Mobile phones are multiplying and with them the fear about their possible negative impact on physical and mental health also grows. Should we worry about the hours we spend in front of these devices?
Although David is very fond of video games and Netflix series, he spends most of his time on socio-digital networks and internet search engines: he checks his WhatsApp messages every five minutes, constantly contacts new virtual friends on Facebook and surf long hours on online porn sites.
The perfect ally for your digital adventures is the cell phone, since you can use it at any time of the day – even though your professors at the university forbade you from doing so during classes – and especially at night, when locked in your room no one is watching you while He tries unsuccessfully to fall asleep.
At first the second semester economics student thought it was normal; But prolonged periods of insomnia and lack of concentration began to affect his school performance and daily activities. His parents constantly reproached him for always being absorbed in that parallel world. One of his friends told him that maybe he was addicted to his cell phone. David doubted it at first: how can we talk about addiction to something that is not a substance like alcohol or nicotine? After thinking about it, he recognized that his excessive fondness for the possibilities of instant interaction that technology offers had become a true obsession.
At the clinic he went to, the doctors explained to him that psychiatry manuals do not record addiction to cell phones or other similar technologies, such as tablets or television. Such behaviors are classified as unspecified impulse control disorders. However, they also told him that he was not completely wrong, since there are certain actions that, due to their characteristics, some mental health experts have proposed defining as behavioral addictions: addictions in which substances do not participate, such as the compulsion to work or sex.
A connected world
This definition of addiction without substance has generated controversy and experts continue to debate its implications. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed integrating only video game addiction, for which there is more evidence, into the most recent version of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).
Cell phone use and abuse has skyrocketed in recent years. According to GSMA Intelligence, a corporation that represents industrialists in this field, there are more than 5 billion cell phones in the world. This means that around 65% of the planet’s inhabitants have one of these devices. In Mexico, 72% of the population aged six years or older uses them, according to the National Survey on Availability and Use of Information Technologies in Homes 2017. Of these people, 80% have a smart cell phone that connects to the internet.
Although the total number is increasing, there have been important changes in user habits. When cell phones began to become popular—and were used mainly to make calls—there was talk of possible cancer risks due to the low-frequency radio waves emitted by these devices. This association was never clearly demonstrated. Today cell phones have an infinite number of applications beyond calls that keep users hooked, whether to establish the best route to work, request a taxi or food service, watch movies, play video games, schedule daily exercise or simply check the weather.
At the same time, the risks that experts fear have also changed: today we no longer talk so much about radiation and cancer, but rather about a range of alterations ranging from eye disorders to effects on sleep-wake cycles and the ability to concentrate, and even behavioral disorders like the one David experienced.
No relation to cancer
Numerous epidemiological studies have investigated whether there is a relationship between cell phone use and malignant and benign tumors in the brain or other parts of the nervous system. These works respond to concerns about the possible risks of exposure to radio waves generated by the antennas of these devices (they operate at frequencies between 450 and 2700 Megahertz) and that can be absorbed by the human body.
Among the most important studies are the Interphone (control, carried out by a consortium of experts in 13 countries), as well as the so-called Danish and Million Women, which followed large population groups. Although some associations have been found (for example, the first found a moderately increased risk of glioma in a small segment of participants who spent more time on calls), none found firm evidence of an increased risk of cancer.
The only biological effect that has been clearly linked to exposure to electromagnetic waves from cell phones is heating in the area of the body on which the device rests. The cell phone, like the microwave oven, emits low-frequency radio waves that do not have enough energy to break atoms or molecules and should not be confused with the radiation of radioactive elements, which is harmful and carcinogenic.
Risky behaviors
The WHO considers that “given the enormous number of mobile phone users, even the slightest increase in the incidence of adverse effects could have important public health implications.” The agency highlights that research into these possible health impacts has focused primarily on whether it is related to cancer, the interference of electromagnetic waves with other devices such as pacemakers, the probabilities of traffic accidents and other adverse effects.
Among these adverse effects reported in scientific studies, notes the WHO, include changes in brain activity, reaction times and sleep patterns. However, the organization recognizes that these “are minimal and apparently do not significantly impact health.”
Addiction to the cell phone or to the world it opens up to us?
What is stronger, the addiction to technology or to the socio-digital networks to which it gives us access? There is a debate about this difference. Most studies have focused on cell phone addiction, but some researchers suggest that it should be distinguished from addiction to the services it facilitates.
In a study published in 2018, a team from the United States and the United Kingdom explored the difference, focusing on socio-digital networking services. The researchers found that smartphone addiction is stronger than network addiction and that the intensity of these depends on the individual’s level of education: less education corresponds to a higher probability of addiction, which according to the authors could be due to the fact that This population group is less able to control their cell phone addiction. On the other hand, addiction to socio-digital networks does not seem to depend on gender, age or school level. One cause of both addictions could be the fear of missing out on something important. Another is that the cell phone serves to combat boredom with all the windows to other worlds it opens for us.
The authors warn that perhaps we should not talk about “addiction,” and that this behavior could be a consequence of disorders related to impulse control. Luckily there are already applications to measure daily cell phone use to help us moderate our escapes to those alternative worlds that lurk from behind the screen.
Glossary
Nomophobia: irrational fear of being without a mobile phone.
Taxophrenia: stress caused by not receiving messages; The phone doesn’t ring because no one writes.
Texture: anxiety that is felt when after sending a message you do not receive an immediate response.
Use or abuse?
Do you know how dependent you are on mobile devices? Answer these questions, selecting from the answers the one that best corresponds to your reality.
1. I have been told that I use my cell phone too much.
a) True.
b) False.
2. At a meeting, meal or meeting, where do you have your cell phone?
a) At the table.
b) In the pocket.
c) In the bag or backpack.
3. You forgot your cell phone at home, what do you think?
a) I’m going back for him.
b) It doesn’t matter, I connect to the computer.
c) Well, it helps so I can disconnect.
4. How do you feel when the person in front of you has their cell phone in their hand?
a) Well, it is normal that you want to be connected.
b) Neither good nor bad.
c) Wrong, I am less important than your messages.
5. If your companion gets up to go to the bathroom in a cafeteria, take the opportunity to:
a) Check my messages.
b) Play on your cell phone.
c) Look around me.
6. If I don’t have my cell phone I get nervous because I can’t:
a) Show what I do online.
b) Stay up to date on social networks.
c) Receive notifications.
7. Do you stay awake because you are glued to your cell phone?
a) Frequently.
b) Sometimes.
c) Almost never.
8. Who did you have the last phone call with?
a) Someone from telemarketing.
b) A family member.
c) Your best friend.
9. Which phrase do you identify with the most?
a) I’ll die if I don’t bring my cell phone.
b) Yes I use it, but not as much as other people.
c) I use it mainly for
important things.
10. You’re super busy but you hear the sound of a message coming in…
a) You stop what you are doing and connect.
b) You look just to know whose it is.
c) You review it later.
11. In a meeting with friends or your partner, has it happened to you that you get annoyed by the way they use their cell phone?
a) Never or almost never.
b) Yes, sometimes.
c) Frequently.
12. The time I spend on my cell phone prevents me from doing important tasks.
a) True.
b) False.
13. When I use my cell phone I ignore the people I am with.
a) Maybe yes.
b) Sometimes.
c) I try to avoid it.
14. What is worse?
a) The battery runs out.
b) Not being able to upload a photo or video.
c) Have an intermittent signal.
15. How long can it go by without you checking to see if you have notifications on your cell phone?
a) 30 minutes.
b) 2 hours.
c) > 4 hours.
Result: For each answer a) add 9 points; For each answer b) add 7 and for each answer c) add 4 points. Check your result: Less than 85 points: light use. From 86 to 99 points: moderate use. More than 100: excessive use.
Note: This questionnaire is not a decisive diagnosis, it is merely to help you become aware of how you use your cell phone.
Reflect and tell us
What problem/benefit has your cell phone caused you?
either
What is the strangest thing you have done while answering your cell phone?
Send your response to: comoves@dgdc.unam.mx
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