Cyber addiction is the excessive, compulsive non-productive use of the Internet by an individual desperately relying on it to occupy free time for recreation or social purposes. It is often fueled by the overuse and lack of time regulation in online gaming and/or the use of mobile apps and social media networks.
While you can experience these instincts with a laptop or even desktop computer, the size and convenience of smartphones and tablets means that we can take them just about anywhere and fulfil our urges of using the Internet.
What is smartphone addiction?
Smartphone addiction, also known as “nomophobia”, is the fear of being without a mobile phone.
Studies suggest that most of us are rarely ever more than five feet from our smartphones. Many people admit to regularly using them in theaters, while eating, doing homework, and even in the washroom. So what causes our obsession with these always-connected devices?
Smartphones, tablets, or the Internet can be addictive because their use, just like smoking cigarettes, can trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine and alter mood. And just like using drugs and alcohol, you can rapidly build up tolerance so that it takes more and more time in front of these screens to derive the same pleasurable reward.
Addiction to social networking, mobile apps, texting and messaging can extend to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships. While the Internet can be a great place to meet new people or reconnect with old friends, online relationships are not a healthy substitute for real life interactions.
Online friends tend to exist in a bubble, not subject to the same demands or stresses as messy real-world relationships. Since few real-life relationships can compete with these neat, virtual relationships, you may find yourself spending more and more time with online friends, retreating from your real world family and friends.
In addition to that, smartphone addiction can also lead to lower productivity at school and isolate you for hours at a time. This could be done through constant web surfing, watching videos, playing games, and/or checking your news feeds on social media.
All this compulsive use of the Internet and smartphone apps can cause you to neglect other aspects of your life, from real-world relationships to hobbies and social pursuits.