If you have a son or daughter in college you should not have a problem keeping in touch. A recent study found college students spend as many as 8 to 10 hours a day on their cellphones.
"It's concerning in a lot of ways. What are you taking that time away from? What could you have been doing that might have been more productive? And the other is what is it doing to them? In terms of attention span, in terms of productivity, in terms of getting used to dealing with people virtually as opposed to in-person," explained Clinical Psychologist Dr. Joe Rock with Cleveland Clinic.
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Baylor University researchers surveyed 164 college students. They found nearly 60% of them admitting they may be addicted to their cell phone. Results also show that college female students spend an average of 10 hours a day on their phones, while male students average about 8 hours per day.
They are using their phones to talk, but mostly to text. They're also sending emails, checking social media, and surfing the web. Researchers say excessive cellphone use may pose risks for students because some may use it as an escape, while others may use it in the classroom to cheat.
Rock says a cellphone addiction should be handled like any other addiction.
"First of all, like any other addiction, you've got to realize you've got a problem," he said. "The other thing that is very helpful to do is take yourself out of situations where you're tempted to do it. You know, an alcoholic needs to stay out of a bar."
According to the study, the numbers break down like this:
- College respondents averaged 94.6 minutes texting every day.
- Emails were second at 48.5 minutes.
- Facebook averaged 38.6 minutes every day.
- Browsing the internet was 34.4 minutes daily.
- And iPod usage was 26.9 minutes on average each day.
Read more on the Baylor University study on cellphone addiction among college students.