This Is What Your Cell Phone Addiction Looks Like to Your Family
Just Picture It
The Center for Psychological Research, Shenyang, in China recently released a new ad campaign through advertising company Ogilvy & Mather China that makes a bold, symbolic statement about an uprising issue: cell phone addiction.
Credit: Ogilvy & Mather China via the Huffington Post
The ads do a great job of raising awareness about cell phone addiction in an incredibly impactful way. That could be due to the fact that, well, the makers of the ad get it.
Juggi Ramakrishnan, Executive Creative Director (ECD) of Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai told the Huffington post that “children who need their parents’ responsiveness when they are angry, sad, frustrated or excited, now find they must compete for it.”
“It’s almost like dealing with sibling rivalry. Except that the rival is a new electronic device. This trend, if unchecked, can lead to psychological problems,” he added.
Credit: Ogilvy & Mather China via the Huffington Post
Cell Phone Addiction Is Real
The New York Times recently wrote about the problem, too, which is growing rapidly in China. The article notes that Chinese doctors have officially labeled cell phone addiction as a “clinical disorder.”
“If kids are allowed to play ‘Candy Crush’ on the way to school, the car ride will be quiet, but that’s not what kids need,” Harvard-affiliated clinical psychologist and author of the best-seller “The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age.” Catherine Steiner-Adair told the Times.
“They need time to daydream, deal with anxieties, process their thoughts and share them with parents, who can provide reassurance,” Steiner-Adair added.
But the parent-child bond isn’t the only type of relationship being looked at in the ads. They also reflect upon the troubles that cell phone addiction can cause in intimate and spousal relationships.
Credit: Ogilvy & Mather China via the Huffington Post
We couldn’t help but be blown away by the visually stunning ads–and then we couldn’t help but think about how we utilize cell phones and screens in our daily lives, and how that usage is effecting our own relationships.
What we know for sure: making sure that we limit screen time and practice healthy usage patterns is absolutely vital.