Textaphrenia – SMS Text addiction among teens

Boost Mobile has released some figures which clearly indicate that text messaging has increased by 89% in the last two years. In fact text addiction is just a part of cell phone addiction which is not a new phenomenon. Students and teenagers feel anxious when their cell phones are not in their hands.

A recent study by Jennie Carroll from RMIT University, Melbourne suggests that mobile phones have been meshed into teenagers’ lives.  The immediate physical effect of text addiction is repetitive strain injury. The lubricating fluid between the tendons, shoulders and wrists dries out if we keep texting most of the time. As teenagers find texting easier and economical than making a call, text addiction is more common among teens.

Apart from the physical injury, texting causes many other types of addictions.

• Textaphrenia- Thinking that a message has arrived when it hasn’t actually arrived. If you keep checking your cell phone for new messages without hearing a beep or tone, chances are that you are suffering from Textaphrenia
• Textiety – Carroll’s study defines Textiety as a feeling of not receiving or sending text messages.
• Binge Texting- When teenagers keep sending multiple messages to feel good about themselves, they are said to be suffering from Binge Texting. Carroll explains that it happens when teenagers feel that they have been left out of the loop therefore they attract attention by sending messages.

She further says that there are several other disorders that are caused by repetitive texting. There are some reports of growing “Monster Thumbs” because of excessive texting. Repetitive Thumb Syndrome, depression, low self esteem and anxiety are some of the other ill effects of text addiction.

Surprisingly there are people who believe that there is no such thing as text addition. Did anyone know that cocaine or marijuana were addictive until people started getting addicted to them? Similarly text addiction is in the initial stages now. The sooner we start quitting this addiction the better.