Study: Smartphone usage becoming obsessive, can cause anxiety

People have become so dependent on their smartphones that they become anxious when they haven't received any calls, messages or updates for a while, according to the latest research into the topic. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, people become so obsessive about checking their email accounts and social networking sites that they actually become more stressed as a result, researchers said.

University of Worcester psychologist Richard Balding conducted psychometric tests on 100 employed and student volunteers. He found that stress levels can become so pronounced that some start experiencing the “phantom vibrations” of non-existent test messages, according to Techworld.

Balding suggested that the solution is to switch off, and encouraged companies to ensure that staff maintain the line between home and office by swicthing off work devices when workers are not in the office.

"Organisations will not flourish if their employees are stressed, irrespective of the source of stress, so it is in their interest to encourage their employees to switch their phones off, cut the number of work emails sent out of hours and reduce people's temptation to check their devices," Balding was quoted as saying by the Press Association.

For more:
- see this Daily Telegraph article
- see this Techworld article
- see this Press Association article

Related Articles:
Study: Mobility can be a drag on workers... but there is a bright side
Nielsen: Facebook dominates Android app usage across age groups
Android Market reaches 10B downloads, offers 10 cent apps
Study: European users trump U.S. on Android app downloads
Facebook social app discovery expands to Android
Facebook shutting down Gowalla in early 2012