Introduction
Recent progresses in Internet-based smartphones have created changes in the contemporary society. The smartphone has computing applications with advanced features of the Internet connectivity. It also has multimedia player, digital camera, GPS tracking systems, and video camera among other features.
Latest smartphones have high-resolution touch screens, browsers, and high-speed Internet accessibility. Smartphones have brought about convenience to users as well as addiction problems, which are similar to those experienced by Internet users (Greenfield, 1999). The fact that smartphones are mobile has aggravated the problem of addiction. Smartphone addiction causes both physical and psychosocial challenges among users.
A study by Leslie Perlow about the use of smartphones among 1,600 managers and professionals revealed varying degrees of usages (Davis, 2012). It showed that:
- 70 percent checked their smartphones within the first hour after getting up
- 56 percent checked their smartphones within one hour before going to bed
- 48 percent checked their gadgets during weekends and nights
- 51 percent did so during vacation
- 44 percent would suffer anxiety if they lost their smartphones and failed to replace them within the week (Davis, 2012, p.1)
Problems
The latest use of the term addiction applies to Internet, gambling, behavioural problems, gaming, and smartphone usages. There are people who use their smartphones while driving or crossing roads, which may result into road accidents. Children show addiction to smartphone games while learners have concentration problems during lectures. Specific problems may include the following.
First, smartphone causes users to have daily life balance challenges. Users may find it hard to concentrate, keep appointments, or miss planned schedules. Some may experience blurred vision, dizziness, wrist pain, and sleeping problems.
Second, some scholars have noted that some smartphone users believe that friends from the cyberspace are important than real-life friends. Such people feel lost when they are unable to connect with their cyberspace friends.
Third, there is also uncontrolled use of smartphones. Users prefer to use their smartphones for references rather than consult their friends.
Finally, smartphone users who tried to withdraw from smartphone addictions experienced withdrawal challenges. For instance, Kwon and colleagues observed that smartphone users became “impatient, fretful, and intolerable without their smartphones” (Kwon et al., 2013).
Solutions
Daily life balance challenges require users to enhance awareness of events in their immediate environments and concentrate on such events to increase concentration. Still, reduced usages shall eliminate physical challenges users experienced. Users should engage their real-life through social activities frequently than their cyberspace friends.
Uncontrolled use of smartphone requires users to review the need to respond to smartphone alerts, deactivate the alerts, and consult their colleagues rather than the phone because such actions can reduce anxiety. Withdrawal challenges require users to practice gradual withdrawal rather than abrupt in order to reduce cases of anxiety.
Evaluation of solutions
Enhanced awareness and concentration give users opportunities to restore balance in their daily lives and concentrate on important matters. This solution can be effective if users follow it. Reducing usages is a perfect solution to eliminating physical problems. Engaging real-life friends is effective solution to the belief that cyberspace friends are important than real-life friends.
Deactivating alerts and consulting friends is effective for reducing uncontrolled usages and anxiety. Gradual withdrawal can be effective way of reducing withdrawal challenges.
Conclusion
Smartphone addiction is a source of physical and psychosocial problems among users. Solutions to these problems include enhancing concentration, reducing usages, engaging in social activities with real-life friends, consulting colleagues, deactivating alerts and practising gradual withdrawal.
No scientific study has proved effectiveness of these solutions. However, they can be highly effective if users practice self-discipline.
References
Davis, S. (2012). Addicted to Your Smartphone? Here’s What to Do. Web.
Greenfield, D. (1999). Virtual Addiction: Help for Netheads, Cyber Freaks and Those Who Love Them. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Kwon, M., Joon-Yeop, L., Wang-Youn, W., Jae-Woo, P., Jung-Ah, M.,…Dai-Jin, K. (2013). Development and Validation of a Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). PLoS One, 8(2), 1-7.