Two Spanish children have been placed in a psychiatric health unit for treatmentregarding addiction to their mobile phones, Spanish media report.
children who developed a dependency on mobile phones, like those who over-used video games, often became irritable, withdrawn and antisocial, and their school performance deteriorated, warning these cases could just be the "tip of the iceberg",
The children, aged 12 and 13, were admitted to the clinic after their parents said they could not carry out normal activities without their phones. Their parents cited the childrens school work had been suffering and they had been lying to relatives in order to get money to spend on their phones.
Dr Maite Utges, who runs the Child and Youth Mental Health Centre in Lleida, near Barcelona in north-eastern Spain, told Spanish papers it was the first time the clinic had treated children who were dependent on their mobile phones.
The Doctor added that the pair exhibited disturbed behaviour and this manifested itself in failure at school. They both had serious difficulties leading normal lives.
The children had owned their phones for 18 months, and their parents had made no initial effort to restrict their use before noticing how serious their dependence had become.
An expert in addictions, said children who developed a dependency on mobile phones, like those who over-used video games, often became irritable, withdrawn and antisocial, and their school performance deteriorated, warning these cases could just be the "tip of the iceberg", and that mobile phone addiction "could definitely be a danger in the future.
Many child behavioural experts recomend that children should not be allowed mobile phones until they are at least 16.