Smartphone technology is rapidly on the rise, with consumers gobbling up new products and system updates, ever-hungry for more. But the world of psychology isn't quite so dazzled by the influx — and takeover — of everything tech. Scientific research is mounting that more bad than good can be attributed to smartphones when it comes down to mental health and relationships. In Sweden, pediatricians are pointing to the excessive
usage of smartphones by parents as cause for emotional damage to children.
Not only could you be impeding your child's development by texting and candy-crushing the hours away, you could be driving your spouse into the arms of another.
A new survey by Victoria Milan, a dating site for married people looking to cheat (hey, at least it's to the point), found that out of 6,000 of its users, 45 percent said they cheated because their partner spent too much time on their phones or tablets. Two-thirds of survey participants said they wouldn't have sought out the cheating life in the first place had the internet and other new technologies enabled them to do so. Women ages 30 to 50 are the most likely to stray from their partner due to excessive smartphone and/or tablet usage.
Victoria Milan's CEO Sigurd Vedad called technology "a double-edged sword," and stated: "It's a predictable, albeit unfortunate, commentary that modern use of technology has led to a kind of social isolation — being alone in a room of many others — that leads to seeking out connections with others when we are left feeling unfulfilled in our day to day relationships. One way or the other we need to find that connection.”
Whatever did cheaters do in the old days, before the perfect storm of the Internet came along, followed by the fleet of instant-gratification-oriented smartphones and tablets? Did they truly not have the urge or motive to cheat, or was it just not as easy? Could it be, perhaps, that they simply didn't get so bored so fast?
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker
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