Mobile Addiction

Psychiatrists say mobile phone addiction is an obsessive-compulsive disorder which looks set to become one of the biggest non-drug addictions in the 21st century.
Mobile phone addiction can totally isolate its victims, ruin them economically and even turn them into criminals.
The majority of the addicts are teenagers, whose shyness and low self-esteem make them succumb to aggressive publicity marketing a means to get in touch with people without having to meet them.
Many Spanish teenagers get their first cell phone at the age of 13.
Young addicts may spend so much time making calls, receiving messages and logging into the internet that they fail at school and drop out.Addicts can easily run up phone bills of €800 ($A1320) a month, and some turn to crime to pay them.
Addiction should be suspected if a person feels an irresistible need to use the cell phone for more than half an hour daily.
Mobile phone addiction is not that different from any other type of addiction, ranging from drugs to compulsive shopping.
The Effects On Children:
• There is huge peer pressure to have a mobile phone with the latest technology and design• The ease by which mobiles are available increases the demand - ‘pay as you go’ accessibility• Parents accept this because they convince themselves of the safety benefits• The stress of maintaining communications for some is hard• The stress of wanting an equal flow of contact can be self destroying if it does not materialise• Owning a mobile phone, for some, provides a status among friends and a degree of self worth• On occasions there may be unwanted communications and even stalking which adds a further pressure on the individual.

Health risks (radiation)The Department of Health issues guideline on the use of mobile phone by young people under 16. Because the head and the nervous system are still developing in the teenage years, children and young people might be more venerable than adults. It has therefore been recommended that children under 16 should be discouraged from non-essential calls. The UK Chief Medical Officer has gone further and advised parents not to let children use mobile phones.
Driving safety regulations
Using a mobile phone while driving can be more dangerous than being ‘over the limit’ behind the wheel, but neither is safe.Drivers' reaction times are 30 percent slower when talking on a hand-held mobile phone compared to being drunk and nearly 50 percent slower than under normal driving conditions. Using a hand-held mobile phone had the greatest impact on driving performance, but "hands free" mobile phones also affect drivers.