A study conducted by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project last month told us this: We are addicted to our cellphones.
With 83 percent of American adults today having some type of cellphone, it comes as no surprise that people have an attachment to their phones unlike any other.
In a 30-day study conducted by Lisa Merlo, assistant professor of psychiatry at UF, and her team, men and women were found to be equally at risk of cellphone addiction, although younger adults showed more symptoms than older adults.
Individuals with fancier phones were also found to exhibit more warning signs than those with more basic models.
Fifty-one percent of people with cellphones used their phones at least once to get information they needed right away during the span of the study. Thirteen percent of cellphone users admitted to pretending to use their phones in order to avoid interacting with others around them.
"I think for the current generation of college students, [cellphones are] a normal thing for them," said Steve Orlando, UF spokesman. "That's what they've grown up with, and it's part of their world. They've come to rely on it so much and for so many things. They're almost inseparable."
