied to these devices. We use them constantly—up to 150 times daily, for some people. According to WebMD.com, 50% of research participants in a University of Glasgow study checked their e-mail every hour, while some checked in a whopping 30-40 times per hour. Of the individuals in an AOL user study, 59% checked their e-mail every time one arrived, and 83% checked e-mail every day while on vacation!

Technology makes it so easy to communicate—and we have become so reliant on this instant, constant flow of information—that it actually adds stress to our lives. As Edward Hallowell, MD, author of CrazyBusy: Overbooked, Overstretched, and About to Snap, said in a WebMD article, “The great thing about modern life is you can do so much, and the curse of modern life is you can do so much.” Type-A personalities and people-pleasers feel pressure to immediately respond to every e-mail, request for help, and telephone call. They can work themselves into what Dr. Hallowell refers to as an “F-State”—frantic, frazzled, and frenzied. “They get toxic stress and burn energy rapidly and wastefully,” he said. “In that state, they do bad work, lose friends, and lose clients. It’s bad in every measureable way.” Thus, workers who fail to prioritize and guard their time will not only suffer the side effects of extreme stress, but also diminished productivity and quality of work.

Despite these dangers, smartphone ownership grows in leaps and bounds every year. Nearly 60% of the American population now owns a smartphone, including an alarmingly large percentage of young children aged 8-12. Trends are similar (or even more extreme) in other developed nations across the world, such as Singapore. Children as young as two years old can now understand how to use a smartphone to look at pictures and play games!

However, studies are showing that widespread access to technology can have negative effects on children’s development. Susan Pinker of the Wall Street Journal reported in January 2015 on a study of one million students performed by Duke University economists Jacob Vigdor and Helen Ladd. The students were given laptop computers and tracked over five years. According to Vigdor and Ladd, “Students who gain access to a home computer between the 5^th and 8^th grades tend to witness a persistent decline in reading and math scores.” Widespread availability of television is also problematic. Pinker noted that, particularly in low-income homes, babies and young children spend 40% of their waking hours in front of a television, which serves as the babysitter. This is more than twice the time of middle income families, and the children who receive more TV time miss out on interactions with their parents that can help them develop larger vocabularies and thus do better in school.

How Technology Addiction Happens—and What It Looks Like

Addiction is normally defined as when a behavior interferes with work, productivity, relationships, and normal bodily functions such as sleeping and eating. Science has proven that some people have “addictive personalities” and are more susceptible to addiction than others simply based on their chemical and genetic makeup. Alcohol and other drug addiction have long been recognized as serious, difficult-to-treat disorders, and there are many resources and strategies available for those fighting the battle to quit. Now, although it’s not yet categorized as a clinical disorder, psychologists are beginning to recognize a new type of addiction: “nomophobia,” as in “no-mo(bile) phone phobia.”

Symptoms of nomophobia include: “frequently checking the cellphone; frequently making sure the cellphone has battery life; using it in inappropriate places, like during business meetings or family dinners; and frequently checking to make sure the phone is within arm’s reach,” according to a 2012 Chicago Tribune article by Rex Huppke. Medical News Today noted that symptoms may vary, but generally “hinge around a perceived excessive engagement with the user’s smartphone, the Internet or social networking sites that comes at the expense of their mental well-being. Persistent checking of instant messaging apps and frequent changing of status updates—as well as the notorious uploading of ‘selfies’ – are linked in addiction cases to insomnia, depression and social withdrawal.”

According to many professionals in the fields of psychology and addiction, nomophobia is becoming a new epidemic, creating major distractions, disorganization, and diminished productivity. Countries like India, South Korea, and Taiwan have begun to set up technology addiction centers; China has more than 300 such clinics, according to Medical News Today, to address its purported 24 million young people who are addicted to the Internet.

Technology Addiction in the Workplace

With telephones ringing, smartphones buzzing with text and e-mail messages, and e-mails popping up on our desktop computer screens constantly, technology is responsible for a host of distractions in every worker’s day. In fact, according to some studies, the average worker is interrupted every 15 minutes, and it may take him or her up to 25 minutes to re-engage in the activity after the interruption has occurred. These interruptions rob us of valuable time and productivity, leading in turn to excessive stress and difficulty getting our jobs done within a normal workweek. We often find ourselves multitasking, even though most research has determined that the brain produces its best quality work when handling a maximum of two activities at a time. Therefore, pressure to be constantly “plugged in” not only stresses the brain and body (impacting our personal relationships and families), but also lessens the quality and quantity of the work we produce.

Technology addiction also becomes a problem in the office when employees spend excessive amounts of time tending to their personal business while at work. In fact, South Carolina’s government became so concerned about the impact of technology on productivity that in January 2015 it banned employees from using state-owned technology equipment to check social media sites. Within our circle of business acquaintances, we know of a CEO who had her IT director monitor the online habits of two formerly competent employees whose productivity had drastically declined. The month-long investigation revealed that the staff members were actively spending 35-45% of their work hours surfing the Internet, shopping, sending and receiving personal e-mails, and constantly checking Facebook! In addition to the negative impact on business productivity, misusing work time in this way causes employee anxiety as they struggle to catch up on and complete their work. Others on the team will be affected, too, as they try to pick up their peers’ slack. Thus, it’s in everyone’s interest—staff and supervisors—to fight technology addiction and the distraction it represents.

Ways to Fight Back Against Technology Overload

If you feel like technology may be disrupting your life and harming your business productivity, here are some suggestions to help you “disconnect” from the “stress machine:”

• Resolve to take back your life: You alone can make the decision to reduce your time on the technology grid. You want to find a balance between using technology to help you versus allowing it to steal your time and productivity. Like any other habit, an obsession with technology takes time and determination to break.
• Set specific times to check e-mail (and stick to it): Don’t check e-mails and texts first thing each morning (some studies recommend waiting until 10 AM). Instead, enjoy a couple hours of pure, uninterrupted productivity before jumping into e-mail exchanges. Then, unless a major issue requires your attention, check e-mails only at two-hour intervals to give you time to complete projects.
• Turn off all alarms and alerts: When you need uninterrupted productivity, set your office telephone and smartphone to the “silent” or “airplane” setting (not “vibrate,” which will make distracting noise) and disable e-mail and text popups. Close your office door and place a “please do not disturb” note on it during this time.
• Take regular breaks throughout the day: Step away from all of your technology devices several times each day. Get some exercise, go for a walk, eat lunch away from your office, listen to music, or meditate, allowing your brain to “cool off.” Leave your smartphone at your desk or put it on “silent” mode during these times. Your brain needs rest periods throughout the day so that it is not in a constant “fight or flight” mode, pumping excessive amounts of harmful cortisol into your bloodstream.
• Get out of “reactive mode:” Don’t immediately respond to every e-mail, telephone call, and text received. You should control your time, not others. Check e-mails on your schedule and re-prioritize work as needed. Your goal is to get as much done as possible during the day without stressing out or harming your personal life.
• “Be present” with friends and family or with colleagues in meetings: Put away your smartphone when you’re talking with people. It shows respect and fosters stronger relationships. Unless there is a real crisis brewing, you should be listening to and communicating with them, not checking messages on your phone!
• Practice using your smartphone only at appropriate times: Don’t text or check e-mails while driving (in addition to being dangerous, it’s illegal in many places). Leave the phone out of the bathroom and off of the bedside table as well. Turn off all electronics a few hours before going to sleep so that your brain can slowly relax. Although you may feel pressured to respond if you receive an urgent or disturbing e-mail in the evening, it’s usually best to sleep on the issue and respond in the morning when you are mentally fresh and not in a tired, reactive state.
• Try leaving your phone at home or cutting it off when going out: It’s easier said than done, but the more you practice disengaging from your smartphone, the easier it will be to separate yourself from it for longer and longer periods of time.
• Limit your children’s use of electronics: Although children may find television and other electronics fun, habits develop early and you may be setting your child up for technology addiction and other serious problems like attention deficit disorder, social withdrawal, depression, and obesity. Encourage them to play outside and engage them in conversation and activities to help their minds develop!
• Develop smart business policies around the use of technology: Every business should have a written policy outlining acceptable uses of technology in the workplace, and it should be distributed to all employees so that they are aware of the rules. You don’t want to be too rigid (like forbidding employees from bringing in their smartphones or checking their social media sites while on breaks), but you need to make it clear that spending excessive time on personal technology applications is unacceptable. (As an example, see duboseweb.com/techpolicy for our policy.)
• If needed, seek professional help: Look for a counselor who is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and treating addiction. Although there is sometimes a negative societal stigma against seeking counseling, we could all use help at some point in our lives, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of!

 

The bottom line: Technology can help us improve our lives, but it can also be very harmful if allowed to create toxic stress and rob us of our time and productivity. Unless we take charge, it can rule us instead of the other way around. Start building healthy technology habits now, and you’ll reap great rewards!

 

About the Authors: Our corporate and personal purpose is to “create opportunities to improve lives” by sharing our knowledge, experience, success, research, and mistakes.

 

Mike DuBose has been in business since 1981, authored The Art of Building a Great Business, is a field instructor with USC’s graduate school, and former licensed counselor. He is the owner of four debt-free corporations, including Columbia Conference Center, Research Associates, and The Evaluation Group. Visit his nonprofit website www.mikedubose.com for a free copy of his book and other useful articles.

Dr. Surb Guram, MD is a board-certified internist and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. He is a partner with the SC Internal Medicine Associates in Irmo, SC and has practiced internal medicine in the Midlands for the past 30 years. See www.scinternalmedicine.com for more information on Dr. Guram and his practice.

Blake DuBose graduated from Newberry College Schools of Business and Psychology and is president of DuBose Web Group. View our published articles at www.duboseweb.com.

Katie Beck serves as Director of Communications for the DuBose family of companies. She graduated from the USC School of Journalism and Honors College.

 

© Copyright 2015 by Mike DuBose and Blake DuBose—All Rights Reserved. You have permission and we encourage you to forward the full article to friends or colleagues and/or distribute it as part of personal or professional use, providing that the authors are credited. However, no part of this article may be altered or published in any other manner without the written consent of the authors. If you would like written approval to post this information on an appropriate website or to publish this information, please contact Katie Beck at [email protected] and briefly explain how the article will be used and we will respond promptly. Thank you for honoring our hard work!