Smartphone Addiction Growing Among Users

Jenaye Garver and her best friend Leigh Ann Lewis are inseparable.

But when they do have to be apart, their devices provide the bond.

"I love it. I can check my Facebook, my Twitter and my mail," said Garver.

"It's actually kind of embarassing when you think about it. I can't wait an hour to see what's going on," said Lewis.

The smartphone has revolutionized the way we communicate.

"(You) look a lot at who's texting you while you're doing things, and you're not paying attention to who's around you. You can run into things and other people," said Lilla Smith.

It's becoming a more common sight, people with their heads down who are lost in their own world, reported ONN's Lot Tan.

"I see students texting each other and sitting right next to each other," said Dr. Wendy Maxian.

Maxian, a media psychology expert at Xavier University, said that quite a few young adults are addicted to their smartphones.

Garver admits to it, as do others.

"I feel naked without it. Oh my gosh, it's the most uncomfortable feeling," said Zach McMunn.

Maxian said that it can promote isolationism.

Maxian said that there are warning signs that people are becoming addicted.

"Another sign of addiction or problematic usage is when something becomes dysfunctional. It gets in way of sleeping, gets in way of getting assignments done, work done. If you are constantly texting at the expense of other things around you," Maxian said.

Maxian admitted that she had a problem disconnecting from her Blackberry.

"At a stop light, I would read a text. At the next light, I would text back," Maxian said.

Maxian then got rid of it.

"I'm somewhat more calm. I don't spend as much of my day thinking about email and do I need to respond or who I need to get back to, in what order, and how long has it been," Maxian said.

"Talking on the phone distracted to the point of a .08 BAC (blood alchol level)," said Sandy Spavone, Executive Director of the National Organization for Youth Safety.

Spavone said that people are risking lives with their behavior by texting while driving. She compares distracted driving to being legally drunk behind the wheel.

ONN's Tan demonstrated a simulator that shows first hand the dangers of distracted driving. He had to follow the rules of the road while answering texts that came in. It proved more difficult that you would think.

"This last year, we lost over 5,000 people on our country's highways based on distracted driving crashes," said Spavone.

There's also the near misses that occur everday.

"I have caught myself swerving to the other lane before," admitted Garver.

Spavone said teens that would never drink and drive, do text and drive.

Spavone tries to tell them, it can be the same thing. However, the trend isn't likely to fade away anytime soon.

"It's our generation and it is only going to keep growing. My cousin is 13 and has had a Blackberry since she was 12. She loves it," said Garver.

Transportation officials are hopeful the number of distracted driving crashes will decrease because of more public awareness and tougher laws that will encourage drivers to just put their phone down while behind the wheel.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, about 20 percent of all crashes involving injuries were tied to distracted drivers in 2009.