Britons seek help for text addiction

06 Oct 2003 10:33

Fifty-five Britons, mostly aged under 16, are receiving treatment for text-message addiction - and a doctor warns that the problem is set to grow

Fifty-five patients in the UK are receiving treatment in an exclusive clinic for an addiction to sending text messages.

According to a report in the Straits Times, the patients include a 28-year-old "high-flying financial executive" but most of them are under 16.

All of them compulsively feel the need to check for new SMS (short message service) text every few seconds and also constantly send new messages.

Head of the addictions department at the Priory Clinic, Dr Mark Collins, said that some patients spend up to seven hours a day sending text and one has developed repetitive strain injury (RSI) from doing it so much, the report said.

The text addicts neglect school, play and work in order to text. And during periods of the day when no messages come in, the children can fall into depression.

Text addiction is set to be the most common form of addiction among the young, say doctors there. The Priory is known as a magnet for celebrities who have drug and alcohol addictions.

Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39116919,00.htm