Did you know that Americans throw out approximately 140 million, yes, that’s millions, of cell phones every year? To see if you might be a slave to your cell-phone, answer the following eleven questions and use the benchmarks below to see if you’ve got a cell-phone Jones (70s talk for addiction).
Cell Phone Use Scale* :
Please answer “Yes” or “No” to each of the statements below regarding your cell phone.
1. I get agitated when my cell phone is not in sight. ___ Yes ___ No
2. I get nervous when my phone’s battery is almost exhausted. ___ Yes ___ No
3. I have tried to cut back on my cell phone. ___ Yes ___ No
4. I do not want to turn off my cell phone when I am in a meeting .___ Yes ___ No
5. I want my cell phone to stand out in design and ornaments. ___ Yes ___ No
6. I make phone calls even when there is no real need to do so. ___ Yes ___ No
7. I frequently check my cell phone to see if I have missed any calls or
messages. ___ Yes ___ No
8. I tend to use my cell phone even when there is a fixed-line available. ___ Yes ___ No
9. I always return phone messages as soon as possible. ___ Yes ___ No
10. I spend more time than I should on my cell phone. ___ Yes ___ No
11. I find that I am spending more and more time on my cell phone.___ Yes ___ No
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* Scale adapted from Yoon Su-jeong of St. Mary’s Hospital
If you asnwered “Yes” to four or more of the above statements you may not want to tell your spouse or significant other about your relationship with your cell-phone but they probably already know. A simple remedy to beat your cell-phone habit: read Shiny Objects to find out how.
I was pleasantly surprised by the questions asked. That was a fun scale to take and I am proud to say I only had 3 yes’! Almost addicted, but not quite there yet
Great news about your cell phone addiction score – call me (or text) and we can talk :). Did you think the scale measured your use of the cell phone accurately? Were there any questions you would add (or drop from the scale)to measure a person’s dependence on their cell phone? Thanks for starting things off.
I scored 5, which did not suprise me. I know I am on my phone more than I should be, but breaking that habit is easier said than done! Hopefully this quiz will be a push to work on it a little more. I do not think, however, that decorating your phone means you are addicted to it. Sometimes its fun to make objects look cool just because 🙂
I scored a 5 on the test and realized that I am spending a lot more time on my phone than I used to. You never really realize this until you take a survey like this or someone points it out. With this day in age being so technical, I think people have increased the use of their phones for all areas of life considering there is an app for everything.
My score was only (at least I feel that it was only) a three. I wish the test were a small application, it would be more fun to fill it out and have the application count your score!
My cell phone addiction score was 3. I think the test is a good indicator if you are addicted to your phone or not. The 9th question is about whether you use the phone to much! that is a matter of interpretation and therefore different people would answer different on that question, even if they spend the same amount of time with the cell phone.
I scored a 7- I’m not surprised one bit. Because technology and cell phones are so advanced, I find myself using my phone for everything- taking notes, an alarm clock, an e-reader etc. You name it, I probably use my phone for it. Although it’s convenient, I’ve noticed that I pay way more attention to my phone than I do to what’s around me. When you take a survey like this and start to realize just how often you use your phone, you realize that you miss out on a lot events and general conversations going on around you which is disappointing.
I also scored a five on the test, but I am not shocked whatsoever, especially at this day in age. It’s almost a sin for a business person not to be able to check their email or not have access to their phone at all times during the day. Anyone with a smart phone can pass time with a game via their phone or scroll through Facebook to see what everyone is up to. The sad thing is that is the “norm” in 2012, and who knows where we will be in ten more years.
I am a tad embarressed to say that I answered “yes” to the majority of the survey questions…I have to attribute my cell phone use to social media!
also, I would add a question about cell phone use for actual calls vs. cell phone use for social media, texting etc.
I scored a 4 and realized I do spend a lot of time on my phone. I also think what kind of phone you have could make a difference. If I had a phone that didn’t have internet I don’t think I would be on it as often.
This survey only confirmed what I already knew when the majority of my answer’s resulted in “yes’s”. I know that I always have to have my phone with me, and get nervous when I don’t have it. I don’t necessarily always have to be on it, but it does have to be with me.
I got a 5 out of 11, which is about what I expected. My usage is on the decline, which I think is a result of me realizing the usage started to get out of hand. However, with so many different uses for cell phones, it has become an all-in-one device.
I scored a 5 and also agree that cell phone use has drastically increased in the past few years. Although they are handy and convenient, they can take away from communication in the presence of another.
I only scored a 2. Not surprising. I tend to not pay attention to my phone. I don’t feel like I have the time for that.
I scored a 6. I definitely believe people are becoming too dependent on their cell phones, including me. I would ask a question about whether or not you have a smart phone because I think this makes a huge difference on the amount of time you spend on your cell phone. I would be interested to see the correlation between time spent on a phone and whether it is a smart phone or not.
I scored 5, and I know that his is too much. But my excuse can be that I really use my phone to keep in touch with my family and friends while I am in America.
And since I have the iPhone I definitely spend more time on it, than I should.
luckily i scored 1.
I definitely think the test is a good indicator of cellphone addiction, which is a major problem nowadays. People have become obsessed with their phones, some even to the extent that their phones are the only means of socializing. I remember in Dubai, a lot of locals and arabs tend to sit together in large groups (men and women alike) yet not even look at one another, rather on facebook, twitter, sms on their phones. What they do is text one another instead of speaking or just nod when spoken to whilst checking their facebook status.
Many don’t realize how far they have drifted from reality. It’s utterly sad
I scored a 4. I think the test is a pretty good indicator of cell phone addiction. However, I believe question number 8 should be thrown out. I know that even a lot of my parent’s friends don’t have a land line anymore because everyone in the family has a cell phone, so at least in my case, I don’t exactly have the land line readily available.
I scored a five on the test, and it truly made me realize that I spend a little too much time on my phone. I never realized that I was one of those people that was addicted to their phones, but now I will be cutting back much more.
I scored a 4, which didn’t surprise me much. I know in the past few years my cell phone use has decreased. I think the test is definitely a good indicator if you are addicted to your cell phone or not. I also do not have a land line readily available. My parents have considered the option of taking away their land line and just use their cell phones.
I scored a 4 out of 11 which is lower than I was expecting. I’ve been told many times I’m addicted. I think that’s also a good point in one of the previous comments about the typede of cell phone someone has. Without having the Internet available, I really don’t think I’d be on my phone all that much.
I scored an 8 out of 11, which I believe everyone would agree is a problem. Over the years I have become more and more dependent on my cell phone, but I do not use my phone just for texting or phone calls. My cell phone is my watch, connection to my social networks, dictionary, gps, etc. I would have to agree with the majority that if I did not have Internet on my cell phone it would not be such an everyday part of my life.
I only got 6 yes and 5 no, which kind of surprised me. I don’t think I spend an excessive amount of time on my cell phone, but I know that I spend more time on it than I should. I never want to miss anything, so I always keep my phone close. Questions that I think could be added would be:
1. Do you have a smartphone?
2. Do you spend the majority of your time talking on the phone? (talking, texting, apps)
3. Do you tune others out when you are looking at your phone?
I think these questions can more deeply gauge someone’s use of their cell phone. Most people that have a smartphone have apps that take up more of their time. I also have friends that get so focused on their phones that they don’t hear me if I speak to them while they’re texting or on an app. I think the last question would really get people’s attention, because I know for me personally it’s very annoying for someone’s phone to get more focus/attention. After taking this quiz, I’ll definitely be more conscious of how dependent I am on my phone.
You bring up a good question – what is too much time on the cell phone? Recent studeies find that college students spend as much as seven hours per day on their cell phones and computers. Smartphones definitely add to the problem – apps, apps, and more apps. I will ask you and others: which app do you use the most? And, how much time in a typical day do you spond with this app? Also, I think you’re right about adding a question to the CP addiction scale about tuning out others when we are on our phones. I am guessing this happens a lot and none pof us like to be ignored. Thanks for a great post.
I am very surprised that I have more than 4 “yes” answers in these questions. I think people become the slave of cell phones are not only because we use the cell phone too much. Some people they changed their cell phones too much. Because the technology of today is developing very fast, more new funtional cell phones available to choose on the market now. So, many people would to buy the newest phone on the market to show that they are special or cool. But the phone which they are using alrady very like the new one……However, this is wasting money and material. New phones are always coming. Samsung updates its phones in half year and Apple updates its phones about a year. You want to be the newest phone owners, butanother newest phone is always coming soon. I think we need to be a rational consumer, to choose what you need not just what is the newest phone.
I answered Yes to 7 of the 11 questions but I don’t think I am a “cell phone addict.” Although my cell phone has not left my side today, there are days where I go hours without seeing it. I also do not have an internet enabled phone, which helps with my “addiction” 😉 Honestly though, most of my answers, especially to questions like 1, 2, 4, 7 and 9 were because I always want to be available if someone needs to get in contact with me. Number 4, I definitely would not turn my phone off, but I would silence it, and put it out of sight and mind for the entire meeting. However, there are definitely answers like number 7 that I believe hint at the generation I belong. Yes, I frequently check my cell phone to see if I have any messages or calls. People of my age group are more concerned than other generations about our social media presence, which I believe also includes our cell phone presence. Overall, I don’t believe I have an addiction, I think I am bound to my phone much less than many of my peers.
I think the app I use the most is facebook, and probably whatsapp, skype and viber to contact my family and friends at home. I think that social media makes us more dependent on our phones, especially on smartphones.
I recognized that I use my iPhone more in the US than in Germany, I think the reason why is that I want to keep up with my friends, see what they are doing so that I do not miss to much.
I think some other famous apps in America are Instagram and Twitter.
Both apps where you have to ”follow” people and see I they are going to ”follow you too.
What many aren’t aware of is that all apps track your location! basically all smartphones have this feature automatically enabled. Unless you don’t switch it off, your apps will be tracking your every move. Isn’t that reassuring. Well that’s just the way we are evolving – namely into a “big brother” society where things need to be known at all times (data, location, demographics, updates etc.)
Let it be known that once you purchase a smartphone, you are known to the system and have a unique id which is traceable.