Dr. Michael Ray Smith
Want an anxiety rush? Try losing your cell phone. That’s one of the findings from a scientific survey conducted by Lee University Communication Arts.
“Most of us are so tethered to our cell phones that we become anxious when we misplace it,” noted Dr. Michael Ray Smith, professor of communication and the project leader.
Lee University students polled more than 500 students in its Department of Communication Arts, and 129 students responded, making the sample valid for that group.
“You can hardly go anywhere on campus without seeing someone checking their phone,” said Grace Green, one of the research students who examined the poll results.
“You will sometimes even see a group of people all together, and they will all be on their phone. It’s pretty crazy.”
Ms. Green and students in two research classes suggested questions for the poll, which is a snapshot of opinion that can change in a matter of hours.
Students asked, “Would you rather break a bone or lose your phone?” a question gleaned from a similar public opinion survey by a professor in the Northeast.
Answer: Eleven students out of the 129-person sample said that they would rather break a bone.
Asked if they would rather lose notes for a crucial test or their cell phone, 61 percent said they would rather lose their phone.
Monitoring a cell phone also ranked high with 70 percent of students saying that they monitor their phones between five and 20 minutes each hour. Students found a free app, checky.com, that will tell the user how often he or she checks a cell phone with a running tally.
As a professor, Dr. Smith said he was shocked to learn that 80 percent of the sample use a cell phone to avoid an awkward situation. For instance, if a cell phone user doesn’t want to talk to someone, she can pretend she’s on the phone.
Dr. Smith checked with other professors on cell phone use.
“It’s not just young people, either,” said Dr. Edward Fubara, associate dean of the Lundy School of Business at Campbell University near Raleigh. “In the last week I have been at two dinner tables fighting with myself not to pull out my phone during the lulls in conversation. Some of my compatriots lost the fight and totally plunged into the phone. Interestingly, I have seen people use the phone as a tool to socialize in person, showing each other pictures and memes.”
One of the biggest surprises, according to Dr. Smith, is that 55 percent of the sample said they take the cell phone with them to the bathroom.
Dr. Smith said communication scholars use the theory of media ecology to help explain the behavior. The theory says that when new technology is introduced in a culture, behavior changes. It’s not necessarily good or bad, but change will be present.
Researchers such as Drs. Gabriel Rubio and Fernando Rodriguez take it a step further and said the overuse of a cell phone can lead to depression and anxiety.
However, it can also provide a high. In their work in Frontiers of Psychiatry, Drs. Rubio and Rodriguez argue that cell phone use can become an addiction because the brain secretes a pleasure neurotransmitter such as dopamine.
“No worries. At this point, no one is saying for sure that cell phones are bad for your health; nonetheless, they have changed behavior internationally forever,” said Dr. Smith.