5 harmful effects of phone addiction

One in five people worldwide own a smartphone. Smartphones have even become an obsession, causing musculoskeletal problems such as pain in the fingers, elbows, and neck.

Photo: huffpost.com.

Finger and elbow pain

The motions of swiping, typing, and playing games on a smartphone can cause pain in the finger muscles. Excessive phone use can also cause tendonitis and worsen conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome. Similarly, elbows can become tingly, numb, and red if they are bent for extended periods.

If your phone is causing these symptoms, try doing some wrist flexion exercises. If the pain persists for more than a week, try applying heat. It's best to see a doctor.

Spinal damage and neck pain

Using phones continuously for hours damages the neck bones and causes painful back muscles. According to a UK study, 84% of young people who experienced spinal pain in 2014 did so because of excessive use of smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Adjust your sitting posture to reduce back pain, and limit phone use to reduce strain on your neck. It may seem strange, but occasionally hold your phone upright in front of you so you don't have to bend down.

Eye damage

Constantly staring at a phone screen filled with tiny social media posts can lead to eye strain, blurred vision, dry eyes, and dizziness. Blurred vision, coupled with stiff neck muscles, can cause headaches. If you experience these symptoms, increase the font size on your phone. Smartphone users are advised to keep their devices at least 40 cm away from their eyes. Every few minutes, look away from the screen and gaze into the distance to rest your eyes. Also, remember to blink.

Photo: cloudfront.net.

Phone deprivation

Nomophobia, or the fear of being without your phone, makes you afraid to leave your device. Research conducted on 1,000 people in the UK showed that 66% of the population fear losing or not having their phone with them. Some manifestations of this fear include becoming stressed or experiencing negative physical symptoms when losing or being unable to use the phone, frantically checking to make sure the phone is with them, and constantly worrying about losing it somewhere.

According to the same study, women are more prone to phone anxiety than men. If you find yourself experiencing similar symptoms, experts recommend anxiety-relieving techniques such as deep breathing or yoga.

Obsessed with the sound of vibrations.

A study by a professor at Purdue University (India) found that 89% of undergraduate students had experienced "phantom vibration," meaning they heard and felt their phone vibrating even though it wasn't actually vibrating. The study also indicated that students who were overly reliant on text messages and social media became anxious when their phone didn't vibrate.

To minimize this, turn off vibration mode and only check your phone at fixed times. If you need to keep your smartphone with you, keep it in your pocket. Try not to check your pocket constantly, otherwise you might become the first victim of "vibrating pocket syndrome"...

According to VnExpress