Headline, April 18 2025/ ''' DIGITAL STUDENTS DIGITAL '''

''' DIGITAL STUDENTS

 DIGITAL '''

A LARGER CRITIQUE OF MODERN LIFE -undertaken by luminaries ranging from GK Chesterton to George Orwell, Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman.

Modern Society is synonymous with hyper stimulation - from junk-food to video-on-demand reality TV and social media - reminiscent of the 'bread and circuses' formula that Aldous Huxley wrote about in his famous dystopian vision, Brave New World.

A MINI-INDUSTRY OF HIGHLY READABLE and thought provoking books has emerged in lockstep - with a host of provocative and ominous names :

Digital Minimalism, Stolen Focus, Alone Together, The Anxious Generation, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, Wish I Were Here etc.

WHEN THE iPHONE FIRST LAUNCHED IN 2007 - STEVE JOBS described it as a '' revolutionary and magical product '' and, in those heady early days, it truly seemed the start of a wonderful new age.

The Smartphone impact has been undeniable, transforming our lives, our work, our habits and our society in deep and profound ways.

Smartphones haemorrhage the attention span. Research shows that having one's phone lying unused on the side or in a pocket or in a bag nearby - its mere presence - significantly impairs one's concentration.

Phone breaks also exact heavy consequences - a study from the University of California Irvine discovered it takes an average of 23 minutes to regain one's focus for the task at hand.

RESEARCH has linked heavy smartphone use to a host of physical conditions, including obesity, ADHD symptoms, lower sperm counts in men and higher risk of breast cancer in women.

On the social side, phone usage correlates with significant risk of accidents, dissatisfaction in relationships and political polarisation.

ADDICTION is a concern. Apple reported in 2016 that iPhone users unlock their phones 80 times a day on average - approximately once every 18 minutes - Another survey found that typical users touch - i.e tap, swipe etc - their phone over 2,600 times a day.

THEN there is hard biological evidence : MRI scans found that heavy smartphone users had reduced grey matter volume and in common with other addictions, less activity in brain areas correlated with empathy, impulse control, emotion and decision-making.

Smartphone and social media also cause an uptick in stress biomarkers, including the hormone cortisol. The implications are succinctly expressed in the tide of New York Times story on this finding : ' Putting down your phone may help you live longer.'

While smartphone addiction is not yet formally recognised as a mental disorder, the research is certainly piling up. It fits in with the operational definition of technology addiction, ie '' non-chemical, behavioral addictions, which involve human-machine interactions'' - alongside addiction to the Internet, social media and video games.

The term nomophobia - no mobile phone phobia - has entered the lexicon, the irrational fear of being without one's phone or being unable to use it for some reason.

A self-diagnostic ' smartphone addiction scale ' developed by Korean researchers in 2013 is hugely influential and continues to rack up hundreds of research citations every year.

These concerns are real enough to start driving policy : A town in Finland made headlines when it announced schools were shunning screens and reverting to paper.

Another proposal in Finland to ban mobile devices in schools has garnered strong parliamentary support and is expected to go live in August.

Most of us, though, will rarely get this luxury. '' We don't have a choice on whether we use smartphones,'' writes journalist Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up With Your Phone.

'' The choice is how we use them.'' And this is where things get complex : how does one find a healthy balance with a technology that is literally designed to be addictive?

There is no standard recipe. Without a distinct sense of personal identity, a clear personal mission, perhaps one subconsciously seeks out the siren song of infinite distraction.

And the phone provides it in spades.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Science, Technology and Addictions, continues. The World Students Society thanks Taha Ali, a Teacher at the NUST School of Electrical Engineering.

With respectful dedication to the Global Founder Framers of The World Students Society, and then Mankind, Students, Professors and Teachers.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on !WOW! - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless