Are we really 'addicted' to our phones — and is a school ban the right move?
Removing phones from school settings does not prevent cyberbullying from occurring, expert says.
"We tend to use the term 'addicted' as in 'addicted to our phones, to social media, to gaming etc' in quite a colloquial way. But it is not quite an accurate term to describe what we mean," says Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton.
"Clinical addiction is a very specific thing where what you're doing is very distressing and it is seriously impacting on aspects of your life, like your relationships or work etc.
"But for most people, that is not the level that we are doing these things at. We may be spending more time on them than we wanted or we may not be feeling great after we have come away from our phones, but it's not necessarily distressing or seriously negatively impacting on our life," she adds.
Dr Fox Hamilton has lectured on this area for more than a decade at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Dún Laoghaire, and last week, she and her colleague Dr Liam Challenor launched a podcast that went straight to the top of the iTunes charts called "In Bits: Deconstructing our Digital Lives".
Dr Challenor, who is also a chartered psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland, agrees "addiction" is not the issue when it comes to our phone use.
"As such, compulsive or problematic use is more appropriate to use as addiction is an extreme and inaccurate description," says Dr Challenor.
He is also nuanced when it comes to social media use, pointing to research that shows there are benefits to it.
"We should be looking at why there is increased use and the types of use of social media — passive 'doom scrolling' is very different use to someone learning new skills, socialising or developing a sense of self in a safe space," says Dr Challenor, who is chair of the master's in cyberpsychology at IADT.
Neither academic agrees with banning phones or social media in schools, and Dr Fox Hamilton points to research around how we use digital platforms as being key to wellbeing.
"Actually, when you engage fully online that helps you find connection and build social support. If you're doing that, you're getting the benefits from it.
"So it's better to be active than passive in our use and you're less likely to engage in that upwards social comparison if you're being more interactive. But it's important to connect with people you actually have a relationship with," she says.
Dr Fox Hamilton describes "banning" as a "very blunt tool", and Dr Challenor suggests polar opposite solutions to outlawing phones in school settings.
"Digital skills and appropriate use should be learnt and fostered in a safe and monitored space to create positive outcomes," says Dr Challenor.
And Dr Fox Hamilton adds removing them from school settings does not prevent cyberbullying from occurring.
"Most cyberbullying happens outside of schools and so it doesn't really reduce that because it is going to happen at home anyway," says Dr Fox Hamilton .
Both researchers however, admit there are problems and issues that need addressing when it comes to the internet, especially in the area of misinformation, be that in relation to health or politics.
"There are other issues online, of course, like the spread of misinformation. What happens online is more that it amplifies what is happening offline, so it's not solely responsible for the spread of misinformation.
"It's mostly the fact that we are processing information very quickly online and we are more likely to share things without paying a lot of attention to them, but it definitely does increase the amount of misinformation we have access to and that exists in the world and we do see the issues that's causing," says Dr Fox Hamilton.
Dr Challenor says "disinformation content is increasing" and can be persuasive for a number of reasons.
The pair will look at this as an individual topic in their podcast series. They will also examine trolling, harassment, social support online and online dating.
The purpose of the researchers' podcast is to counteract some of the "scaremongering" that goes on in relation to our phone and social media use and to make research in the area more accessible to the public.
"We really wanted to bring the research findings to people in an accessible, interesting and hopefully lighthearted and fun way. So it's enjoyable to listen to and educational. We wanted to counteract some of the scaremongering that's going on with some of the discourse," says Dr Hamilton.
Last week they looked at moral panic when it comes to phone use and this week's episode examines our so-called addiction to tech.
The pair also want to encourage people to be more mindful about "how they're using their technology and what they're getting out of it".
- In Bits: Deconstructing Our Digital Lives is available on all major podcast platforms now. For more information see @inbitspodcast on Instagram
