According to a recent study: social media and email more addictive than cigarettes and booze
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According to a recent study: social media and email more addictive than cigarettes and booze
Well sure, but at least you don’t see any car accidents caused by people overindulging in email and social media! Wait, yeah you do. At least it doesn’t cause lung cancer or cirrhosis of the liver. A University of Chicago researcher studied participants in Wurzburg, Germany (for some reason) by having them go about their day and report in when they felt cravings to check in on their digital lives.
The participants were signalled seven times a day over 14 hours for seven consecutive days so they could message back whether they were experiencing a desire at that moment or had experienced one within the last 30 minutes, what type it was, the strength (up to irresistible), whether it conflicted with other desires and whether they resisted or went along with it. There were 10,558 responses and 7,827 “desire episodes” reported.
The numbers were higher than those for alcohol or nicotine, presumably compared to tests of habitual drinkers and smokers.
Also this from
The Guardian:
They even claim that while sleep and sex may be stronger urges, people are more likely to give in to longings or cravings to use social and other media.
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