Why Are We Getting Addicted To Mobile Tech?

Do you sometimes feel like you absolutely can not last thirty minutes without checking your mobile phone? Do you feel so much anxiety if you leave your smartphone behind? Do you feel that constant itch to always check your Galaxy handset for the latest email, social media post, or Instagram image?

Perhaps there is comfort in knowing that this is basically happening to everyone in the planet. The other positive thing we can take from it is that we surely are smart enough as a species to do something about it (or are we?). But before we can take some course of action, we need first to take a look at why we have become so dependent on mobile devices.

Society’s Standards Have Changed

Not so long ago, taking phone calls while sitting at the dining table is a no-no, but society at large has since been more lenient in recent years. It is not so uncommon these days for some families to allow members to take their smartphones while having dinner, although it does not help one bit in encouraging family conversations.  

Also, there is an increasing numbers of adults now who were first given their smartphones back in their childhood or adolescent years, practically growing up with a mobile device in their hands. Naturally, as this generation transitioned to being grownups, they were more attached to their smartphones compared to previous generations. It is a safe bet that the next generation will be, too.

The point is that we have become a mobile reliant society because we basically allowed it to happen to us and our kids.

Increasing Demands Of Work

Back before the mobile age, we can only check emails at work via our desktop computers. Our access to online communications was way limited back then and try as we might, it was just not practical carrying computers to be able to check incoming emails while we were having a Starbucks coffee break. 

But how the times have changed. Smartphones have virtually allowed us to check our inbox anywhere, anytime, even at the bath room. And this is further compounded because our bosses actually want us to do it. With more and more mobile devices becoming capable of achieving work related tasks, this looks to continue. 

Social Media

Social media has allowed us to be more connected to people, especially family members or acquaintances we have not heard from in a long time. Social media has also allowed us to be entertained, not only by news from friends, but by viral videos, celebrity news, memes, and endless pictures and GIFs of kittens. 

There is nothing wrong with this, but it is sometimes alarming how we always want to be among the first to know/share/comment about something that has just hit the social media universe. This is partly why we always want our mobile devices in our hands, so we can keep updated on the latest “trending” thing.

Mobile Technology Itself

We tend to take mobile devices or wireless technology for granted. But part of the reason why we are addicted to mobile tech is because of how marvelous the technology is in itself. It empowers us as effectively as it entertains us. It can be as much a life saver as a source of frustration (when we can not find a signal or when our batteries are running low). Maybe we are addicted to mobile because we kind of need it in this fast paced world we are living. However, others may argue that it is actually the reverse -- the world runs so fast these days because everything now is so mobile.