Smartphone addiction has become widespread in Hong Kong, causing family strife, insomnia, anxiety and depression, a psychologist says
The bright red lights that shine onto the ground at pedestrian crossings around Hong Kong so that phone-absorbed zombies know the “Don’t Walk” signal is active are billed as a public safety measure.
They are also a sign of the times, speaking volumes about Hongkongers’ deep connection with their handsets.
A survey released in August by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals’ Integrated Centre on Addiction Prevention and Treatment found that Hong Kong parents are struggling to control their children’s use of gadgets, resulting in hostile relationships.
The centre polled 712 parents of children aged six to 18 between September and December 2023, with 28.5 per cent saying they had overreacted to their children’s use of electronic devices with verbal insults, physical threats or unreasonable punishment.
Meanwhile, a survey of 1,000 residents by language learning app Preply found that 63.4 per cent were addicted to their smartphones, with 36.5 per cent admitting to using them in the toilet.
It also yielded information about phone users’ sleep patterns, with younger people more likely to use their devices in bed despite it being widely reported that using electronic devices immediately before going to bed can have a negative effect on sleep quality.
The Preply survey found 35.8 per cent of respondents had experienced anxiety about their phone battery running low, 28.7 per cent had rushed home to use their phone, and 20 per cent had missed public transport stops because they were distracted by their phone.
Nearly one in 10 confessed to risky behaviour such as texting or browsing while driving.
Hong Kong-based psychologist Quratulain Zaidi says it is important to beware of the potential risks of smartphone misuse.
“We have all seen it – people on busy sidewalks or in shopping malls looking at their phones and bumping into each other because they are not paying attention … some even put themselves at risk when crossing roads,” she says.
More concerning is the negative impact phone addiction can have on mental health, she says.
“Research shows that excessive smartphone use is associated with conditions including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” Zaidi says, For adolescents and young adults, the risks are greater.
“For these groups, smartphone use may cause problems with emotional regulation and cognitive function, impulsivity, and low self-esteem,” she says.
It can cause insomnia, migraine, and changes to the volume of grey matter that makes up the outer layer of the brain, she says.
Zaidi adds: “In recent years I have seen an increase in the number of teenagers affected by various mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, eating disorders … the list goes on.”
What both surveys highlight, Zaidi says, is the urgent need for strategies to help people manage and reduce their phone usage.
To help diagnose phone addiction, she looks out for certain symptoms.
These include a recurring inability to resist the impulse to use your smartphone; anxiety or irritability after a period without using your smartphone; using a smartphone for longer than intended; unsuccessful attempts to quit or reduce your smartphone use, and; spending excessive time using a smartphone despite physical or mental problems resulting from it.
She has seen the damaging impact phone addiction can have on relationships, as well as on productivity at work and at school.
“The physical impacts of headaches and lack of sleep and motivation then leads to a lack of functioning in various facets of life – this has certainly increased,” she says.
“My kids use the phone for everything else other than what it was originally designed for, which is calling people. That’s so ironic.”
Article Name: HOW PHONE ZOMBIES ARE TAKING OVER THE CITY
Publication:South China Morning Post
Author: Kylie Knott
