Author: Shubham Kumar
Co-Author: Abhay Kumar
Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida
ISSN: 2582-3655
SMARTPHONE USAGE AND ITS ADDICTION
Abstract:
This research paper is a study of how people getting addicted to the smartphone. This paper explains the issue that more related to social than the legal issues in the current scenario.
Everyday new technology emerged in our society and changes our life, technology helps people lots and making work easier but also affect peoples. People use their phones during feeding, meeting, morning walk, just before sleeping and even during the washroom. In the morning when we woke up our first step is to check the smartphone than other work we do, but the fact is that we did not wake without a smartphone alarm. This paper examined the smartphone behaviors and their relationship to mankind. This paper contained a short introduction and history of the emerging smartphones in our life and how we getting addicted. After that, this paper analyzes the use of smartphone statics over worldwide. Now moving forward with this paper, it studies the effect of a smartphone with type of problem faced by people and how the smartphone can be beneficial for people when it uses as a limit. There are many incidents that happen due to high addiction to smartphones and applications or software in the device. Solution is very important part of any research paper. At last, there is a conclusion and this paper ends with a suggestion.
INTRODUCTION
A smartphone is a smart electronic device that used for performing many of the function like calculation, clicking photos, calling, massaging, reminder, etc. typically it having a display, touchscreen interface, internet access globally, and different types of operating system cable of running downloaded apps. A mobile phone is considered to be the most dominant and comfortable communication device. In 1973, the first mobile device Company Motorola demonstrated a mobile phone and made it commerciallyavailablefrom1983.[1]
After launch, Smartphones are quickly becoming the most pervasive technological device on earth globally. Along with clothes, food, keys, wallet, and medicine, the smartphone is one of the survival tools most people carry with them. Access to mobile phone technology is rapidly increasing,90% of the world now days lives in a place with access to a mobile network and wireless access, and 80% of those living people in rural communities are have access to the network (“Global mobile statistics,” 2011).[2]
Nowadays, advanced smart devices with more computing capabilities, technology, and connectivity, referred to as ‘Smartphone’ has caused a tech revolution. Over the years, this technological advancement has been revolutionized to a great extent and come to advance technology of the future. Its growth in terms of market value and usage, among the population has exponentially increased. The smartphone world is expanding at a fast pace with already more than 2.53 billion smartphone users in the world.[3]In the world countries like India, USA , UK and China particularly on college campuses and during classes times, a growing number of students fill the time by texting or messaging and talking on their smartphone or they are using their phone to listen music, watch movie, play a game, money transfer, capturing photos, or to use any applications and features their phone provides. Increasingly, use of smartphone is spilling into the library, during traveling, eating, in the classroom and even in the bathroom. It is common for a student to come into class with their smartphone but not with pen or pencil. It seems college students and people their smartphones are inseparable with them. People using their phone during tooth brushing and even during the washroom. Smartphone has some negative effect as well as positive effect. These are some positive effect of smartphone are students learn the way they are comfortable, students can get answers quickly, audio and video can bring learning to life, access to educational applications takes learning up a notch, and smartphones allow for social learning.
Actually, people consider smartphone as symbol of status. Smartphones were developed and have been used for the beneficial purposes like connecting around the world, gathering and transferring information and more. But the present concern is that its popularization has hazardously increased its overuse. A data collected by New Time Mobility Poll,in 2012, reported that 84% peoples couldn’t go a single day without their smartphone.[4]
HISTORY OF SMARTPHONE
Smartphone change the world in every sector of human life, such as Education, Banking, Finance, Health, Medical, TV, Media, Communication, etc. We took 26 years of progress to reach this stage. At that time people did not think about the gadget, nowadays we have and no one knows about their effect on society. Here a short summary of the innovation of smartphones.
In 1994, IBM was the first phone company, invented the phone in 1992 and released for purchase in the market. This device was called the Simon Personal Communicator (SPC). This device not very compact and sleek but the device still featured several important elements that became staples to every smartphone that followed.[5] After that, in Mid-1995, the term ‘smartphone’ is first used and people got to know about it but the original smartphone was introduced three years earlier[6]. July 1999, Blackberry launches the first wireless handheld computer, RIM 850, which is announced. In November 2000, the camera phone launches in Japan that was very unique invention. In Late 2003, the Nokia 1100 is released and it will ultimately become the best-selling mobile phone of all time. In India, Nokia created a large market worldwide.
In January 2007, CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs bring the iPhone devices. This device is costly and becomes a symbol of status. New trends of inexpensive devices have started yet. In July 2008, the App Store launches. The App Store has only 552 apps during launch.
In November 2008, the first Android phone was launched. The name of 1st Android phone is G1 and android becomes the world’s most popular operating system of smartphone devices in April 2011. It is launch by google worldwide. After the lunch of the App Store and Play Store people involving more in the smartphone.
In December 2011, one of popular company Windows brings mobile phones based on Windows operating systems.People purchased a smartphone and its shipments surpass 1 billion last month of 2013. In January 2016, Samsung Company leads the smartphone vendor market for 16 consecutive quarters. The devices of Samsung are costly at that time. January 2019, Now, the Indian Market is full of smartphones and smart electronic gadgets.
DATA ANALYSIS ON USE OF SMARTPHONES STATISTICS (WORLD WIDE)
Nowadays everyone has a smartphone or gadget that makes people involved with technology. It is a fact that not only a smartphone but the application or software used in smartphones highly responsible for the addiction to people with the device. Here some study and research data from worldwide research that shows how people involve with their devices.
Dr.Kalksays “We don’t know whether it is the smartphone itself that can be addictive or the application that people use in their smartphone.”[7] A study found that 9%people checking their phones during worship. It is not limited to people also involve with their smartphone during meals.73% of people feel panic when their smartphone misplaces.[8]
A survey by Statista found that in the World people spending time on the smartphone has been increases. In 2012 Brazil has the highest mark, people spend 1-2 hours on the smartphone but in 2016 and above, people spend4-5 hours online with a smartphone.[9]
We are engaged with our smartphone like a patient who needs medicine at a time, we first check smartphones when we woke up in the morning and before sleep. The survey was conducted by Huffington post among 1,000 people checking or savings account holders, age 18 and above, who also own smartphones. A large majority of respondents said, 71 %of them usually sleep with or next to their smartphone and 3 % of those people said that they keep their smartphone in their hands during sleeping, 13% of people said they keep their smartphone on the bed and 55 % leave it on the nightstand. 35% of people in this survey said their smartphone is the first thing they reach for when they wake up at morning and only 17% said they grab a coffee as soon as they wake up, 13% said they go for their toothbrush and just 10% said they reach for their significant other work.[10]
College students all also involved in this list. They are also addicted to the smartphone. A recent college study found that 95% of students bring their smartphone in class every day, 92% use their phones to text message and chatting during class time.[11]University students check their mobile devices as 150 times in a day on an average, a new study has found. It was found that around 14% of those surveyed use smartphones for 3 hours or less in a day. While around 63% of people use their smartphones for 4 to 7 hours daily. It came to shocking that the researchers and online scholar around 23% are logging more than 8 hours daily[12]. People swiped, tapped and clicked a whopping 2,617 times each day, on average during using a smartphone. A survey found that phone screen time was 2.42 hours for the average smartphone user, and 3.75 hours for the heavy smartphone user. That was time spent on everything from using WhatsApp, typing texts, taking selfies, using Facebook and Instagram, swiping on Tinder, doing online shopping and turning Kindle pages, etc. In India, an average person is spending one-third of his or her waking hours on smartphones nearly 1,800 hours a year.[13]
EFFECT OF SMARTPHONE USAGE & ADDICTION
Highly usages of Smartphone devices can impact both physical and mental health attributes of daily life. There is some problem faced by the people when a person is addicted to it.
1. Lack of concentration
According to a new study published in the Daily Mail, claims that heavy internet and mobile phone users are prone to weak focus and attention, lack of concentration, passive mind, and forget things easily.[14] Sleep deprivation, also impacting your sleep can have long-term mental health, memory and learning skills.
2. Stress
Parents want to give all the facilities including electronic gadgets to their children and try their best to help them carve a perfect career path. They purchase the latest and expensive smartphones for their children. which itself is the origin of all the problems apparently, but students generally have peer pressure to maintain their image and status in society. Even if they do not want to buy an expensive mobile phone, but they will do it for their friend circle and show off.[15]
3. Lack of vision
Anxiety, stress, and depression are some of the main problems faced by students due to 24-hour connection with friends and other people using smartphone. Anxiety, simply having your phone near you but it will decrease your productivity, the impact snowballs with the level of the users’ addiction. Anxiety is disorders that involve more than temporary worry or fear about something.[16]
4. Cyber bullying
A survey conducted by Microsoft Corporation that shows India has ranked third on the highest rate of cyberbullying cases, after China and Singapore. According to the report, 7,600 children of the age group of 8 years to 17 years are the victims of cyberbullying crime. Cyberbullying has a large impact on Indian society and it has impacted such as depression, loss of self-confidence, increase of aggression, rising student suicides, and an increase in student drug intake.[17]
5.A study by Statista found that Instagram is the social media platform with the most negative effect on the psychological state of young people. On the other side, YouTube is found the most positive network on the internet and the only one in the research considered, it has a ‘net positive’ influence over people. To establish this ranking, 14 factors have been taken into consideration such as anxiety, loneliness, harassment, depression, self-image, and the opportunity to express oneself.[18]
6. Nomophobia is everywhere in industrialized nations. The term is an abbreviation of words “no-mobile-phone phobia,” The study found that about 58 % of men and 47 % of women suffer from the phobia, and an additional 9% of people feel stressed when their mobile phones are switch-off. The study sampled on the 2,163 people in which55% of those people surveyed cited as the main reason for keeping in touch with family members or friends, they got anxious when they could not use their smartphone.[19] These are some data show that how people are addicted to their phones and over using their phones more than need.
APPLICATION THAT MAKES PEOPLE ADDICTED TO SMARTPHONE
There are lots of applications and games that make people addicted to a smartphone. These applications are mostly developed by foreign software development companies. These applications affect people mentally and emotionally. Here some study of software that makes Indian youth addicted to smartphones and some unbelievable incidents took place due to these games and applications.
- PUBG: PlayerUnknown’s Battleground
- PlayerUnknown’s Battleground, this game is commonly known as ‘PUBG’, its popularity increases as rocket after it was introduced for a smartphone. The National Child Rights Commission has suggested that the game should be banned because of its violent nature among children. Of course, popular and age-old games like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Grand Theft Auto, Mad Max, Modern Warfare, Max Payne are all very non-violent and non-addictive games.[20]But the people who play these games accepted that they are addicted unknowingly. There was some unbelievable incident that took place due to PUBG. PUBG now fixes the more involvement of people by sending a reminder in the game.
A 20-year-old youngster from Jagitial, Telangana was died during playing the game. According to a report, the young boy was suffered from serious neck pain constantly due to playing the game for the last 45 days. The boy was taken to the nearest hospital in Hyderabad where he died while treatment. According to Doctor’s reports suggest the boy was playing the game at a long stretch due to this his nerves in his neck were completely damaged.[21]
- In Hingoli district, Maharashtra, two persons were playing online game PUBG was knocked down by a train. The incident took happened at Khatkalibypass in Hingoli, over 570 km from Mumbai. Nagesh Gore age 24and Swapnil Annapurneage 22both were playing PUBG on a smartphone near the railway tracks. Both boys were run over by the HyderabadAjmer train. Their bodies were found late at night by people living in the near vicinity. Accidental death was reported and registered at the Hingoli police station.[22]
- TikTok (A Social Media Application)
TikTok a popular short video-sharing application that provide a platform to people. This application is developed by a Chinese company. In India, it getting popular in few days of launch. This application makes people addicted.
Madras High Court was trying to ban the TikTokapplication in India.The main reason being that children and youth who are followers of this famous application are vulnerable to pornography. But now TikTok fixed the things to certain extent. For more views and like people are move from comedy, educational, funny video to pornographic video. That is not all, in the recent past, there are many cases where people have hurt themselves very seriously while making videos on social medial application called TikTok.
- The most recent case that took place in April 2019. A boy, named Salman Zakir aged of 19year, was accidentally shot by his friend Sohail by a gun on his face while trying to make a TikTok video. They move to the hospital for admitting Salman. The shooting by gun ultimately cause the death of Salman and his other two friends were arrested for the incident.[23]
- In February 2019, a college student from Tamil Nadu died as his scooter rammed into a bus. There are three students, Surya, Vignesh, and Reagan were enjoying the ride on a scooter while one of the pavilion riders was making a video on TikTok. It is evident in the video that the bike lost the balance and smashed into a bus resulting in the death of one of the three boys.[24]
- In December 2018, another case that happened in Chennai, a boy trying to make a TikTok video for a Tamil song and a boy was pretending to slit his throat with a knife. However, the boy accidentally ends up slitting his throat. It was shocked at his own mistake the video was recorded ends with the man holding his throat with one hand and trying to stop the recording video with another hand.[25]
These are some incidents that happened due to addiction to smartphones. It is true that only smartphone is not responsible for the addiction, software, games, and application are also responsible.
SOLUTION FROM SMARTPHONE ADDICTION
If a person want, they get rid of smartphone addiction. Here some solution that needs to be followed for getting rid of high use of Smartphone.
- Turn off as many push notifications.
If people turn off notification from unwanted applications like Facebook, Instagram, etc, but keep on Gmail notification. It is important that you only turn on only important notification of an application.[26]
- Kick your device from your bed.
During and before sleep keep your device far from you. Only take an important call and massage. For doing this you will definitely get rid of smartphone addiction.[27]
- Set a Schedule
Set a proper schedule for using a smartphone, try to get punctual with time. You can set a basic time in mind that I gave only a particular time on this application and game not more than that. Set aside a specific time each day or hour to check Facebook, email, or instant messages. Then resist with a smartphone and the urge until the next scheduled time that you consider.[28]
These are some step that can help in cure from smartphone addiction.
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION
With the technological advancement in today’s world mobile phone has turned into a gadget all in one. A mobile phone for the youth has helped them to socially listen to music and share ideas through a fast, efficient and common platform for all. Because mobile phones, young members of a family are more available nowadays. These days a smartphone is very useful in sharing any information very fast.
Smartphones significantly affect productivity in the workplace, social engagement, and education. In fact, smartphones are essential in this generation because information using smartphones as negative information seems more positive. The important suggestion is how you use your smartphone. The most common tips that use your smartphone are when needed, not every time. Electronics gadgets harm our health and body. Smartphones and any gadget that helps you and makes the task easy but it kills your creativity. People mostly become dependent on their smart devices. So, in the end, it is suggested that smartphones become evil for society but we have to fight this evil. A person’s health is more important than any convenient device. We are surrounded by such gadgets and gadgets have been invented by us, for us. We have to think that we are not slaves of electronic gadgets, these gadgets are for us.
[1] Parasuraman S., Sam, A.T., Kah Yee, S. W., ChikChuon, B. L. & Yu Ren, L., Smartphone usage and increased risk of mobile phone addiction: A concurrent study, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, (Feb. 06, 2020, 02:45 PM),https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5680647/.
[2]The truth about smartphone addiction,Researchgate,(Feb. 06, 2020, 04:00 PM), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281243425.
[3]Smartphones,Statistics & Facts(Feb. 06, 2020, 05:35 PM), http://www.statista.com/topics/840/smartphones/.
[4]Meena Hart Duerson, We’re addicted to our phones, New York Daily News(Feb. 06, 2020, 07:00 PM), https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/addicted-phones-84-worldwide-couldn-single-day-mobile-device-hand-article-1.1137811.
[5]Where have we come since the first smartphone,Simpletexting(Feb. 07, 2020, 03:00 PM),https://simpletexting.com/where-have-we-come-since-the-first-smartphone/.
[6]The evolution of smartphones 12 key highlights, Flowfinity(Feb. 07, 2020, 05:00 PM,https://www.flowfinity.com/blog/the-evolution-of-smartphones-12-key-highlights.aspx.
[7]Smartphone ‘addiction’, BBC (Feb. 08, 2020, 02:40 PM), https://www.bbc.com/news/education-50593971.
[8]Something new to fear,Cnet, (Feb. 08, 2020, 04:07 PM),https://www.cnet.com/news/something-new-to-fear-cell-phone-separation-anxiety/.
[9]Smartphone Addiction Tightens Its Global Grip, Statista, (Feb. 09, 2020, 03:15 PM) https://www.statista.com/chart/9539/smartphone-addiction-tightens-its-global-grip/.
[10] Alexandra Ma, A Sad Number of Americans Sleep with Their Smartphone In Their Hand, Huffington post(Feb. 09, 2020, 05:05 PM), https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/smartphone-behavior-2015_n_7690448?ri18n=true.
[11]Cell phones classroom collaborative or calamitous, Online Learning Consortium, (Feb. 10, 2020, 02:35 PM), https://secure.onlinelearningconsortium.org/effective_practices/cell-phones-classroom-collaborative-or-calamitous.
[12]New Study Students Check Their Mobile Devices as Many As 150 Times in a Day,News 18 Network (Feb. 10, 2020, 02:35 PM), https://www.news18.com/news/india/according-to-new-study-students-check-their-mobile-devices-as-many-as-150-times-in-a-day-1720539.html.
[13]Average Indian spending over 1,800 hours a year on smartphone, Mathrubhumi,(Feb. 10, 2020, 03:05 PM), https://english.mathrubhumi.com/technology/tech-news/average-indian-spending-over-1-800-hours-a-year-on-smartphone-1.4404944.
[14]5 reasons why students should control their cell phone usage, India Today, (Feb. 10, 2020, 04:26 PM), https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/mobile-phone-students-355284-2016-12-02.
[15]supra note 15.
[16]Anxiety Disorders, The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH),(Feb. 11, 2020, 03:05 PM), https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml.
[17] Supra note 15
[18]Mental Health: The Impact of Social Media on Young People, Statista,(Feb. 11, 2020, 05:00 PM), https://www.statista.com/chart/19262/impact-of-social-media-on-mental-health/.
[19]Tim Elmore, Nomophobia: A Rising Trend in Students, Psychology Today,(Feb. 11, 2020, 08:05 PM), https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/artificial-maturity/201409/nomophobia-rising-trend-in-students.
[20]PUBG Mobile Ban,Bennett Coleman & Company, (Feb. 12, 2020, 03:26 PM), https://www.timesnownews.com/technology-science/article/pubg-mobile-ban-these-top-5-incidents-in-india-shows-how-harmful-pubg-addiction-is-and-how-to-fight-it/388792.
[21]PUBG Mobile Ban,Network 18 Sites,(Feb. 13, 2020, 05:17 PM), https://www.news18.com/news/tech/pubg-mobile-ban-five-incidents-in-india-which-indicate-how-addictive-the-battle-royale-game-can-be-2076797.html.
[22] Supra note 21.
[23]TikTok accidents kill even as ban order sword hangs over it,(Feb. 14, 2020, 04:20 PM) https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/tiktok-accidents-kill-even-as-ban-order-sword-hangs-over-it-1502306-2019-04-15
[24] Supra note 24
[25] Supra note 24
[26]These simple steps will help you stop checking your phone so much,CNBC,(Feb. 14, 2020, 08:20 PM) https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/03/how-to-curb-you-smartphone-addiction-in-2018.html.
[27] Supra note 26.
[28]5 things you can do to cure your smartphone addiction, (Feb. 15, 2020, 06:00 PM)Hindustan Times, https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/5-things-you-can-do-to-cure-your-smartphone-addiction/story-B4zgztN5CHsGdQq2NQ2vYN.html.