According to the University of Virginia, about one in ten people use their cell phones during sex.
The study suggests that today’s constant phone usage has inspired “ADHD-like symptoms” in our population. Kostadin Kushlev, a psychology research scientist for the university, says that “people today are bombarded with notifications – whether from email, text messaging, social media or news apps – anywhere they go. We are seeking to better understand how this constant inflow of notifications influences our minds.”
Over the course of their research, Kushlev and his associates discovered a 95% rate of phone usage during social events, 70% during work, and as much as 10% of individuals queried confessed to coital texting and social media usage.
The constant stream of information, alerts, and user prompting has created symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder even among those who have never been diagnosed. These include “distraction, difficulty focusing and getting bored easily when trying to focus, fidgeting, having trouble sitting still, difficulty doing quiet tasks and activities, and restlessness.”
Kushlev was quick to point out that a phone won’t actually give you the disorder, despite its affect on behavior. He specified that ADHD is a “neurodevelopmental disorder with a complex biological and environmental etiology.”
Our findings suggest neither that smartphones can cause ADHD nor that reducing smartphone notifications can treat ADHD. The findings simply suggest that our constant digital stimulation may be contributing to an increasingly problematic deficit of attention in modern society.
Even so, it’s a problem that has only continued to grow since the inception of the “smart” phone, and the display of identical symptoms that effectively echoes the disorder isn’t good news for anyone with one eye always turned toward their notifications.
Unfortunately, only the increasingly rare and fabled “common sense” can remedy the issue. The study found that smart phone over-stimulation’s negative effects can be reduced by simply keeping the phone silent or out of reach during activities upon which your should focus. Driving, working, and spending time with family can be enriched by paying attention to what you’re doing, instead of what your cousin just had for lunch.
Though if you’re the one in ten that is checking Instagram during intercourse, you might consider actual rehab. Or better sex? Meanwhile, we have no word on whether Milo was part of the study.
Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.
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