You Can Now Sue Facebook And Google For Causing Your Child's Mental
Illness
Smartphone addiction twists your BRAIN: Scans reveal how grey matter of
tech addicts physically changes shape and size in a similar way to drug
users
- German researchers examined the brains of 48
participants using MRI images
- Total of 22 people smartphone addicts and 26
non-addicts made up the cohort
- Researchers found diminished grey matter volume
in key regions of the brain
- Similar phenomenon observed in people who suffer with
substance addiction
By Joe Pinkstone
Smartphone addiction physically changes the
shape and size of the human brain in a similar way to the organ of a drug
addict, a study has found.
Images taken by an MRI scanner revealed the
brains of people with SPA (smartphone addiction) have lower grey matter
volume in some key parts of the brain.
The images also revealed decreased activity in
the brains of smartphone addicts compared to non-addicts.
Similar patterns and trends of dwindling grey
matter have also been recorded in the mind of drug addicts.
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Images taken by an MRI scanner revealed the brains
of people with SPA (smartphone addiction). Pictured the grey matter
volume (GMV) of the brain in the right anterior cingulate cortex. Blue
represents the shape of the region in a non-addict and the red
represents the brain region of a smartphone addict
WHAT IS SMARTPHONE ADDICTION?
The term 'smartphone addiction' has often
e been criticised in the scientific literature.
Some experts argue the lack of severe
negative consequences compared to other forms of addiction make the
name misleading.
Some say the issue isn't with the
smartphone, but it is merely a medium to access social media and the
internet.
Alternative terms such as 'problematic
smartphone use' and concepts have been proposed instead.
Despite the controversy on the term
'smartphone addiction', as described above, it is still the prevailing
term in the scientific world.
Additionally, the psychometric instruments
used in many studies explicitly refer to the concept of 'smartphone
addiction'.
In the upcoming years, a shift away
from the term 'smartphone addiction' towards more appropriate terms,
as discussed above, might be seen.
German researchers examined 48 participants
using the MRI images — 22 with smartphone addiction and 26
non-addicts.
Writing in the study, published in the
journal Addictive
Behaviors, the researchers write: 'Compared to controls, individuals
with smartphone addiction showed lower gay matter volume in left anterior
insula, inferior temporal and parahippocampal cortex.'
Decreased grey matter in one of these regions,
the insula, has previously been linked to substance
addiction.
They add that this is the first physical
evidence of a link between smartphone use and physical alterations to the
brain.
The authors, from Heidelberg University,
write: 'Given their widespread use and increasing popularity, the present
study questions the harmlessness of smartphones, at least in individuals
that may be at increased risk for developing smartphone-related addictive
behaviors.'
Smartphone addiction is a growing concern
among scientists and medical professionals as children especially spend
more and more time on the handsets.
Smartphone addiction is a growing concern among
scientists and medical professionals as children especially spend more
and more time on the handsets (stock)
A damning report recently found most children
(53 per cent) own a mobile phone by the age of seven years
old.
The report, which was based on a survey of
2,167 five to 16-year-olds in the UK, goes on to say that by age 11, nine
in 10 children have their own device.
Phone ownership is now 'almost universal' once
children are in secondary school, it revealed.
It also found 57 per cent of children sleep
with their phone by their bed and almost two in five (39 per cent)
youngsters say they could not live without their phone.
Researchers said the findings show the extent
to which phones can 'dominate children's lives'.
The ubiquity of phone use in society is a
cause for concern as the physiological and health implications remain
poorly understood, experts of the latest research warn.
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