‘Smartphone Developers Could Advertise The Negative Impact”

Psychology lecturer at Derby University, UK, Dr Zaheer Hussain recently co-authored a research paper on ‘Smartphone use, Addiction, Narcissism and Personality,’ which finds that people who consider themselves vain are more likely to be addicted to their smartphone, and much more. The report links, for the first time, smartphone use with addiction. Edited excerpts of an email interview:

What can a smartphone do to a person who is addicted, are there specific implications for younger generations?

Our research study suggests that the short answer to your question is yes smartphones can be addictive. Addiction is about constant rewards and reinforcement but is it the smartphone that is addictive or the Apps on it? I believe it’s the ‘rewarding’ Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Candy Crush, WhatsApp etc. One can obsessively view their Smartphone and not display addictive tendencies and thus live a problem-free life. It’s when the problems occur in your life (e.g., conflicts with work-life balance, school grades/performance decreasing, moodiness when not using you phone, etc.) that will reveal the first signs of addiction.

So smartphones can be addictive for some people (usually a minority) who become so engrossed in them that it becomes a necessity for them to use their smartphone and be connected to others via the use of the smartphone. Developers of smartphones and App developers may be tapping in to the rewarding functions of smartphones and Apps to make them more pleasing for the consumer. This is an area for further scientific investigation and it is a very interesting area indeed.

Should phone companies be asked to introduce an IEC warning on potential ill-effects of a smartphone?

I suggest that smartphone and App developers could advertise the negative impact of smartphones/smartphone apps if they are used excessively. This could be done via messages that appear on the phone or a media campaign.

What does addiction to a phone really mean?

The following criteria need to be present for one to be addicted to their smartphone:

• Salience: This occurs when smartphone use becomes the most important activity in the person’s life and dominates their thinking, feelings and behaviour. For instance, even if the person is not actually using their smartphone they will be thinking about the next time that they will be.

• Mood modification: This refers to the subjective experiences that people report as a consequence of engaging in smartphone use, and can be seen as a coping strategy (i.e. they experience an arousing “buzz” or a “high” or paradoxically tranquilizing feeling of “escape” or “numbing”).

• Tolerance: This is the process whereby increasing amounts of smartphone use are required to achieve the former mood modifying effects.

• Withdrawal symptoms: These are the unpleasant feeling states that occur when smartphone use is discontinued or suddenly reduced (e.g., the shakes, moodiness, irritability, etc.).

• Conflict: This refers to the conflicts between the user and those around them, conflicts with other activities (job, schoolwork, social life, hobbies and interests) or from within the individual themselves (intrapsychic conflict and/or subjective feelings of loss of control) which are concerned with spending too much time engaged in smartphone use.

• Relapse: This is the tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of smartphone use to recur and for even the most extreme patterns typical of the height of excessive smartphone use be quickly restored after periods of abstinence or control.

Are people deprived of something vital by spending time on their smartphone?

Smartphones can be psychologically rewarding and can reinforce behaviour so we end up doing it again. For example, if we post a message/picture on Snapchat or WhatsApp or a social networking site and it gets 20 likes within 10 minutes then we feel good as other people have shown appreciation. This is so psychologically pleasurable that we will probably do it more often. It raises our self-esteem, it makes us feel good about our actions. We want to use the App more and we see that our Smartphone is bringing us satisfaction.

We may post a message and not receive a response or like for 10 minutes so this may cause anxiety. We get anxiety if we cannot access our smartphone for a few hour so we may think we are missing out on an important update from a friend or an important message or news. Boredom may play a role as we are sometimes in need of filling spare time so we get used to using our smartphones in sorts of places and occasions. So smartphones are taking up a lot of leisure time.

This web-exclusive Interview does not appear in print magazine.