PROBLEM OF SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AMONG

ADOLESCENTS
 Introduction

 Adolescents are defined as young people between the ages of 10 and 19 years as per WHO (2014)
criteria.
 Today, 20% of people persons in the world are adolescents, constituting 1.2 billion people worldwide.
 Nearly, 243 million adolescents live in India as per the UNICEF Report
 The problem of adolescence is by no means an easy topic to discuss not withstanding that it
is so to speak an every day thing. It is often said that the teenage years are the “best years
of ones life”.
 Life for many adolescents is a painful tug of war filled with mixed messages and conflicting
demands from parents, teachers, friends, family and oneself.
 Growing up is negotiating a path between independence and reliance on others is a
tough business.
 
 There is a considerable debate on addiction and abuse to Smartphone among adolescents and
its consequent impact on their health; not only in a global context, but also specifically in the
Indian population.
 
 considering that Smartphone’s, globally occupy more than 50% of mobile phones market and
more precise quantification of the associated problems is important to facilitate
understanding in this field.
Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents

 Addiction is considered by WHO as dependence, as the continuous

use of something for the sake of relief, comfort, or stimulation, which
often causes cravings when it is absent.
 The two major categories of addiction involve either substance
addiction, e.g. “drugs or alcohol addiction” or “behavioral addiction
such as mobile phone addiction.”
 Mobile phones addiction/abuse/misuse is one of the forms of
compulsive use of “a mobile phone” by adolescents across the world.
 A new kind of health disorder in this category among adolescents,
“smartphone’s addiction/abuse/misuse” is now challenging health
policy makers globally to think on this rapidly emerging issue.
 Indian adolescents are also affected by this high smartphone
engagement
 A Smartphone is a term for distinguishing mobile phones with advanced features from basic
feature phones.
 Modern Smartphone’s currently include all the features of a laptop, including web browsing,
Wi-Fi, and 3rd-party apps etc.
 The most popular Smartphone’s today which are emerging are Google’s Android, Apple’s IOS
mobile operating systems and Nokia-X series
 Significant increase in Smartphone use and their capabilities allow adolescents to access the
Internet, communicate, and entertain themselves anywhere and anytime.

 Therefore, most teenagers in 10-19 years of age can use the Smartphone as a constant
companion.
 Global Smartphone's addiction scenario

 Smartphone abuse is increasing in the 21st century as more and

more adolescents enjoy exploring their Smartphone's in their free
hours.

 New research in US suggests that excessive use of Smartphone’s,

increases the risk for severe psychopathologies in adolescents and
there is growing evidence of problematic use of Smartphone’s
that impacts both social and health aspects of users’ lives.
 The study of 200 adolescents in Korea also showed that abnormal
users of Smartphone’s had significantly more problematic
behaviors, somatic symptoms, attention deficits, and aggression
and this study also found that youth were more addicted to
Smartphone they had more severe psychopathologies.
Smartphone’s Addiction Impacting Health Of Adolescents

There are two questions that arise from the new way of using
Smartphones
 The first is the issue of stress from constant connection to
other people and decreased privacy.
 The second issue is whether his new way of being online is
going to make people more present in the virtual world at
the expense at the real world
Smartphone's addiction emerging in Indian adolescents

 According to Canalis an investment firm of Singapore and research firm Gartner by 2017, there will
be 15.6% smartphone users and annual rate of growth of smartphone users in India would be around
129%, even more than that of China (109%).
 Smartphones cause a wide range of problems, spanning from abuse to addiction to the device, and
affecting work and home life.
 Smartphone abuse and addiction may even become cause of an accident and ruining our personal or
social life.
 Technology is now driving our life values and Smartphones are actually changing social
relationships.
 
 School students’ addiction to social media and its associated adverse effects on psycho-social well-
being and physical health was already a cause of major concern in many households, forcing parents
 Now, the pandemic and the resultant new digital ecosystem have created a Catch-22 situation for parents.
With online education a necessity through the pandemic, school students — children and adolescents — have
gained easier access to the Internet and various digital devices. With access to the digital world, many
children have got hooked on spending hours on social media and online gaming.
 
 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in collaboration with an NGO and research
and training institute, undertook a pan-India study recently, among the age group 8–18 years across
Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Guwahati.
 
 The NCPCR comes under the aegis of the ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
 
 “The aim of the survey was to assess the impact of social media and Internet devices usage on the psycho-
social state of children and adolescents, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,”
 
 “The study titled, ‘Effects (Physical, Behavioural and Psycho-social) of using Mobile Phones and other
Devices with Internet Accessibility by Children,’
 
 It collected responses from 5,811 participants (3,491 school-going children, 1,534 parents and 786 teachers;
including 50.9% male and 49.1% female participants) from 60 schools in urban, rural and metropolitan
regions of 6 states.
Key Findings Of The Survey

 
 Children’s most prominent means to access smartphones and the Internet is through their parents’
phone, with 62.6% kids using their parents’ phones
 
 Around 30.2% of children of all age groups already possess their own smartphones
 
 Only 10.1% of children like using smartphones for online learning and education.
 
 52.9% like using Internet-enabled devices/smartphones for ‘chatting’, 44.1 % like using it for music
and 31.9%, for gaming .
 
 The study’s data show that 42.9% of children confessed to having a social networking account
 Among the apps used, Facebook (36.8%) and Instagram (45.50%) are most popular the apps used,
Facebook (36.8%) and Instagram (45.50%) are most popular
 
 Smartphone addiction or depression – a new study has found that young people who are hooked on to
their smartphones may be at an increased risk of depression and loneliness.
 A growing body of research has identified a link between smartphone dependency and symptoms of depression and loneliness.
 
 However, it’s been unclear whether reliance on smartphones precedes those symptoms, or whether the reverse is true – that
depressed or lonely people are more likely to become dependent on their phones.
 
 These days’ teenagers are increasingly depressed, feel hopeless, and are more likely to consider suicide. The sudden increase in
teens’ symptoms of depression, suicide risk factors, and suicide rates in 2012 — around the time when smartphones became
popular. Especially during the lockdown, the cellphone was the only outlet for their emotional needs and desires.
 
 Many research studies have claimed that the teens who spend five or more hours per day on their devices are 71 per cent more
likely to have one risk factor for suicide. And that’s regardless of the content consumed. Whether teens are watching cat videos
or looking at something more serious, the amount of screen time — not the specific content — goes hand in hand with the
higher instances of depression.
 
 Smartphones have become their status symbols, lifeline, and the main resource to live connected with all that they want.
 
 Smartphones are having a profound impact on the way adolescents today communicate with one another and spend their free
time.
 
 There is a concerning relationship between excessive screen time and risk for death by suicide, depression, suicidal ideation,
and suicidal attempts. All of those mental health issues are very serious.
 
 This is something that the parents and society at large should ponder. Depression and suicide rates for teens between the ages
of 13 and 18 have increased dramatically since 2020, especially among girls, and excessive use of electronic devices is a likely
culprit.
 Effects Of Smartphone Addiction Among Teenagers

 Smartphone addiction has negative impacts on student learning and

overall academic performance.
 
 The greater the use of a phone while studying, the greater the negative
impact on learning.
 
 The skills and cognitive abilities students needed for academic success
are negatively affected by excessive phone use.
 
 Excessive smartphone use had a negative psychological effect.
 
 Adolescents use cell phones at night, which leads to insomnia. And
insomnia ultimately results in depression, anxiety, and depression.
 
 Nomophobia is short for “no-mobile-phone phobia”.
It’s the fear of being away from your smartphone or not having
network coverage. And it’s on the rise.
Remedial Measures To Reduce Smartphone Addiction
 Parents’ supervision of their children is of paramount importance.
 
 Parents must use media content blocking and filtering to block inappropriate and unwanted content reaching their
children.
 
 Children’s playgrounds should be enhanced to engage them in outdoor games and sports rather than mobile gaming.
 
 More Internet de-addiction centres need to be established in India.

 Children need to be made aware about cybercrime, Internet safety rules, cyber security and usage of privacy settings
 
 Children should be instructed not to share personal information on social media sites
 
 Schools must conduct awareness programmes to educate children about cybercrime and cyber bullying
 
 Increase provision of recreational programs, which have an effective role in occupying children and preventing negative
Smartphone usage.
 
 Increase social interaction within and outside the family by increasing family meetings and encouraging of children to
sustain their social relationships.
 
 Setting adequate time allows parents to keep a track and restrict the amount of time spending on gadgets and don’t let
them use after their time is finished.
Conclusion

 Increase in the use of smartphones in societies, has raised concern about social and
psychological effects of excessive use of smartphone’s especially among Indian adolescents.
 Smartphone’s have made mobile connectivity so accessible that today’s Indian generations
are abusing their Smartphone
 Smartphone abuse to addiction has become more serious since adolescents can download
and run numerous applications with smartphone even without Internet connection.