It’s serious stuff. The results of multiple studies indicated that participants with higher levels of smartphone addiction tended to exhibit worse working memory, visual reaction time, auditory reaction time, ability to inhibit motor response, and behavioral inhibition compared to participants with lower levels of smartphone addiction.

We’ve all been there: desperate to check Instagram after a big night out or engage with the discourse on Twitter after yet another influential pop culture moment. But the amount we depend on our devices is more than just a social problem. In fact, the fear of being without your phone – nomophobia – is even recognised as a psychological condition.

Smartphone addiction: this is what spending too much time on our phones is really to our minds and bodies