Do you find it difficult to leave your smartphone even for a minute or have cravings to check it without any real purpose? Chances are you have become an addict and need professional help. According to psychiatrists, medical authorities worldwide need to formally recognise addiction to internet and digital devices as a disorder. ‘Singaporeans spend an average of 38 minutes per session on Facebook, almost twice as long as Americans,’ said a latest study by Experian, a global information services company.
Singapore and Hong Kong top an Asia-Pacific region that boasts some of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates, according to a 2013 report by media monitoring firm Nielsen.
Some 87 percent of Singapore's 5.4 million population own smartphones -- as Internet-capable phones with cameras are popularly known.
In the United States, where there are similar concerns about the impact of smartphones on society, a 65 percent penetration rate would not even make the top five in Asia Pacific.
Singaporeans also spend on average 38 minutes per session on Facebook, almost twice as long as Americans, according to a study by Experian, a global information services company.
According to Adrian Wang, a psychiatrist at the Gleneagles Medical Centre in Singapore, digital addiction should now be classified as a psychiatric disorder. ‘Patients come for stress anxiety-related problems but their coping mechanism is to go online, go on to social media,’ Wang was quoted as saying in a South China Morning Post report.
Obsession with online gaming was the main manifestation in the past but addiction to social media and video downloading are now the trend. In terms of physical symptoms, more people, especially young, are reporting ‘text neck’ or ‘iNeck’ pain. ‘Many people have their heads lowered and are now using their mobile devices constantly on the go while queuing or even crossing the roads, leading to neck pain,’ psychiatrists said.
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