I wake up to the buzzing of my cell phone alarm, check one of my widgets for weather updates, check for new e-mails and text messages, stick my earphones in for some tunes and start my day. This all seems perfectly normal, some might even go as far as to say that it is being responsible, but there’s a catch; I am a cell phone addict.

Addiction is defined as being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming. The continual use of devices as easily accessible as mobile cell phones creates chemical responses that are similar to that of compulsive gambling. Apple iPhones, Blackberrys, Samsungs, HTCs, LGs… and the list goes on, but they all have one common link – they consume parts of our life. My cell phone has become an extension of myself, an extension of myself that I am afraid to lose sight of and am constantly reaching for.

Do you remember how simple life was without being bombarbed by constant text messages, social networking updates, e-mails, and phone calls? While advanced technological improvements have drastically made life easier and more efficient for the most part, the same technological advancements can be the cause of increased stress, anxiety, and in the most extreme cases – death.

So where do we draw the line between healthy cell phone usage and addictive cell phone dependence? If you are using your phone to avoid social interaction, to compulsively check things, to message someone sitting within arms reach, or you begin to feel empty without its presence, then it may be time to begin detoxing from the cell phone monkey.

Personally, I quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey in August of 2010… but I don’t think I can let go of my cell phone as easily.

 

 

Photo by Elizabeth Downie via Blogspot