Using mobile phones by young people : the trends and risk of addiction

Abstract EN

The subject of the article is the issue of the use of mobile phones by young people and possible dangers resulting from the dysfunctional use of mobile phones.

The analysis of this issue was started from the theoretical side of the phonoholism phenomenon presentation.

The definitions related to the use of a mobile phone are presented and the risks and consequences of excessive use of a mobile phone are discussed.

Typical features of a person who is psychologically addicted were also described.

In the second part, the results of the research carried out among primary and high junior school students were presented.

The main aim of the project was to determine the risk of phonoholism among adolescents in two school environments.

Anonymous questionnaires were conducted in 2016 among 221 students (54.3 % girls and 45.7 % boys) aged 10-13 years old.

The research results indicated that having a mobile phone is something common and normal.

Gender and age of respondents differentiate the way adolescents use mobile phone, but especially the differences were visible when the group of boys and girls were compared.

Recommendations for school practices and implications for future research were formulated at the end of the article.