By Danielle Racicot:
The nydailynews reported a Time Mobility Poll showed 84% of people worldwide say they couldn’t go a single day without their mobile device in their hand. Neurocorecenters suggests when phone addiction is “compared to other types of addiction, like alcohol, drug, and gambling, this is a noticeable similarity. This imbalance can trigger feelings of anxiety and panic when the addiction isn’t satisfied, and also contributes to poor attention and control.”
On March 16th, a woman named Leanne, who asked that her last name not be used, was attacked by a jaguar. Leanne was trying to take a picture of the animal at an Arizona zoo, according to CBS News. The woman had leaned over the barrier to get a picture of the jaguar. She was close enough to the animal for its claws to prow through the cage and clamp down on her arm. The woman was taken to the hospital after, with deep cuts in her forearm, but not life threatening. Zoo officials have come out and said that the existing barrier outside the jaguar’s cage meets federal standards and is there for a reason.
This is one of the many cases of social media use gone wrong. There have been multiple studies done that are associated with taking a selfie; a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone or webcam and shared via social media.
This raises the question of the dangers of social media and iPhone addiction. According to Professor Chris Gilbert of the English department at Assumption College, there’s a fear of not posting online and becoming distant, “the fear of missing out, socially, is very real. But so is the actual experience of missing out on social relationships.” Which brings us back to the “selfie”. According to CBS news, psychologists say some people might have the mental disorder, “selfitis” which is the obsessive taking of selfies and falls in 3 different conditions.
Timesnownews explained, the first is borderline, if a person takes a minimum of 3 selfies in a day but does not post them on social media. Acute if the person is taking a minimum of three selfies on a date and also publishing/ posting the same on social media. Severe/chronic if the person has an uncontrollable urge to take selfies throughout the day and posting them on social media. Psychologists deem Leanne, who was attacked by the jaguar, was falling into the severe/chronic condition of selfitis. The mental scars from this condition, run deeper than the physical scars from the incident.
Some ways cnbc suggests to stop phone addiction is to:
- Keep yourself on a schedule
“Start with every 15 minutes, then move to every half hour, every 45 minutes, or every hour. When your alarm sounds, spend one minute going through any and all notifications and then reset the timer.”
- Turn off as many push notifications as possible
“An incredibly simple way to cut down on distractions is to turn off push notifications for as many apps as you can. Just head to Settings > Notifications to control your preferences.”
- Take distracting apps off your home screen
“Anything that you want to limit your time with, put into folders on your second page of apps.”
- Kick your device out of bed
“By using a regular alarm clock and charging your phone out of reach, you won’t be tempted to start your day by getting vortexed into an avalanche of messages and updates.”
THE AC301 