Katie: On Health Alert tonight: Cellphone addiction on the rise. Experts say it's just like being addicted to or even and it should be taken seriously. How do you tell if you’re of addicted, though? Do you have about going phoneless? Are you unable to turn your cell off and do about running out of power? Constantly looking for new emails and text messages and calls, or do you use your phone, in the bathroom? If so… you could be an addict and while it might not be toxic to you liver, it could be damaging, really damaging to your . ABC 15 Susan Casper joins us now with what you can do. Susan we've all been a dinner with that person who just has their phone right there.
Susan: They have their head down and they are not paying any to you whatsoever.
Katie: Right.
Susan: Well, it isn’t just your relationship suffering, Katie. Studies show the more technology and stimulation the less . Just think about the last time you left home without your phone. If you got that panicky feeling, you may want to take these simple steps like turning off your phone while driving. Pick one evening a week – it sounds sample – that the cell phone gets [?] a dinner time and it stays off until the next morning. Once a month, go outside, enjoy nature. Simply . And keep a where you write down your feelings and reactions to turning off your phone.
I recently sat down with psychologist, Dr. Christina Liebowitz and she told me, if you're overly on your cell phone, or social media in general, it could affect your daily activities.
Dr. Christina Liebowitz: It just calls into question, you know, that person's level of control, and their judgment and self-control and it’s time to look at, you know, how they're functioning in general.
Susan: I was really kind of shocked to hear this there are even [?] programs helping you recognize the signs and symptoms. And Katie, have you heard the term ‘nomaphobia’
Katie: I have not.
Susan: You have a not. Well it was coined by Reteurs researchers. I hadn’t either. It denotes people who experienced anxiety when they had no access to mobile technology such as a cell phone.
Katie: Yeah it’s hard though, especially when you’re a parent, or you have a job that keeps in touch, you kind of have to, I guess. This is even more extreme than that, when you’re starting to have anxiety over it.
Susan: Well they, like, [?] are considered twenty hours or more a day.
Katie: Oh! My gosh. Ok. That's nowhere near what…
Susan: But you know, I do feel that way sometimes you want to unplug.
Katie: Yeah.
Susan: Just get rid of the phone.
Katie: Oh. Sure do. All right. Thank you Susan. I won’t text you later on today. I’ll let you
Susan: Ok.
Katie: …unplug….