Many young people are suffering from 'technoference'
| Updated: Mar 28, 2019, 14:06 IST
According to a new study, mobile phones are the primary reason many young people between the ages of 18 to 24 reveal they feel exhausted and not very productive.
Phones causing interruptions through the day is becoming a growing issue. Scientists describe this experience as "technoference".
"Technoference" means "everyday intrusions and interruptions that people experience due to mobile phones and their usage", Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, from QUT's Centre of Accident Research and Road Safety, told a news portal.
The results showed 24 per cent of women and 15 per cent of men fell under the category of being "problematic mobile phone users". Data also showed 40.9 per cent of people between the ages of 18 to 24 are suffering from "technoference". Meanwhile,23.5 per cent of people between the ages of 25 to 29 are suffering from the same condition. The results also found using mobile phones caused one in eight men and one in five women to lose sleep. Over the span of 13 years, those numbers have increased. The study's findings were originally published in the journal Frontiers.
"Self-reports relating to loss of sleep and productivity showed that these negative outcomes had significantly increased during the last 13 years," Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios told a news portal. Adding,"This finding suggests that mobile phones are potentially increasingly affecting aspects of daytime functioning due to lack of sleep and increasing dereliction of responsibilities."
Interestingly, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Warwick have also found that using mobile phones is causing a lot of families to stay home and spend time together. The findings were published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
"Rapid technological innovations over the past few years have led to dramatic changes in today's mobile phone technology – which can improve the quality of life for phone users but also result in some negative outcomes," Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios told a news portal. Adding, "The speed and depth of smartphone take-up in Australia makes our population particularly vulnerable to some of the negative consequences of high mobile phone use," he outlined, adding that, "these include anxiety and, in some cases, engagement in unsafe behaviours with serious health and safety implications such as mobile phone distracted driving"
Further research is needed to understand more about this condition in order to develop methods to treat people so they can experience a better quality of life.
Phones causing interruptions through the day is becoming a growing issue. Scientists describe this experience as "technoference".
"Technoference" means "everyday intrusions and interruptions that people experience due to mobile phones and their usage", Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios, from QUT's Centre of Accident Research and Road Safety, told a news portal.
The results showed 24 per cent of women and 15 per cent of men fell under the category of being "problematic mobile phone users". Data also showed 40.9 per cent of people between the ages of 18 to 24 are suffering from "technoference". Meanwhile,23.5 per cent of people between the ages of 25 to 29 are suffering from the same condition. The results also found using mobile phones caused one in eight men and one in five women to lose sleep. Over the span of 13 years, those numbers have increased. The study's findings were originally published in the journal Frontiers.
"Self-reports relating to loss of sleep and productivity showed that these negative outcomes had significantly increased during the last 13 years," Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios told a news portal. Adding,"This finding suggests that mobile phones are potentially increasingly affecting aspects of daytime functioning due to lack of sleep and increasing dereliction of responsibilities."
Interestingly, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Warwick have also found that using mobile phones is causing a lot of families to stay home and spend time together. The findings were published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
"Rapid technological innovations over the past few years have led to dramatic changes in today's mobile phone technology – which can improve the quality of life for phone users but also result in some negative outcomes," Dr Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios told a news portal. Adding, "The speed and depth of smartphone take-up in Australia makes our population particularly vulnerable to some of the negative consequences of high mobile phone use," he outlined, adding that, "these include anxiety and, in some cases, engagement in unsafe behaviours with serious health and safety implications such as mobile phone distracted driving"
Further research is needed to understand more about this condition in order to develop methods to treat people so they can experience a better quality of life.