<P> Smartphone addiction can be compared to substance use disorders in that smartphones provide the drug (entertainment and connection) while acting as the means by which the drug is consumed . A study conducted at Alabama State University on the effects of smartphones on students, defines the issue by stating that we are not addicted to smartphones themselves, but that we "are addicted to the information, entertainment, and personal connections (that a smartphone) delivers ." People have an affinity for constant entertainment, and smartphones provide the quickest, most easily accessible route to it . </P> <P> Prevalence of mobile phone overuse depends largely on definition and thus the scales used to quantify a subject's behaviors . Two scales are in use, the 20 - item self - reported Problematic Use of Mobile Phones (PUMP) scale, and the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), which have been used both with adult and adolescent populations . There are variations in the age, gender, and percentage of the population affected problematically according to the scales and definitions used . The prevalence among British adolescents aged 11--14 was 10% . In India, addiction is stated at 39 - 44% for this age group . Under different diagnostic criteria, the estimated prevalence ranges from 0 to 38%, with self - attribution of mobile phone addiction exceeding the prevalence estimated in the studies themselves . The prevalence of the related problem of Internet addiction was 4.9 - 10.7% in Korea, and is now regarded as a serious public health issue . </P> <P> Behaviors associated with mobile - phone addiction differ between genders . Women are more likely to develop addictive mobile phone behavior than men . Men experience less social stress than women and use their mobile phones less for social purposes . Older people are less likely to develop addictive mobile phone behavior because of different social usage, stress, and greater self - regulation . </P> <P> Overuse of mobile phones can affect social and psychological well - being and health . </P>

Human relations before the accessibility of mobile phones wikipedia