Technological Addiction: Are we too attached to mobile devices?

The term, an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone phobia”, was coined during a 2010 study by the UK Post Office who commissioned YouGov, a UK-based research organization, to look at anxieties suffered by mobile phone users.

The study found that:

• 53% of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they “lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage”
• 58% of men and 47% of women suffer from the phobia, and
• an additional 9% feel stressed when their mobile phones are off.

And Australia isn’t too far behind. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Australians’ addiction to phones is intensifying, with statistics showing our data downloads skyrocketing by a third in just six months.

Dr Shari Walsh, the Principal Psychologist and Owner at Growth Psychology in Qld, joined Dwayne Jeffries on Open House to assess the extent of our addiction, with founder of Australia’s “Don’t Text And Drive” campaign Vicki Richardson, joining the conversation to talk about the tragedy that ignited her movement.