Researchers from McGill University in Canada published a study on the use of smartphones , using as a sample an audience of almost 35,000 people divided between 24 countries around the world , from 2014 to 2020. The research paper was published on Computers in Human Behavior.
Chinese users rank first in terms of mobile phone addiction , followed by Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Canada ranks seventh , Japan ranks 15th , United States ranks 18th and Germany at 24th. And the Italians? They are in 11th place in this ranking.
According to the document, the subjects of this study are young adults , with an average age of 28.8 years and 60% are women . From what can be seen, the problem has been growing continuously since 2014, and this trend shows no sign of ending . As for the reasons for the different scores between countries, according to the researchers they are due to different social norms and cultural expectations , in fact many of these users need to be connected with their smartphones to because of their activities.
A few years ago, comparisons appeared on the Internet showing subway passengers in one country reading books and newspapers, while in China most people on the subway were watching their cell phones. Later it was clarified that the country where passengers read newspapers did not have a mobile phone network inside the metro and after the introduction of 5G the situation changed radically, becoming practically identical to the Chinese one .
As for Italy, it is the first European country on the list . Difficult to give an explanation of the phenomenon. It can only be said that numerous researches highlight the risks of excessive use of smartphones and social networks . According to Adam Alter, associate professor of the Stern School of Business at New York University, addiction is easily verifiable: “Technology is designed to hook us. Emails come in all the time. Social platforms have no end. Twitter? The feed never really ends ». Notification is the drug of hyperconnected life .
