‘Can’t stop’: Researchers say problematic smartphone use like an addiction

Anita Hagh, a post-doctoral researcher at Montreal's McGill University, is seen in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Anita Hagh

EDMONTON — Anita Hagh couldn’t stop pressing the corner of her phone screen where the Facebook app used to be.

It was about five years ago, and she had deleted the social media platform from her cellphone.

It was like muscle memory, she says, having clicked on the app countless times so she could scroll for hours through random online groups.

She realized she had been losing out on sleep while scrolling and made the difficult decision to delete the app.

“After deleting it, I was very much thinking it was still there, kind of like a phantom limb situation,” said the 28-year-old post-doctoral researcher at McGill University’s department of integrated studies in education.

Hagh, who is researching the addictive nature of social media, said she believes she was likely experiencing what’s called “problematic smartphone use” or phone addiction.

Jay Olson, a post-doctoral researcher in the University of Toronto’s psychology department, led a 2023 global study that surveyed more than 50,000 people about their smartphone habits.

He said it’s an emerging problem.

“Normal smartphone use would become problematic when it starts negatively affecting your daily life and in different ways,” said Olson.

“It might make you feel depressed. It might be interfering with your sleep or your concentration.”

Some young adults are showing symptoms of problematic smartphone use, Olson said, as they’ve never seen a world without phones or have spent most of their lives with the devices.

“Smartphones started to become more popular around 2009,” he said.

“A bunch of kids across the world got these phones. And so now we’re starting to see what some of these effects might be.”

It’s harder for older generations to understand the magnitude of the problem and how using phones can become an ingrained habit, Olson added.

“(They) haven’t grown up using smartphones and social media for the majority of their free time throughout the day,” he said.

Venture Academy, a private school for troubled teens with locations in Barrie, Ont., and Red Deer, Alta., offers treatment for problems including “electronic addiction.”

Gary Su, a clinical therapist with the school, said in an interview from Calgary that smartphone use has made the lives of many of his young clients more complex.

“We are seeing a very unique phenomenon,” he said. “Things seem to be a lot more volatile or more extreme. Kids are exposed to things just way too early for their age. And it’s harder to trace, because everything online is anonymous.”

He said some students are using their phones so much they have difficulty socializing. Some don’t leave their bedrooms for hours, because they’re busy texting after school, he said.

Su said phones stop others from spending time with their families, and online bullying has become rampant.

Some are also sharing intimate photos and details at an earlier age, which continues to haunt them years later due to the permanent nature of the online world, he said.

“I see a lot of family just come in because of phone addiction or problematic phone use,” Su said. “I feel for the parents. Most of us are not tech geniuses.”

Problematic smartphone use hasn’t been officially classified as an addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the reference book used by mental health professionals around the world.

“There isn’t consensus among researchers right now,” said Olson, adding it’s because the problem is so new.

However, he said there is some agreement that problematic smartphone use shares similarities with different behavioural addictions.

“So often people report this compulsion, like when they wake up, they have to check their phone right away,” Olson said.

“They can’t stop themselves.”

Su said some of his patients could be classified as phone addicts.

“Addiction is when you are doing something that you know has negative consequences and you can’t stop yourself from using it,” he said.

“I see a lot of youth I work with fit in that category. I tend to not label it, because labelling is not doing any good.”

Olson said there needs to be more discussion about smartphone habits.

Cellphone bans in schools across Canada are a good start, Olson added, but more needs to be done by governments, such as putting age limits on social media platforms.

“I certainly think that it’s an important contributor to this decline in mental health that we’re seeing,” he said.

Hagh said she’s keeping track of her phone habits, as she’s still on social media for her research.

“It is very addicting. These platforms have been optimized to capture as much attention ... and arguably create an addiction.

“It’s kind of like having to watch a train crash or a car crash,” she added.

“You just can’t look away.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2025.

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press