1 in 4 Children Are Addicted to their Smartphones

One-quarter of children are permanently addicted to their mobile devices and experience discomfort and anxiety when they are nearby, the Daily Mail reported.

Researchers at King's College London examined the use of modern technology and behavioural addiction to smartphones by children. Scientists have introduced the term "problematic use of the smartphone", leading to addiction, depression and anxiety when parting with the device.

This term is described as behaviour linked to smartphones that shares the features of addiction, such as feeling “withdrawal” symptoms or upset when the phone is unavailable, finding it difficult to control the amount of time spent on the phone, and using the phone to the detriment of other desirable activities, according to CTV News.

Experts are still unable to determine whether the smartphone itself is addictive or the applications in it. But in any case, they are warning parents to pay more attention how their children interact with mobile devices. There is a problem and it must be realized.

The London-based research team summarized the results of 41 studies in this area, covering 41,871 children. Of these, 30 studies were conducted in Asia, 9 in Europe and 2 in the US. 55 percent of the participants were female. Girls aged 17 to 19 were found to be the most at risk.

Between 10 and 30 percent of addictions were reported to lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress and poor school performance.

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