Are we addicted to our cell phones?

Cellular telephone use has become extremely widespread over the past several years. There has been concern that current high levels of cell phone use may be compared to a behavioral addiction. However, this has yet to be thoroughly tested. This area of research also lacks in determining what the causes and consequences of consistent cell phone use may be. The present study examined the prevalence of characteristics of a cell phone addiction among a university student population along with possible predictors of high frequency use. Participants were a total of 152 undergraduate students (n = 35 males and n = 117 females). It was hypothesized that anxiety, as measured using self-report questionnaires, would increase upon having access to one's cell phone limited for high frequency users. However, anxiety only increased when participants had their cell phone sitting in front of them and were instructed not to use them. Predictors and variables hypothesized to be related included social anxiety, social connectedness, and addiction-proneness. Results indicated that social anxiety and addiction-proneness are significant predictors of frequent cell phone use, but social connectedness has no significant connection. This study provided insights into why cell phones are sometimes used so compulsively, and if frequency of cell phone use is becoming so high that it is becoming a new behavioral addiction. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.