Tag Archives: Addiction

Apple should address youth phone addiction, say two large investors

Customers arrive to purchase an iPhone X at an Apple store in New York, U.S., November 3, 2017.

By Elizabeth Dilts

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc shareholders Jana Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System are urging the smartphone maker to take steps to address what they say is a growing problem of young people getting addicted to Apple’s iPhones, Jana partner Charles Penner said.

Jana, a leading activist shareholder, and CalSTRS, one of the nation’s largest public pension plans, delivered a letter to Apple on Saturday asking the company to consider developing software that would allow parents to limit children’s phone use, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Sunday.

Jana and CalSTRS also asked Apple to study the impact of excessive phone use on mental health, according to the publication.

CalSTRS and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jana and CalSTRS together control about $2 billion worth of Apple shares, the Journal reports.

The social rights issue is a new turn for Jana, which is known for pushing companies it invests in to make financial changes.

However, the issue of phone addiction among young people has become a growing concern in the United States as parents report their children cannot give up their phones. CalSTRS and Jana worry that Apple’s reputation and stock could be hurt if it does not address those concerns, according to the Journal.

Half of teenagers in the United States feel like they are addicted to their mobile phones and report feeling pressure to immediately respond to phone messages, according to a 2016 survey of children and their parents by Common Sense Media.

The phone addiction issue got a high-profile boost from the former Disney child star Selena Gomez, 24, who said she canceled a 2016 world tour to go to therapy for depression and low self-esteem, feelings she linked to her addiction to social media and the mobile photo-sharing app Instagram.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Parents fighting teens addiction to cell phones

File photo of contestants competing in the the LG Mobile Worldcup Texting Championship in New York

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Half of teenagers in the United States feel addicted to their mobile phones, with most checking the devices at least every hour and feeling pressured to respond immediately to messages, a survey released on Tuesday found.

The majority of parents concurred, with 59 percent of those with children between ages 12 and 18 saying their kids cannot give up their phones, according to a poll of 1,240 parents and children by Common Sense Media.

The findings from the nonprofit group, which focuses on the effects of media and technology on children, highlighted the tension such close ties to devices can cause, with it disrupting driving, homework and other time together.

About a third of those polled said they argue every day about screen use, the San Francisco-based group said.

“It is causing daily conflict in homes,” Common Sense Media’s founder and CEO James Steyer said in a statement.

Its survey is the latest indication of American families struggling to balance mobile devices in an age of ever-evolving technology. It also underscores the ongoing debate over Internet addiction and its consequences.

A separate review of available data on Internet and technology use cited concerns for problematic media. Multi-tasking can hinder the ability to form memories and the lack of human interaction can also make it harder to develop empathy, Common Sense Media found.

U.S. children between ages 8 and 12 report spending nearly six hours a day using media, while those ages 13 to 18 spend almost nine hours per day using media, according to the group.

“The seemingly constant use of tech, evidenced by teens immediately responding to texts, social-networking posts, and other notifications, is actually a reflection of teens’ need to connect with others,” it said in its review.

Ellen Wartella, director of Northwestern University’s Center on Media and Human Development and an adviser for the review, said it is still unclear what the ultimate impact of such media use is on children’s behavior.

“We need to devote more time and research to understanding the impact of media use on our kids and then adjust our behavior accordingly,” she said in a statement.

Still, teenagers were not the only cause for concern, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Parents also took big risks.

Fifty-six percent of adults surveyed said they check their mobile phones while driving — and more than half of teens said they had seen their parents do so.

“What we’ve discovered is that kids and parents feel addicted to their mobile devices,” Steyer said.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Pope Francis Makes Bold Stand Against Drugs

In what some people are calling a very dangerous stand against the mafia in Italy, Pope Francis made a bold declaration against drug use Friday.

“Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise,” the Pope said in an address carried by Vatican radio.  “Here I would reaffirm what I have stated on another occasion: No to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that.”

The Pope addressed the issue because he believes there is a rush toward more drug abuse and use in western nations, specifically in so-called “soft drugs” like marijuana.  He focused on issues such as U.S. states that have approved use of marijuana.

“Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called ‘recreational drugs’, are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects,” the Pope stated.  “The scourge of drug use continues to spread inexorably, fed by a deplorable commerce which transcends national and continental borders.”

The Pope said that youth should say “yes” to things much more important than drugs:  life, love, education, job opportunities and serving others ahead of themselves.

Caffeine Addiction Linked To Emotional Problems

Millions of Americans drink excess amounts of coffee every day and many others drink energy drinks and energy shots. 

Now, a study is showing that excessive use is creating addictions that lead to a dependence so strong it causes emotional problems.  The problem has become so prevalent that there is now an official diagnosis for it: caffeine use disorder.

“We have people who say caffeine is interfering with their life. They keep saying they’re going to stop, but they can’t,” American University professor Laura Juliano said. “I’ve seen people who have gone to great lengths to get caffeine when it was unavailable. I knew one woman who pretty much ruined her husband’s tropical vacation because she spent half the day looking for caffeine.”

Some studies are suggesting that up to 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine on a regular basis.

Juliano said that despite the widespread use of the drug, there is very little research into the depth of the addiction problem.  She speculated that because most people don’t see caffeine as a dangerous drug, it’s not a priority among researchers.

Doctor: Sugar Eight Times More Addictive Than Cocaine

If you have ever told a friend that you are craving sugar and you can’t seem to be able to stop eating it, then you may actually be addicted to sugar.

Dr. Mark Hyman told CBS “This Morning” that in animal studies they found that rats go for sugar in a manner that was eight times more addictive than cocaine.  Hyman said that Americans are addicted to sugar and that most don’t know it because they see sugary food and drinks as part of their daily diet.

Hyman says that sugary foods are “deadly” to the body.  He said that sugar is a direct  cause of diabetes and obesity.

Hyman told the New York Daily News that the average American eats 152 pounds of sugar a year.

In a diet study conducted by Hyman that encouraged healthier eating habits and helped people cut their sugar dependence, the average person found their blood pressure falling by about 10 points.

Addiction Diagnoses May Increase With New Guidelines

Psychiatrists and other mental health specialists who are revising the industry’s main mental health manual are poises to reclassify additions in a way that will result in millions more people being labeled as addicts, according to a New York Times report released today.

The revision to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (D.S.M.) expands recognized symptoms for drug and alcohol addition and reduces the required number of symptoms for a diagnosis. In addition, gambling would be considered an addiction for the first time. Continue reading →