Within our contemporary society, mobile phones have become of a

great importance, improving peoples lives all around the globe. Their
aid with respect to communication have allowed people to connect in
a form that is not the conventional physical one, where, no matter
ones location, one is in contact with family and friends. However,
there seems to be an apparent consequence inherent to prolonged
mobile phone abuse, one that seems to be proliferating amongst the
adolescent population, and it is that of mobile phone addiction.
Regardless of your age, gender or ethnicity, you are most probably in
possession of a mobile phone. At least this is what has been claimed
in a study made by the The World Bank, where they declared that,
About three quarters of the developed worlds population have
mobile phones. However, this study merely represents the overall
possession of mobile phones, without incisively delineating the
dependence on these devices by the different age groups. Teenagers,
a study shows, spend around seven hours a day consuming media
surfing the web, visiting social networking sites and playing
videogames. The broadening development of smarter phones is
allowing the population to centre their media within one sole device,
where it is now possible to carry out any task from your phone,
whether it involves sending e-mails, reading a book, or playing a
game.
It is not a matter of efficiency, says Sandra Hofferth, Professor at
the University of Maryland, but that of practicality. It is easier to
simply use our phone.
With their entire universe circulating around their mobile phones, it is
only logical to understand teenage dependence on them. Statistically
speaking, 54% of the teenage population contact their friends daily
through text messaging, whereas 33% prefer the more physical, faceto-face contact. This dependence however, has been connoted by
experts as overly abusive and detrimental, where there seems to be
a constant focus on the negative impact of technology without
acknowledging the benefits that arise with moderate reliance. Setting
aside the aforementioned advantages in entertainment and
communication, mobile phones have been demonstrated to be
cooperative whilst studying, where the rapid access to the Internet
saves the teenage population tedious hours of research in their local
library. A study carried out within our own school has shown that, in
average, we save around 80 minutes a day by using our mobile
phones, which amounts to around 20 days of free time every year.
Being in possession of a cell phone therefore, can increase ones
productivity, whether it involves research or mere leisure, or at least
this is what has been claimed by Dr. Brent Coker from the department
of management in the University of Singapore, who states that those
"who do surf the Internet for fun at work - within a reasonable limit are more productive by about 9% than those who dont."

However, the problem arises with overreliance, where we depend on

our mobile phones to carry out our daily routine. Within our school,
we inquired several people about times when they had misplaced
their portable devices, and what they felt as a result. Although
reluctant to accept reality, some students, such as Alejandro Turn,
admitted that they felt panicked and desperate. Furthermore,
Alejandro confesses, I had an urge to cease anything I was doing in
order to find my phone. I looked everywhere, disorganising my entire
room, and did not stop until I found it. This powerful truth is one that
is shared amongst our contemporary teenage population, yet the
acknowledgement of it is rather uncommon. Other students, such as
Carlos Gmez, provided a completely opposite reaction, where he
claims to have felt, nothing in particular, yet I felt something akin to
relief. The utter contrast between both parties aroused curiosity,
where the explanation seemed to be linked with the amount of time
each person dedicated to their mobile phones.
This gave rise to a further investigation, where three candidates were
selected according to the number of hours they used their phones
every day, which were seven, three and one, respectively. These
individuals were deprived from their portable devices for an entire
week, with their granted permission. The results conveyed a clear
trend, where the most dependant candidate, Fernando Barragn, was
admittedly anxious. Fernando declared, In reiterated occasions, I
forgot that my phone was no longer there. When I went to search for
it and did not find it, an overall feeling of panic overwhelmed me, not
because I thought I had lost it, simply because it was not there. This
overdependence is better explained by professional Leon Edwards,
who states, "Being disconnected from technology is surprisingly
stressful. There's often a feeling of missing out, as we worry about
what's going on without our knowledge." There seems to be an
apparent disconnection from the social world when we are not in
contact with mobile phones, and it is this feeling of detachment which
causes the crave to be in possession of our phones again.
The intermediate candidate, Jimena Seara, did not seem at all altered
by the change. Through further inquiry, Jimena claimed that, at the
beginning, I did have the custom to search my pocket for the phone. I
saw that this happened too many times, but throughout the week,
this searching became less and less common, until I forgot about my
phone completely. The study has therefore, not only demonstrated
that there is a clear link between mobile phone abuse and anxiety
when it is not present, but it has also allowed the candidates to
realise the extent to which they use their phones daily. Carlos Gmez,
the individual who barely uses his mobile phone, claims to have felt,
nothing, where he did not even notice the phone was not there.
Carlos is the clear embodiment of the fact that we can subsist without
our mobile phones, and that, most assuredly, communication
between family and friends will not suffer as a result.

Interestingly enough, the study portrays the vast similarities between

mobile phone usage and drug consumption, where those who abuse it
feel anxious and desperate when they no longer have it. Others,
who consume drugs to a certain limit, when they are deprived from
them, realise the impact it has on their lives and decide to stop taking
them. Although absurdly connoted, mobile phone addiction is
becoming a serious problem within our contemporary adolescent
population, where, like any addiction, it must be regulated and
controlled.