Young people's attachment to their mobile phones is eroding their personal relationships, according to a new study.
The claims come after research revealed that young adults - in addition to sending over 100 texts - check their mobile up to 60 times a day.
Experts behind a new study have now said compulsively checking a mobile phone is an addiction similar to compulsive spending or credit card misuse.
It seems to me young people have always found ways to "erode their personal relationships" with whatever the technology of the moment happened to be, whether it was TV or videogames or smartphonse. Then, they grow up and their bevaior changes. Maybe it's more serious this time around and they won't grow out of it, but I doubt it.
I've written here before about waiting for the true "convergance" device that does anything, and I think the next generation of smartphones may be it. I've been playing with my new Samsung Galaxy SIII, and well, talk about addicted. It's almost scary how many functions it has. I used to carry around a still camera, a basic video camera and a digital tape recorder. The phone now replaces all three. My GPS is in the trunk of the car, because the phone does that, too. What else? It's a flashlight, a magnifying glass, a bar code and QR code reader, an Internet searcher, a radio with mutiple, peronslized stations, a TV and God knows what else.
The coolest thing about it might be its NFC -- near field comnications. If you've seen the ads, it might seem like a mere gimmick -- touch phone screens and two people can instantly share a video, say, or music play list. But imagine what's next with NFC -- one half in the phone and the other half in an external device that can go just about anywhere. Touch your phone to the device, and it will, oh, unlock your door, or turn on the TV or start you car or perform just about any other functtion you can think of.
