Cellphones have become an essential part of our lives today. However, depending on technology so much has its side-effects. A new study suggests that people who use cellphones more frequently suffer from greater degrees of anxiety.
The study was essentially focused on college students but researchers say that the results can be applied to other portions of the population as well. During the course of the study, 500 male and female students at Kent State University were surveyed.
The survey gathered information about the cellphone usage habits of these students as well as their degrees of anxiety and general sense of satisfaction. Questions related to cellphone usage asked the students about the total daily time they spent on calling, texting, emailing, sending photos, using Facebook and other activities using cellphones.
The results of the survey divulged that on average, students spent 279 minutes on their cellphones each day, which amounts up to nearly 5 hours daily. Moreover, the researchers discerned a clear trend showing that people who used cellphones more frequently suffered from a greater amount of anxiety, compared to people who use them less often.
Commenting on the findings of the study, lead study author Andrew Lepp says, “We need to try to understand what is behind this increase in student anxiety. At least for some students, the sense of obligation that comes from being constantly connected may be part of the problem. Some may not know how to be alone to process the day’s events, to recover from certain stressors.”
Interestingly, the researchers couldn’t establish a cause-effect relationship between cellphone usage and anxiety. Although there is a certain relationship between the two, the study authors couldn’t pin whether its cellphone usage that leads to anxiety or that more anxiety prompts more cellphone use.
Regardless, the study’s findings are an important reminder that cellphone usage in our daily lives must not inhibit other pertinent tasks such as exercise, real-life interactions and meaningful conversations with actual people.
Courtesy: NewsMaxHealth
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