79% of smart phone owners check there device within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning and continue to check it perhaps 150 times a day.
Conservative estimates suggest most people are spending 3 or more hours a day on their phones. At the low end, that is 21 hours a week, 84 hours a month, and 42 DAYS a year. If one were to do that from the age of 15 to 85, that would amount to nearly 13 ½ YEARS spent on their smart phone.
And the numbers are from 2015. So, they are likely even higher now as our mobile devises have become the primary way we engage online and consume information (e.g., email, social media, video streaming).
What absolutely blew me away, however, was that 1/3 of Americans would rather give up sex than lose their phone. That’s crazy. And my sense of it is that its also crazy true.
But, of course, phones are not the only culprit.
80% of teens check their phones at least once every hour
60% of people report binge watching television series
59% report being dependent on social media (and half of those report distress if they don’t check their accounts at least once in an hour)
46% of people said they would rather suffer physical injury than lose their smartphone
And again, these statistics are from 2015.
Many online behaviors are habit forming, but are they really addictions? That likely comes down to whether or not the “reward” of the behavior now outweighs potentially harmful consequences in the long run.
1. What is a Behavioral Addiction?
When we use the word “addiction”, we typically thing of chemical dependence, right? Perhaps someone is addicted to cocaine or heroin. Or maybe they are addicted to smoking or to alcohol.
But what about food? Or the internet? Or pornography?
How about farther down the line. Can you be addicted to social media? Video games? Or work email?
The answer is - it depends. Clinically, the only diagnosable behavioral disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – Fifth Edition (i.e., what mental health practitioners use to make and codify disorders) is a gambling addiction. But there are certainly other behaviors many, many people feel driven to do even though they want to stop.
Addictions involve a loss of control over as well as serious consequences associated with the behavior. Now whether or not it is an “addiction” or just a bad habit has a lot to do the degree of negative impact. In other words, does it adversely impact work (or school for children and teens), relationships, finances, emotional wellbeing, or even risk legal trouble?
If yes, it may be an addiction. If no, it may just be a bad habit. Either way, you probably want to get rid of it and have not yet been able to do so.
2. What Are The Most Common Behavioral “Addictions”?
Behavioral addictions are incredibly common, impacting perhaps as many as 40% of the population in any given year. That is a lot of us! And that number does not include all of us with habitual behaviors that cause us some degree of dissatisfaction but may not be a full-blown disorder. So, what is it that all of us are doing that we would rather not? Here they are, in no particular order
Gambling
Eating
Sexual behavior (including pornography)
Spending
Internet (e.g., social media, gaming, email)
3. How Are Behavioral Addictions Formed?
We often think of an addiction as something that resides within an individual. We think there is a biological basis for it and that some people are “addicts” and others are not. Or that certain chemical substances will trap someone in addiction and that one is powerless against such biological agents. There may be some truth to that, but it is not the full story.
The truth is, there is the potential for addiction in all of us. Addictions are not born, they are built. And any one of us has the potential to develop an addiction.
We are all often driven towards addictive behaviors by universal psychological needs – the need for social acceptance and support, the need for mental stimulation, and the need for perceived effectiveness.
And when one or more of these needs are not being met, our brain-body will seek out, and find, behaviors that provide a temporary relief for underlying dissatisfaction, even if it comes with long-term consequences.
Are there tech related behaviors in your life, or a loved one’s, that fits this description?