Moodoff Day 2013 Raises Awareness of Smartphone Addiction

International Moodoff Day 2013 Raises Awareness of Smartphone Addiction and the Dangers of Texting while Driving

Sydney, Australia – February 18th 2013 – The dangers of smartphone addiction are well documented, but few address the problem. An Australian initiative is providing smartphone users around the world with the opportunity to bring awareness to the problem by turning off technology for five hours during International Moodoff Day on Feb. 24, 2013. This year’s slogan is “Smart hours for smart people without smartphones”.
The Sydney, Australia-based non-profit organization is asking smartphone users around the globe to stop using their devices for five hours on Feb. 24. Participants are asked to enjoy a morning without technology by having breakfast before browsing and reconnecting with family and friends instead for a few hours during Moodoff Day.

The movement has gained massive support in over 40 countries from Australia, the UK and South Africa to Singapore, Germany, India and the United States. Moodoff Day highlights the obsession many users have with their smartphones. The organization also supports the ‘Don’t-txt-n-Drive’ foundation launched as a warning of the dangers of texting while driving recently featured on national TV called into life by the Richardson’s who lost their daughter, Brooklyn, in a horrific texting-while driving accident just before Christmas.

Moodoff Day founder Tapas Senapati is uniquely qualified to have created Moodoff Day. He’s a self-professed smartphone addict who recognized the toll the device has taken on his life. Through the technology of smartphones, the world is virtually at a user’s fingertips. Mobile devices provide users with necessary and useful information, but it is humankind’s vulnerability to addictive behavior that represents a clear danger.
In an era of instant communications and a wealth of social media sites, smartphone users are constantly surfing the Web, texting and updating their social media status. Many with an addiction are in denial about their dependency, despite the inability to be separated from their smartphone. Addicts compulsively check their mobile devices the moment they wake and it’s the last thing they do before they sleep.

A 2012 survey by the Pew Research Centre showed that 46 percent of all adults in the US own a smartphone, The same study indicated that 44 percent exhibited extreme separation anxiety when faced with even a week without their smartphone. Those who have acknowledged their addiction and shelved their phone experienced phantom vibration symptoms.

Much like a drug addict or alcoholic, even though smartphone users are aware that they’re endangering their lives by texting and driving, they can’t stop. Email, texts and communicating through social networks generate enjoyable feelings, similar to those experienced by gamblers, making it that much more difficult for users to stop. Those with a smartphone addiction are unable to eat a meal or sit through a movie without checking their mobile device.

Those interested can follow the event on Facebook and on Twitter. Moodoff Day invites smartphone users to visit the official website www.moodoffday.org to learn how they can contribute, get involved, spread the word and make their own pledge to ‘do without’ their smartphone for a few hours.

The 2013 international Moodoff Day encourages to experience “Smart hours for smart people without smartphones.” Just five hours is all it takes to raise awareness of the impact of smartphone addiction and the deadly danger of texting and driving. It’s the perfect time to put down the smartphone, leave the virtual world behind, and reconnect with loved ones in real time on February 24th for at least 5 hours.
For more information, visit the website at www.moodoffday.org

ENDS

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