This video needs no explanation… Just watch what happens to this girl who forgot her phone…
Tag Archives: smartphone addiction
Help Us Convince Developers to Make Less Addictive Apps
We are all addicted to Smartphones.
But it’s not only our fault. Just like with tobacco, coca-cola and other addictive products, the other side – the producers – are also responsible for the addiction.
I have an amazing opportunity to speak at one of the biggest Internet conferences this year – WebSummit, Ireland, 2013. In my talk I will convince app developers and entrepreneurs why they should make less addictive apps for us, the users.
Lior Frenkel WebSummit
But in order to speak there, I need your help
Get into this link, watch my video and press “Like”. It should take a minute of your time, but this is for a great purpose. Spreading the word about UNDIGITIZE.ME.
You can also help by clicking on this link to tweet the message: http://clicktotweet.com/28T06
I must remind you, that this is a non-profit project, so we need your good will support whenever possible.
Thanks…
// Lior Frenkel
Your smartphone and your eyes
The negative social and cognitive influences lurking around the corner due to intensive Smartphone use are probably evident and clear by now to most of you intelligent birds out there, but what about the physical hazards?
Most of us spend the majority of our awakening hours in front of the computer. Combine your office hours with your after work Social media hours and add to that your approximate total daily Smartphone use count. Are you afraid to even calculate this equation? So do us.
Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) are injuries to the skeletal system and nervous systems caused by repetitive tasks. Eye strain is one of the most common RSI injuries among Smartphone users.
When we stare at the screen in front of us, we blink much less than naturally. Decrease in blink rate causes dry eyes and is one of the top factors to cause headaches. Eye strain is known for the negative effect to our vision and is also likely to cause neck and shoulder pain.
Scared yet? Have no fear! CNN as well as LifeHacker community have adopted an easy method to avoid potential damage: The simple 20-20-20 rule.
This Optometrist and eye doctor supported method suggests that every 20 minutes we take an at least 20 second break in which we shall gaze at an object that is 20 feet (6 meters) away. This is the recommended distance in which our eyes relax and restore focus. Maintaining this habit should help us avoid the unwanted potential damage mentioned above.
Optometrist Dr.Glazier also suggests intensive users consulting to an eye doctor regarding potential adjustments need to be made, limiting the usage, keeping a healthy distance from the screen (elbow to wrist distance – minimum) and taking the time to adjust brightness and contrast according to your personal feeling.
// Noy Tamarkin
Why Writing A Children’s Book is our New Project
Our kids are addicted to screens. TV, computer screen, tablet or Smartphone – kids can spend up to 75% of their day playing with one or the other.
Whenever I visit my nephews, I experience how strong this addiction can be. My 2 year old nephew is browsing the YouTube app on the iPad almost as fast as I do. Well, this is amazing, and I admire this little smart guy, but I have problems to communicate with him because his attention span is so short.
A few months back I started UNDIGITIZE.ME first and foremost for myself. I am addicted to the Smartphone, and I wanted to find ways to get my life back. The deeper I dig, I get to the real problems – and kids’ addiction to screens is one of them. Now, with the “Phone Faced Down” campaign, on family dinners we are no longer allowing the kids to play with any of the screens, and we see the change immediately. They cry and cry for half an hour, but then they get creative and play with us. So I get to know my nephew more and more.
But influencing my own family is not enough – I feel that I want to make a real change. I want more kids, and more parents get aware to the screens addiction. I want the message to spread – that is the whole purpose of UNDIGITIZE.ME. I want parents to discuss it with each other and with their kids. Understanding the good and the bad in the screens. What we can gain, but also what we lose when we are “screening” ourselves so much.
With that in mind, I’m ready for the next challenge – spreading the word to the kids. And what is a better way doing that, than creating a children’s book, that will inspire them – not preaching to them – to try and visit the world outside the screens a bit more. To explore the abundance in the physical world, more than they do today.
I will share this beautiful journey with you in the next few weeks and months.
// Lior Frenkel
To read more about kids and tech addiction, try Michael’s guest post.
Now and Then
Now and Then, undigitize.me
How Strong Is Your Thumb, You Smartphone Addict? ;)
Are You A “Phone Potato”?
A new study by researchers at Kent State University found a link between heavy smartphone use and reduced fitness levels among university students.
Phone Potato
Researchers Andrew Lepp and Jacob E. Barkley, associate professors in Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services, found college students who reported the highest smartphone use – averaging 14 hours a day – were less fit than those who used the devices less often.
“There’s no ‘phone potato’ term, but maybe there should be,” Barkley said. “We’re just scratching the surface here. I don’t think they think about the consequences of sitting and playing with your phone.”
Well, that’s a whole new meaning for the term “Digital Diet”…
Read more here.
// Lior Frenkel
20% Are Using Smartphone During Sex
Looking at 1,102 participants, Jumio revealed that 9% of adults admit using their smartphone during sex. And 20% of adults between 18-34 admit to using it.
Other interesting numbers of smartphone use:
-35% in movie theater
-33% on dinner date
-32% at child’s school function
-55% while driving
-12% in the shower
-19% in church
Read more: http://www.jumio.com/2013/07/americans-cant-put-down-their-smartphones-even-during-sex/
Read more: http://newsfixnow.com/2013/07/15/online-dish-more-people-using-smartphones-during-sex/#ixzz2b4W6ZVOy
Addicted to Your Smartphone? Infographic
Smart Phone Addiction – Lovelace
Great infographic by Lovelace Health System
Sources:
Pew Research Center, Smart Phone Usage
Huffington Post, Smart Phone Addiction Time Survey
The Telegraph, Smart Phones Hardly Used for Calls
LA Times, Survey: 59% of People Would Reach into a Toilet to Retrieve a Phone
ESoftLoad, Smartphone Statistics and Side Effects
What did you just call me?!
A South Korean campaign against smartphone addiction involves warning kids in classrooms that too much internet use makes them “mindless slaves” or “losers.”
More than 80% of kids aged 12 to 19 were found to have a smartphone in 2012, double from 2011.
Losers!
read more: http://www.thefix.com/content/south-korea-fights-digital-addiction-school-speakers91860
What do you do when your battery runs out?
“If your iPhone’s battery, God forbid, ever runs out, and you have left your spare charger in your car and you’ve lent out your other spare, you find yourself having a nervous breakdown” – Jessica Poter, considers that to be one of the worst and scariest symptomps of a smartphone addiction.
I personally think that bumping into strange people on the street is alot more disturbing.
To read more from jessica http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/articles/9-signs-youre-iphone-addict
Mike Luckovich: “Totally Over Smartphones”
Mike Luckovich: “Totally Over Smartphones”
Andy Bailey: Cellphone can be more a distraction than a tool
Andy Bailey is telling us how he felt when his smartphone was stolen on the way to a conference:
For the first 24 hours, I felt textbook withdrawal: I was anxious, disoriented and a little scared.
He observed himself for the next few days, and of what he named as Cellular Compulsive Disorder (or CCD). Then he got to some positive conclusions:
We can survive without our phones. I’ll admit, when I realized I was phoneless, I panicked. My travel tickets, hotel reservations, calendar and itinerary were all stored in my phone. Further, without apps such as AroundMe or Google Maps, how was I going to choose a place to eat or navigate in a foreign country?
After a momentary freakout, I regrouped. Turns out, airline kiosks can still print your tickets, hotels have your reservations on file, and you can access your calendar and itinerary from any computer. For restaurant suggestions or directions, I resorted to asking the locals — worked like a charm.
• The CCD afflicted are obnoxious. I began my 90-minute speaking sessions by asking the audience of entrepreneurs to turn off their phones. Sure enough, minutes later, I’d be at the crux of a point and a phone would ring. If it wasn’t a disruptive ring tone, I’d look into the crowd and notice several texters completely zoning me out….
• After my personal CCD recovery, I participated in more in-person conversation than I had in years. Since I couldn’t fill my extra time buried in the virtual world, I re-entered the real world. I met fantastic people, and our conversations delved beneath the surface. I experienced true engagement. It was a beautiful thing…
• A CCD-free life bolsters productivity. Although we all rationalize we can accomplish more with our contacts and reference materials in the palm of our hand, it’s not true. If you’re like me, and most I witnessed during my CCD-free week, you’re using your smartphone as a distraction rather than a work tool…
I recommend reading the full piece here.
Source: tennessean.com
// Lior Frenkel
Cartoon: Mobile Phone Addiction
By Andy Davey from The Sun
Making fake phone calls?
Have you ever pretended to be talking on your phone just to avoid something or better yet, someone? it seems to be the most deadly symptom of smartphone addiction according to lifeteen.com.
Next time, maybe talking to the creep coming on to you on the bus in not as bad as the alternative.
read more http://lifeteen.com/the-5-phrases-cell-phone-addict/
Understatement of the year
The Child Welfare League Foundation survey revealed nothing new by presenting a shocking 36 percent of respondents saying they would feel unhappy, anxious or angry if they could not use their phone. So, you are warning us about smartphone addiction. Tell me more.
no, really, tell me more http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/07/17/2003567305
No more newspapers in the toilet
The next step in smartphone addiction- toilet texting. According to a new study, the magazines and newspapers have lost their appeal in the bathrooms among 75% of the american people. Nothing says “i missed you”, like a good old fashion text from the toilet of a loved one.
ToiletTexting-infographic
read more http://www.sociableblog.com/2012/03/07/toilet-texting-smartphone-addiction/
Don’t text while watching a movie – the ninjas will get you
The Prince Charles Cinema in Londons Leicester Square is taking matter in their own hands by employing so-called ninjas to stop rude texters. A semi questionable method, but at list they look great in leotard.
read more http://www.slashfilm.com/wtf-london-theater-employing-volunteer-ninjas-to-confront-rude-moviegoers/
Cigarettes, caffeine, cocaine and cellphones
Bonnie Tubbs in a detailed and funny post explaining about Smartphone Addiction:
Hi, my name is Bonnie and I am a cellphone addict. It has been about two minutes since I last checked my phone.
…
I personally don’t feel my irrepressible compulsion to check my phone every couple of minutes has affected my work or relationships. I have no doubt my editor would back me up on that, once he has forgiven me for overshooting deadline again. And if I had any real-life friends, I am sure they would attest to it too.
Great read, enjoy.
Smartphones Induce Dumb Behaviour
In this nice blog post from the Bangkok Post, Sukhumaporn Laiyok is writing her opinion about Smartphone addiction.
One of her stories in that post really caught my eyes:
People find it hard to tear themselves away from these little gizmos. The other day I saw a woman using her smartphone when exercising. As she was working out on a treadmill she used one hand to hold the…
Wherever you are in the world – New York, Tel-Aviv or Bangkok – people see the same sights, and feel the same about the Smartphone Addiction.
// Lior Frenkel
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