A new survey commissioned by AT&T and Dr. David Greenfield, founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at The University of Connecticut School of Medicine, found that twice as many people as self-reported cell phone addiction are showing compulsive phone behaviors – with three-in-four people admitting to at least glancing at their phones while behind the wheel.
“We compulsively check our phones because every time we get an update through text, email or social media, we experience an elevation of dopamine, which is a neurochemical in the brain that makes us feel happy,” says Dr. Greenfield.
The study, fielded as part of the Texting & Driving … It Can Wait® campaign, was released as AT&T focuses on helping people find ways to resist the urge to text and drive at a potentially deadly moment of temptation.
The AT&T DriveMode app for iPhone is now available on the App Store – making it the first free no-texting-while-driving application offered by a major U.S. wireless carrier that works on the iPhone. The app is easy to use. It silences incoming text message alerts, turns on automatically when one drives 15 MPH or more and turns off shortly after one stops. When activated, it automatically responds to incoming SMS and MMS text messages so the sender knows the text recipient is driving. It also allows parents with young drivers to receive a text message if the app is turned off.
While over 90 percent say they know texting and driving is dangerous, many rationalize their texting-and-driving behavior—a classic sign of addiction, according to Dr. Greenfield. Nearly three-in-ten said they can easily do several things at once, even while driving. “However, many objective studies show that’s not possible,” says Dr. Greenfield.
According to the research, those who are most likely to text and drive are also the most likely to take steps to stop. And 82 percent of people who take action to stop texting and driving feel good about themselves.
To learn more about It Can Wait, please visit www.ItCanWait.com.
