Phones turn students into slaves

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2010-12-13 15:59

According to Xu Jingyang, a 23-year-old sophomore pursuing her second major in journalism at Communication University of China in Beijing, her cellphone "is as important as [her] lover."


Xu takes her cellphone wherever she goes, powering it on for 24 hours a day. When she sleeps, she puts it so easily and quickly within reach at anytime.


"I rely on my mobile phone too much. I don't dare turn it off. If it is powered off, I'm very uneasy to cut connections with others unless there's a tool that can replace the mobile phone, it's impossible for me to leave it," she told the Global Times.


Xu makes phone calls for dozens of times a day and sends hundreds of text massages, which costs her a least 300-yuan ($45) per month. One advantage is that her frequent phone use has increased her speed in sending text massages.


"I can send them without looking at the keyboard," she said.


Cellphone dependency




Xu is not the only student addicted to cellphones. About 80 percent of college students surveyed at six universities in Hunan Province have what is called "mobile phone dependency syndrome." Among them, about 48 percent


are "serious" cases, according to a recent report, College Students' Mobile Phone Dependency Syndrome Research, by Ouyang Youquan, president of Central South University's School of Literature in Changsha.


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2010-12-13 15:59


High anxiety




Typical cellphone dependency syndrome is anxiety if the phone isn't with the user. If it isn't ringing frequently the user will feel uncomfortable and even if there are no calls or text messages, he or she will frequently check the phone anyway, according to the report.


A 19-year-old sophomore surnamed Lin, who also declined to use her full name or identify her college in Fujian Province, said cellphones play a very important role in her life.


She compulsively touches and checks her phone every several minutes to see if there are text messages. If she has nothing to do, she will play with the phone to kill time. The obsession has caused her to imagine that she hears the phone ringing or feels it vibrating when it is not.


Her dependence however has made her ambidextrous on the phone with both hands able to text equally.


"Sometimes, I text with my neighboring classmates. During class, if I have no interest in the lessons, I'll send text massages. I don't care if teachers find me doing that," Lin said.


Safety and health threats




However, cellphone dependence threatens peoples' safety and health, according to some reports.


An investigation by Carnegie Mellon University in the US shows that if drivers use cellphones while driving their attention is decreased by 37 percent, increasing the chances for car accidents. Quite a few people listen to music through mobile phones at a volume of about 100 decibels, while the volume of normal communication is 60 decibels.


In a noisy background, people will boost the volume of their cellphone while making a phone call. When the volume is over 80 decibels, it can lead to hearing loss, the newspaper Life Times reported in January.


Sending too many text massages can hurt thumb muscles, causing soreness, numbness, aching and swelling, which sometimes results in tenosynovitis, (inflamed tendon sheath) said Hao Ye, a doctor in the orthopedic department at Shijingshan Hospital in Beijing.


"We meet quite a few college students with tenosynovitis caused by excessively use of mobile phones," he said.  "They should let their hands rest, take some medicine and even get an operation."


Media experts suggest college students should reduce their reliance on cell phones. "Many people turn themselves into slaves of cell phones. College students should reduce the usage of cell phones and increase face-to-face communication," said Wang Sixin, vice president of School of Politics and Law at Communication University of China.


Just a tool




Psychology experts say excessive use of cellphones will not necessarily cause psychological problems.


"College students rely more on cell phones because of their popularity. A cellphone is just a tool and it will not be enough to lead to psychological problems," Hu Deng, director of psychological health education and consulting center at Renmin University of China, told to the Global Times.


About 3,500 students of the university have gone to the center in the past five years and none of their psychological problems were linked to mobile phone use, Hu said.


Global Times