Cell phone addiction: study shows the serious consequences it really has for our children

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It’s a thorn in the side of many parents: children spend more time behind their smartphones. Teenagers spend an average of ten hours a day. The word “cell phone addiction” is often used in this context. A recent study from Israel shows just how harmful this really is.

A study from Israel analyzed 84 papers on the consequences of excessive smartphone use. And the results are quite simply shocking.

Numerous consequences for the health of our protégés
The analysis showed a link between cell phone addiction and the following physical and mental illnesses:

Depression
anxiety
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
ADHD
Alcohol use disorder
Difficulties with cognitive emotion regulation
Impulsivity
Impairment of cognitive functions
Low self-esteem
Sleep disorders
Reduced physical fitness
Unhealthy diet
Pain
Migraine
Reduced volume of grey matter in the frontal brain
When is cell phone use critical?
Excessive smartphone use is, therefore, definitely pathological. According to the latest Postbank Youth Digital Study, 16 to 18-year-olds spend an average of 70.4 hours a week online. Screen time for school, studies or training only accounts for a third of this.

This means that the youngest section of society spends around ten hours a day on their cell phones. It has not yet been scientifically determined when and under what circumstances we can speak of smartphone addiction.

FOMO & nomophobia
New studies often link cell phone addiction to two phenomena: FOMO and nomophobia.

FOMO (“Fear of missing out”): An obsessive fear of missing out on an event, message or news.

Nomophobia (“No mobile fear”): The fear of being without a cell phone. It is less about being unable to communicate actively and more about not being reachable.

Measures against cell phone addiction
The Israeli research team also suggests some measures to get a grip on cell phone addiction. Among them:

Deactivating push notifications
Deactivating acoustic notifications on social media
Switching off the cell phone overnight
Finally, the Israeli researchers gave some important advice:

The user should determine when they want to use their cell phone. Cell phones should not constantly attract the user’s attention by buzzing and beeping.