Students Addicted to Their Phones Have More Sexual Partners

A study into the effects of smartphone addiction has found that the young people who use their phones excessively tend to have more sexual partners.

Over 3,400 US students were asked questions about their phone use, as well as other aspects of their life and general wellbeing. 

37.4% of those who were deemed to have a problematic relationship with their phone reported having at least two sexual partners in the past year.

Co-author Dr. Sam Chamberlain from the University of Cambridge told the BBC: “It could be that people are using smartphones to date via apps, but they also might be neglecting more normal relationships because of overuse of their phones.

“The strongest finding was that people reporting problematic use of their phones were also more likely to have the trait of impulsiveness, and this could also play a part in the number of sexual partners they have.”

Participants with heavy usage patterns were also more likely to suffer from mental health issues, have drinking problems and have lower academic grades.

Psychologist Dr. Abigael San said that the results are “concerning”. She explained that a number of patients come to her with depression or anxiety issues and smartphones are often a contributing factor.

Bumble launched a new ‘Snooze’ feature last year to help users take a break and prevent burnout without completely ghosting their matches.

Facebook also created time management tools, for both the main social media site and Instagram, which allow users to set a strict limit on how long they spend browsing each day.

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