Cell phone addiction is a recent phenomenon, and one that our culture does not know quite what to do with yet. Arguably, our culture as a whole is in complete denial of cell phone addiction. The average person spends too much time on their cell phone, making cell phone addiction so widespread that it is flying under the radar. However, in time, it will be recognized as a detrimental addiction and will need to be dealt with. So exactly how do we ween an entire society off of an addiction? The same way we do with every other type of addiction.

Being addicted to a cell phone is not dangerous in the way a substance addiction is dangerous. We can not overdose on cell phone usage at the cost of our own mortality. However, some attributes of a cell phone addiction can be compared to a substance addiction, particularly the threat they pose when operating heavy machinery. Driving and using a cell phone is certainly the most urgent risk a cell phone addiction proposes and is solely worth eradicating cell phone addiction for. Being addicted to a cell phone poses other threats, albeit less obvious ones, such as fragmentation of society, loss of in-person social skills and deterioration of conversation ability. Cell phone addiction is decidedly destructive and needs to be stopped.

It is possible that cell phones are addictive in the same way as gambling is, which has been found to alter brain chemicals with its powerful effects. If this is the case, then ending a cell phone addiction should be taken seriously. For a less severe addiction, it may simply require the addict to motivate themselves through self-help methods or personal cognitive behavior alteration. For more severe addictions, such as the ones that cause cell phone use while driving, a person may have to seek counseling, support groups or outpatient rehabilitation. Cell phone addiction inpatient rehabilitation is not yet established due to controversy over the legitimacy of cell phone addiction, but it is very possible that it will be established in the not so distant future.