Problematic smartphone use

Problematic smartphone use describes a psychological or behavioral dependence on mobile phones, closely related to social media addiction and internet addiction disorder, and often called smartphone addiction in everyday language. It has not been formally codified as a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Researchers describe it through preoccupation with mobile communication, spending excessive money or time on the phone, using it in socially or physically inappropriate situations such as while driving, and heightened anxiety when separated from the device or without a signal. The term was proposed specifically to capture these patterns in people who show the behaviors without clear evidence of true addiction, distinguishing the condition from addictive disorders proper. Left unaddressed, it is associated with strain on relationships and adverse effects on mental and physical health.