Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone?

OK, we get it: you really, really love your smartphone. But is your affection for the device out of control? Smartphones are increasingly ubiquitous; during the fourth quarter of 2010, a staggering 100.9 million of the mobile wonders shipped–far more than the 92.1 million PC units that shipped over the same time period, according to one industry estimate. But the numbers don’t tell the entire story–the one that describes how these phones are beginning to dominate our lives. A notable portion of smart-phone users cop to some form of addiction to these tech toys, according to a recent survey from Crowd Science’s JustAsk! program. 21% of survey participants confess that they are addicted to their smartphones.18% of survey respondents say the type of phone they use is a reflection of who they are.

Whether texting, mapping or even using the phone for talking, many consumers are finding it difficult to consider existence without one. How deep is their love? Deep enough that they’d go to great lengths to retrieve a misplaced device–even if they drop it in poop in a public toilet.

Here are some of the warning signs that you may be addicted:

• You have alerts telling you when to do every thing in your life
• You broke it, and it feels like you lost a friend.
• You’re on a date and you find yourself playing with your phone.
• You have over 30 applets and you use all of them.
• You’ve spent more on accessories than on your phone.
• You read about your phone on the phone
• A full battery charge barely lasts the day.
• When you meet people with the same phone, you can only talk about the phone.
• You feel a brief moment of panic when you touch your pocket(or grope to the bottom of your purse) and it’s gone.
• You use it in the bathroom and in the bedroom before sleep.
• You would rather interact with your phone than with people.
• When you meet with friends you whip out your phone and show them all the new gadgets you’ve installed.