Smartphone addiction as dangerous as drug addiction: New study

Monitoring Desk

BERLIN: According to a recent study conducted by German researchers, smartphone addiction does to your brain what drug addiction or substance abuse does.

In this age, it’s almost impossible to fathom a day without smartphones. Whether you need it to function as an alarm clock, a calendar, a messaging service or to get your daily news, smartphones have replaced many things in our lives.

However, a new study has come up with alarming results that say smartphone addiction should be taken seriously. Published in the journal Addictive Behaviour, it says smartphone addiction does to your brain what narcotics and other drugs do.

German professors based out of Heidelberg University used brain MRI scans of 48 people, out of which, 22 people were addicted to the phones, while the rest weren’t. A comparison found that those suffering from a smartphone addiction underwent a change in the size and density of their brain similar to those who were suffering from substance abuse or drug addiction.

One of the areas of the brain that got affected was the grey matter. It is responsible for speech control, cognition, emotions, sight, and self-control.