Today's tech-savvy youngsters seem to be so obsessed with laptops and mobiles that they suffer from gadget withdrawal when deprived of their modern devices,a new study has found. In fact,according to the study,the withdrawal symptoms youngsters experience when deprived of their gadgets are comparable with those of drug addicts going "cold turkey",the 'Daily Mail' reported. Researchers found 79 per cent of students subjected to a complete media blackout for just one day reported adverse reactions ranging from distress to confusion and isolation. In vivid accounts,they told of overwhelming cravings,with one saying they were "itching like a crackhead". The study focused on people aged between 17 and 23 in ten countries,including the UK,where about 150 students at Bournemouth University spent some 24 hours banned from using phones,social networking sites,the Internet and TV. They were allowed to use landline phones or read books and were asked to keep a diary. One in five reported feelings of withdrawal akin to an addiction while 11 per cent said they were confused or felt like a failure. Nearly one in five (some 19 per cent) reported feelings of distress and 11 per cent felt isolated. Just 21 per cent said they could feel the benefits of being unplugged. Some students took their mobile phone with them just to touch them. A British participant reported: "I'm an addict. I don't need alcohol,cocaine or any other derailing form of social depravity. Media is my drug; without it I was lost." Another wrote: "I literally didn't know what to do with myself. Going down to the kitchen to pointlessly look in the cupboards became regular routine,as did getting a drink." A third said: "I became bulimic with my media; I starved myself for 15 hours and then had a full-on binge." Susan Moeller,lead researcher of the University of Maryland,said: "Technology provides the social network for young people today and they have spent their entire lives being 'plugged in'. Some said they wanted to go without technology for a while but they could not as they could be ostracised by their friends." He added: "When the students did not have their mobile phones and other gadgets,they did report that they did get into more in-depth conversations. Quite a number reported quite a difference in conversation in terms of quality and depth as a result."
