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‘Moodoff Day’ on Raises Awareness of Smart Phone Addiction

International ‘Moodoff Day’ on 26th February Raises Awareness of Smart Phone Addiction

Are you a smart phone addict?

Do you start your day with your smart phone, checking facebook messages, emails, or the day’s weather forecast before you even climb out of bed? At work, school, or even on holidays – do you feel lost without your iPhone or Blackberry by your side?

If so, you’re not alone. According to recent research by Ofcom, 37% of adults and 60% of teens admit to being ‘highly addicted’ to their smart phones, with users checking their smartphones on average, 34 times a day. Additionally, 51% of adults and 65% of teens use their smartphones while socializing with others, and 22% and 47% respectively, confess to answering their smart phones even while on the toilet.

As these statistics clearly show, incessant smartphone usage has now become an integrated, and even socially acceptable part of our daily lives, although some would argue, at the expense of our personal relationships and other activities.

In response to this growing trend of ‘smart phone addiction’, self-confessed smartphone addict Tapas Senapati and a group of others have said “Enough!”, and created ‘Mood Off Day’, a campaign to bring awareness to peoples’ over-dependence on smartphone technology.

‘Mood Off Day’ on February 26th asks smart phone and mobile device addicts (and those that don’t yet consider themselves such) to spend a morning without their beloved devices.

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On this day, from 5am – 10am we are asked to ignore our smart phone devices and simply be present with our family members, friends and colleagues. That means no early-morning texting, emailing, web surfing or getting facebook and twitter updates. Meanwhile, activities such as spending time with the family, reading the paper, or going for a walk and meeting your neighbours are encouraged as healthy alternatives.

Well-known parenting commentator Amanda Cox, best known as the Mad Cow of Bad Mothering and author of famed blog www.RealMums.com.au, was one of the first to embrace the concept, pledging to be smart phone-free on ‘Mood Off Day’.

“Having 406 of your ‘friends’ giving you a virtual hug may make you feel special, but nothing does more for you than just one real pair of arms, squeezing you tight; whether it’s a partner, lover, friend or child. It’s real and does wonders for you physiologically.

“I realised I had a problem when I responded to a joke my husband told me with ‘LOL’ instead of laughing. How good is a real, genuine, belly laugh complete with nasal snort? Mood Off and try it!”, she said.

The ‘Moodoff Day’ campaign has already received media interest in Australia, India, the US and the UK, with support pouring in from 18 countries including the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and the US.

With more and more people around the country acknowledging the impact their ‘smartphone addiction’ has on their interactions with others, ‘Mood Off Day’ will remind us to actually be present with others, in the here and now, rather than escape into our virtual realities.

If you feel you could benefit from a morning without smartphones and mobile devices and want to encourage others to follow suit, go to www.MoodOffDay.org and pledge your support. You can even post your personal experiences of smartphone addiction or upload funny images showing smartphone addicts in action at www.facebook.com/MoodOffDay.

“We all love our smartphones and we love our social media, but we also have to stay present in our lives outside of these super gadgets”, said Tapas Senapati, founder of ‘Mood Off Day’.

To get involved and spread the word about ‘Mood Off Day’ on 26th February from 5am – 10am, log onto www.MoodOffDay.org.

© Scoop Media

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