Aishwarya Iyer
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Written By: Aishwarya Iyer | Published : April 27, 2018 1:48 PM IST
Glaring at your smartphones, taking pictures at every possible place or chatting on Whatsapp is the new norm. Turns out, it might need some rehabilitation- or so says expert. So, we all know that one person in the group who obsessively clicks about 20-odd selfies in each hour and uploads on social media, or the one who's always hooked to the phone even while the phone's kept for charging, or that one friend who keeps clicking pictures of the food the minute it arrives at the table for uploading on Instagram or Snapchat. Smartphone addiction and nomophobia (fear of being without your phone) are serious conditions that need to be addressed.
'In the West, there are rehabilitation centres too. In India, we have provisions of resorts that offer 'detox from gadgets', says Dr Avinash De Sousa, co-founder of Desousa Foundation. Read: 10 hazards of using your phones.
Today, Smartphone addiction has different facets:
1) Chatting addiction
2) Selfie addiction
3) Social media addiction
4) Compulsive online shopping
5) Compulsive gambling
6) Pornography
'About 30-50 per cent of adolescents who come to me, have this issue. Most parents get their kids with the problem of low performance at school or problem of attention- spans or so. Among adults, at least 10 per cent of people face the issue of gadget addiction,' he says. Read: Types of injury you could suffer from, if you use your phone excessively!
Digital immigrants v/s digital natives
A digital immigrant is anyone who was born before the technology outbreak or the ones who were exposed to it much later. 'I was born in an era when phones were not a necessity. That is why its addiction among my generation is much less,' he says. A digital native is anyone who was born in the era of gadget phones. For digital natives, the de-addiction is a difficult one, but that can be achieved once you realize that gadget are just a part of your life and not your life, in reality!
Read: Why are you responsible for your child's gadget addiction?
Tips to combat gadget addiction
Image Source: Shutterstock
