News Regarding the Center
Teens' Heavy Cellphone Use Could Signal Unhappiness, Study Finds
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Los Angeles Times
May 24, 2006
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On a psychological test with a score of 21 marking clinical depression, the heaviest
cellphone users scored 12, well below that point, while the lighter users came in at
7. The heavy users also showed that they struggled more with self-identity issues
than the lighter users.
Although cellphone use in South Korea is higher than in the U.S., Ha said he believed the findings applied to American teens.
James Katz, a professor of communications at Rutgers University, said Ha's findings
weren't surprising.
"A central concern for teenagers is being in touch with friends and drawing
boundaries about who's in and who's out," he said. "People who are anxious and
depressed are concerned about whether they are in or out and naturally often look at
their cellphones to see if they've gotten answers to the text messages they sent out."
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