Anxiety, addiction and discomfort: The consequences of internet overuse
Anxiety, addiction and discomfort: The consequences of internet overuse
2025-06-27
How long do you spend on your phone every day? If you’re like the average Taiwanese, that’s about 4 hours on weekdays and 7 hours on weekends. But so much time in the virtual world can have its consequences offline, from muscle pain and strain to anxiety and addiction. So how did we get here? Our Weekly Feature.
She learns Japanese on the go. Voice actor Chiao Chiao doesn’t let a minute of her commute go to waste.
Her phone meets her every need from food and clothing to education and entertainment. The first sound she hears every day is her phone alarm, and the first thing she reads is her messages.
Chiao Chiao
Voice actor
The first thing I do when I wake up is check my schedule and see if there are any spots available for me to work. If I don’t reply quickly, I might miss the opportunity. I can’t be without my phone. On the bus, I check the timetable on the dedicated app, and when I get out of the MRT I use Google Maps to reach my destination.
Chiao Chiao is most definitely not alone in her habits. About 85% of Taiwan’s population uses a smartphone. Everywhere you look, there’s people scrolling on their phones.
Mobile phones are no longer just a tool for communication. 2007 was a pivotal moment that turned the smartphone into a gadget with annual updates, and with the functions of a mini-computer and a digital camera. With an ever-expanding range of applications, smartphones became an essential part of our daily lives.
Social media is one of the biggest reasons we’ve become so hooked to our phones. In Taiwan, the most used social media apps are Line, Facebook and Instagram. With TikTok coming in at No. 5.
Our phones keep us connected. But too much of a good thing can be bad. Being always online can cause anxiety.
Chiao Chiao
Voice actor
When there is such an explosion of information, it can leave you feeling like “How come I can’t do this? Why don’t I know this? How come he went to Jay Chou’s concert? How did he score tickets? How can they travel so much?” It looks like other people’s lives are full of wealth and beauty and yours isn’t.
Chen Chih-heng
Psychologist
When you compare yourself to others, it feels terrible, and that can give rise to frustration. Social media pushes you a lot of anxiety-inducing content. This anxiety makes you want to scroll even more. There’s an expression to describe this, “FOMO,” which stands for “Fear of missing out.”
FOMO inadvertently makes people become reliant on their phones.
Chiao Chiao
Voice actor
I always carry a power bank with me. If I don’t bring one with me, or if my bag’s too heavy I rent one when I’m out and about.
Carrying a power bank has become a habit for Chiao Chiao, who says she feels uneasy if her phone runs out of battery. This fear of being without a phone has been dubbed “Nomophobia.”
Having a phone near you when you’re working or at school can have a negative impact on concentration.
Chen Chih-heng
Psychologist
I get distracted all the time, checking for new messages, or wondering if someone is trying to reach me. The use of phones and other personal electronics has really fragmented our attention. We can’t stay focused for a sustained period of time.
And losing focus while walking on the street brings with it a higher risk of accidents
The average Taiwanese spends 3 to 4 hours a day online on the phone, computer or tablet. On weekends, the average is between 4.4 and 7 hours.
Voice of Chen Chih-heng
Psychologist
You can see how long you’re using it by going to Screen Time, and it will show you how long you used each app every day for the past week.
But putting down your phone and resisting the urge to pick it back up is already very difficult for adults, let alone children and teenagers, whose brains are not yet fully developed.
Mackay Memorial Hospital has a clinic for child internet addiction. Every year, more and more parents are bringing their children in after having a row over mobile phone usage.
Mobile phone addiction is not an official medical term. It’s not the phone itself that is addictive, but the online games and apps in the device. That’s why in 2018, the World Health Organization classified internet gaming addiction as a mental health disorder. It’s recognized as an addictive behavior comparable to substance abuse and alcoholism.
Tsang Ju-fen
Mackay Memorial Hospital
Some people say, “Well, I don’t play online games, I just read articles or check Line.” But if you do it too much, or if it makes you emotionally unstable, we still classify it as internet gaming disorder. There are nine diagnostic criteria, and if you present five or more of the symptoms over a period of 12 months, we can make a diagnosis.
The time you spent online is not the only consideration. It’s also necessary to determine whether the patient struggles to control their behavior, using the phone when they shouldn’t, or being online for so long that the habit begins to impact their studies or their daily life. An internet gaming disorder diagnosis is only passed down after a comprehensive assessment.
Tsang Ju-fen
Mackay Memorial Hospital
An internet addiction can directly affect brain function. It hinders the development of cognition, emotions and behaviors in children. It completely stunts development. Using the internet too much can weaken the brain’s control system, leading to more impulsive behavior and accidents, as well as suicide, homicide and bad decision-making when it comes to things such as falling for scams.
Spending too much time online, can also hinder the formation of relationships offline.
At this cram school in Taipei, the classroom is completely quiet before class, as most students are on their phones and tablets.
Chang Yu-chia
Cram school teacher
Back in the day, supervisors would have to come in to quell the chaos that would arise during class breaks. Students would be playing and get rowdy. That was 10 years ago. But now, during the breaks, it’s all quiet. They pull out their phones and scroll online, watch short videos, or YouTube, or they play videogames. They don’t interact with their classmates as much.
Phones can connect us with people far away, while isolating us from those around us. These high schoolers are part of Gen Z, a generation that grew up with the internet from a young age. They’ve also been dubbed digital natives.
Reporter
When did you get your first phone?
Johnson (Voice altered)
High school student
The first semester of junior high.
Reporter
When do you play on it?
Johnson (Voice altered)
High school student
I play during class sometimes, sneakily. And after class. Or before I start studying at home.
Stone (Voice altered)
High school student
In elementary school, I used to share a phone with the rest of my family. I got a phone of my own in junior high, to contact my parents to pick me up and drop me off.
According to the Child Welfare League Foundation, Taiwanese children typically get their first phones at the age of 10. About 95% of them use social media. They spend an average of 4 hours a day on their phones, and up to 7 hours on weekends.
To get a better understanding of mobile phone addiction, we asked three teens to fill in a questionnaire on internet usage habits by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. One of them exhibited a high tendency for addiction.
Stone (Voice altered)
High school student
After filling out the questionnaire, I realized that I have a serious problem. I sometimes stay up late on the internet, or on my phone. That makes me sleep later, and I wake up tired the next day.
There are pros and cons to banning phones. The Action Alliance on Basic Education says it hopes the Ministry of Education will provide guidelines on the matter.
Wang Han-yang
Action Alliance on Basic Education
We think a gradual approach is better. Preschool students should be educated to not use smartphones. At elementary schools, usage can be limited to one hour, and at junior high schools, two hours. There should be guidelines for parents and kids to follow to reduce use. I think that would be a better approach.
Wang Han-yang believes that educating the whole family is important, since parents can be just as addicted as their children and see no problem with excessive phone use. A doctor says unchecked phone use from a young age can also bring about physical problems over the long term.
Lin Sung-kai
Rehabilitation physician
The main problem it can cause is cervical spine degeneration, which can lead to pain, numbness, nerve compression and, more importantly, an imbalance in the sympathetic nervous system.
Neck and shoulder stiffness from phone overuse can be relieved with a good stretch, putting your arms behind you and bringing your shoulder blades together. You can also massage key pressure points on the body.
Mobile phones have essentially become necessary in our lives, but they are best used with self-control. Keeping a healthy distance from the virtual world is key to prevent us from losing touch with the physical realm.
For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53
手機成癮引焦慮 網路遊戲成癮正式列為精神疾病
2025-06-27
現代人手機不離身，根據統計，國人平均每天會花費3到7小時在網路世界裡。長時間使用手機，不僅影響視力，也會造成頸椎退化，此外，沉迷手機和網路更可能引發焦慮、憂鬱、人際疏離等心理症狀，而您，也對手機上癮了嗎？
邊走路，邊用手機學日文，擔任廣告配音員的喬蕎，不浪費每一分通勤時刻。
對喬蕎而言，一機在手，食衣住行育樂通通解決。她每天的生活離不開手機，一大早先被手機鬧鐘叫醒，緊接著查看訊息。
[[配音員 喬蕎]]
“我醒來第一件事就是要確認，有沒有錄音室的窗口敲我班，我有沒有沒回到？因為晚回可能就沒班了。怎麼有辦法沒有手機？搭公車你要公車時刻表，要看手機APP公車來了沒、你出了捷運站，要怎麼走我怎麼知道？Google Map。”
跟喬蕎一樣習慣的民眾占了大多數，根據統計，全台超過8成5的國人使用智慧型手機，低頭族對著螢幕滑啊滑，成了隨處可見的街景。
原本手機僅僅被當作聯絡通訊的工具，直到2007年，某大廠的智慧型手機問世，年年推陳出新，漸漸地，手機不再只是電話，更是一台移動式小型電腦加相機。再搭配日新月異的APP，開始主宰我們的生活。
尤其手機裡的社群軟體，更是誘使你不停點開的關鍵。有調查報告顯示，台灣人最常使用的社群平台，是LINE、臉書與IG，第五名則是抖音。
手機連線拉近與周遭的距離，然而水能載舟亦能覆舟，不停滑手機的同時，也滑出更多焦慮。
[[配音員 喬蕎]]
“資訊多元、資訊爆炸的時候，你就會覺得，我怎麼這個不會、那個不知道，為什麼他可以去周杰倫演唱會，為什麼他搶得到票，為什麼他又旅行了，好像他們的生活很多、很豐富、很美好，可是你沒有。”
[[諮商心理師 陳志恆]]
“相比之下我就很糟糕，所以你就會感覺到非常地沮喪。社交媒體上面，有很多它推播給你的東西，其實都是在觸發你焦慮，觸發你焦慮之後，它也會誘使你想要滑更多，所以現在有一個說法叫做FOMO，我們叫「錯失恐懼症」。”
錯失恐懼症FOMO是Fear of Missing Out的簡稱，在這樣的恐懼下，人們不知不覺中更依賴手機。
[[配音員 喬蕎]]
“包包裡一定都會有行動電源，如果沒有自己帶，或覺得太重的話，就會出去外面借。”
隨身攜帶行動電源已經成為喬蕎的習慣，手機要是沒有電，她同樣感到不安，國外將這種症狀稱為「無手機恐懼症」。
當手機好好地放在你身邊，卻可能影響工作或學習專注力。
[[諮商心理師 陳志恆]]
“我都會分心，時不時分心，想說這裡面會不會跳出訊息，會不會有人要跟我聯繫。所以手機 3C的使用，確實讓我們的注意力，變得很碎片、零碎，我們沒辦法持續注意力集中。”
當我們注意力不集中，甚至邊走邊滑，還可能造成意外。
調查指出，在台灣，國人平日利用手機、電腦、平板等裝置，上網時間約為3到4小時，假日則高達4.4到7小時間。
[[聲音來源:諮商心理師 陳志恆]]
“我們可以透過手機螢幕使用時間，點進去之後，我們可以看到，我每天或是每周，我使用各種APP 使用螢幕的量。”
對大人來說，放下手機，抵抗它的誘惑，已經不容易，遑論腦部發育尚未成熟的兒童與青少年，恐怕更難克制。
這裡是馬偕醫院的兒童網路成癮門診，近年愈來愈多家長，因為制止小孩玩手機起衝突，到門診求助。
實際上，手機成癮並非正式的醫學名稱，因為手機僅是載具，大部分人沉迷的是網路連線後的遊戲或軟體等內容，因此2018年世界衛生組織，將網路遊戲成癮列為一種精神病，正式名稱為「網路遊戲障礙」，是一種跟吸毒、酗酒一樣，會上癮的精神疾病。
[[馬偕醫院精神科醫師 臧汝芬]]
“有一些人說，我沒有玩(網路)遊戲，我是看文章或是看Line，但是你過多玩，或說你玩到後來，都已經情緒不穩了，這時候我們全部都算網路遊戲障礙，它(DSM-5)有九個診斷的標準，然後這九個裡面，如果你有超過五個，有超過十二個月的時間都有這些症狀，我們就可以診斷。”
實際上，使用網路時間的長短，不能當作成癮的唯一依據，還要評估病人是否難以自制，像明知不能用，但使用時間卻越來越多、有沒有影響課業或生活功能，經綜合評估後才會被診斷，是否為網路遊戲障礙。
[[馬偕醫院精神科醫師 臧汝芬]]
“網路成癮是直接影響腦部運作，讓小孩子沒有辦法正常的發展他的認知、情緒、行為，完全是阻擋，完全是把他的成長停滯下來。網路過度使用的孩子，他們會發現，這一道腦部控制系統會比較弱，所以很衝動 很容易發生意外，不管是自殺、他殺，或者說做一些很不正確的，被詐騙，這種行為就很容易發生。”
過度沉迷網路帶來的問題還有，減低了現實生活中的社交互動。
來到台北知名補習班，上課前的教室一片靜悄悄，大部分學生都在使用手機或平板。
[[補教老師 張祐嘉]]
“以前在補習班下課，班導師是要進來管秩序的，因為學生會玩、會鬧得很兇，大概十多年前。現在的下課時間其實滿安靜的，學生手機拿出來就開始滑了，看短影音、YouTube的，或者是打電動的很多，不太需要跟學生同學互動。”
手機讓我們連結外面的世界，卻與身邊的人變得疏離，這群Z世代的高中生，從小就習慣手機的存在，他們被稱為「數位原生世代」。
[[記者]]
“你大概從什麼時候開始有手機？”
[[高中生 Johnson(變音處理)]]
“大概國一上的時候。”
[[記者]]
“你都什麼時候玩？”
[[高中生 Johnson(變音處理)]]
“有時候上課會偷玩一下，然後下課，回家念書前會玩一下。”
[[高中生 Stone (變音處理)]]
“國小那段期間是跟家人共用手機，國中開始有自己的手機，因為在外通勤，跟家長聯絡比較方便。”
根據兒福聯盟調查，台灣兒少平均十歲就擁有自己的手機，高達9成5的兒少都在使用社群媒體，每天使用時間超過4小時，假日更長達7小時。
為了檢視青少年的手機成癮問題，採訪團隊將衛福部的網路使用習慣篩檢量表，讓現場學生填寫，隨機抽樣3位學生，就有1位是高度沉迷傾向。
[[高中生 Stone (變音處理)]]
“填完這個之後發現，自己算滿嚴重的，有時候會上網或是滑手機熬夜，這樣就比較晚睡，隔天精神就比較不好。”
民間團體認為，手機禁不禁止，各有利弊，但希望教育部能給出指引方針。
[[國教行動聯盟理事長 王瀚陽]]
“我們覺得循序漸進的，幼兒園要宣導，讓孩子真的是不要用(智慧型手機)。國小限制一個小時，國中限制兩個小時的呼籲，有觀念性的去引導家長，引導孩子去減少使用，這個我覺得是比較好的策略。”
王瀚陽認為家庭教育尤其重要，因為許多家長也沉迷於手機，認為讓小孩過度使用也無所謂。專家就提醒，當大人小孩都成為低頭族，要是長時間不理會，身體將會反撲。
[[復健科醫師 林頌凱]]
“它最主要會造成頸椎容易退化，頸椎退化會產生很大的問題，除了疼痛、手麻、神經壓迫以外，還有很重要的是，會造成交感神經的失調。”
當手機使用過度造成肩頸僵硬時，雙手張開往後翻轉，並夾緊肩胛骨，頭也跟著朝後，可緩解頸椎的不舒服，或是透過按「穴位」改善。
手機儼然成為許多人生活中不可或缺的必需品，但我們也該保有自制力，適度的遠離手機，不讓它綁架了你的人生。
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