Cellphone Addiction

Call us the never-off society.

We tote our iPhones, LGs and BlackBerrys with us so we can contact anyone, anywhere, any time--and so we can be reached instantly. According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, 51% of those polled said it would be very hard to give up their cellphones, up from 38% in 2002. The cellphone, in fact, was the most coveted technology in the survey, ahead of Internet access and television.

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But have mobile devices become too much of a good thing? While they provide constant access to people and information, they also make us more anxious and demanding. There's no excuse anymore for missing a call, e-mail or text message. "If you don't pick up a girl's phone call and you're dating her--my god, expect to buy flowers for her," says Shaun Mehtani, a restaurateur in Morristown, N.J.

And a network glitch can wreck your entire day. "When you're having a text conversation and the service drops, it's like your whole world has ended," says Megan Young, a graduate student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

These aren't the frustrations of an isolated few, but of the mobile majority. Our phones have become such a big part of how we're able to function that it begs the question: Are we addicted to our cells?

Experts say constant use of mobile devices hasn't been diagnosed as an addiction--yet. But some contend that it's fast on its way to being classified as a disease similar to drug addiction, alcoholism or gambling.

David Greenfield, a psychologist who is an expert on Internet-related behaviors, says he predicted a decade ago that people would become ultra-dependent on mobile devices, even more than they are on PCs and laptops. Since phones don't weigh much and fit easily into a pocket or a purse, "the threshold is even easier to cross, and there's no end to it," Greenfield says. "You're pretty much hooked in wherever you are, if you want to be."

Greenfield says constant and continual use of untethered devices produces chemical responses in the body similar to gambling. When compulsive gamblers win a hand, they are motivated to keep playing till they win again--no matter how much they lose in between.

It's the same with mobile texting and e-mailing, he says. "Every once in a while you'll get a good [text message or e-mail] between Viagra ads and Uganda money schemes," Greenfield says. "That's a hit, and it's a powerful reinforcer."

Others, however, aren't convinced that high-usage of mobile devices is an addiction or even detrimental to most people's quality of life, if kept in check. "I believe [dependency] happens, but the extent to which it plays a harmful role in your life, that is another matter," says Scott W. Campbell, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who studies cellphone behaviors. "I don't think it's as harmful as substances or [that it] needs treatment," he says.

Campbell, however, notes that mobile devices were first seen as a convenience for accessing people and data without having to be indoors and only when absolutely necessary. Now, they've morphed into on-call pagers and mini laptops full of digital content. "The technology has come to own many of us," he admits.

To avoid feeling stressed, set limits on usage, experts say. John Horrigan, associate director of Pew's Internet project, says limits vary greatly by temperament and age. Younger people who grew up with wireless technologies tend to have a higher threshold for dealing with all the calls, e-mails and texts clogging their phones, while older people tend to feel annoyed and distracted by them.

And if you think you have cellphone overload now, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Experts say usage will only increase as smart phones become more sophisticated and powerful, likely replacing laptops in the future.

The growth in cellphone service subscribers and revenues support the trend. In just two years, the number of subscribers in the U.S. increased eight-fold to 225 million, or 84% of the population, in 2007 from 34 million, or 13%, in 2005, according to wireless industry association CTIA. Meanwhile, industry revenues soared to $139 billion from $19 billion. Worldwide, 3 billion people have mobile service.

Despite the inexorable mobile tide, Greenfield says there's little clinical evidence that the devices improve quality of life. Mehtani agrees that his iPhone hasn't made him happier--but it has improved his business, he asserts.

"I wouldn't say it's made my life better. It's made my life efficient," he says. "When my employees are communicating with each other, I'm cc'd so I don't have to be briefed."

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