Siobhan Robbins, Correspondent
My name's Siobhan Robbins, I'm 35 and I'm an addict.
My drug of choice is a mobile phone.
When I'm awake it's always on me, when I sleep it's always in reach.
It's sad to admit it's the first thing I check in the morning, the glowing screen often the last thing I see at night.
Research by Deloitte shows I'm not alone – 57% of people in the UK check their smartphone within five minutes of waking, 78% within an hour of going to bed.
For some the habit, driven by a need for external validation, manifests in an endless stream of wide-eyed, head-tilting, manicured selfies. With every 'like' the addict gets a mini-high.
Not me. My addiction is based on an insatiable need for information.
For some the habit, driven by a need for external validation, manifests in an endless stream of wide-eyed, head-tilting, manicured selfiesSiobhan Robbins, Correspondent
Don't get me wrong, I am aware of the myriad of ways smartphones have changed our lives, but for some the balance has tipped too far. We are becoming slaves to technology.
A sudden awareness of my problem, got me thinking of (and counterproductively searching on my phone for) possible antidotes.
There's the smartphone case which is being designed to control usage, or in China, the age restrictions on certain games which cut children off after an hour of playing per day.
In Vietnam, it's reported some parents have been trying to cure young people of their screen addictions by sending them to martial arts boarding school.
Smartphones, tablets and consoles are banned at the Research Institute for Vovinam and Sport Development (IVS) in Ho Chi Minh City.
Instead hundreds of students practice Vovinam, a tradition Vietnamese martial art involving high kicks and acrobatics.
Developed in the 1930s, some claim it disciplines the body and mind.
At IVS, the idea is it will help to wean teenagers of gaming, drugs or alcohol when paired with a strict daily routine.
It's clearly a fairly radical solution but I do wonder if it's time society takes mobile phone addiction more seriously?
In the US, Sky News revealed children as young as 13 are checking in to treatment centres to try to break their habits, while in the UK one addiction therapist warned parents that giving their child a smartphone may be as damaging as giving them "a gram of cocaine."
Harley Street specialist, Mandy Saligari argues that apps like Instagram and Snapchat can prove just as addictive to vulnerable teenagers as alcohol and drugs.
When polled 39% of people in the UK said they used their smartphone too much, but despite this it seems millions of us are happily ignoring the warning signs and sleepwalking into a habit which can mirror the brain patterns found in drug and gambling addicts.
The good news is some people are waking up.
In January, two big investors urged Apple to take action on smartphone addiction and consider the impact excessive use of the devices have on the mental health of young people.
Some software has already started automatically cutting us off from our handsets when driving.
But with predictions 90% of the UK residents will own a smartphone by 2020 the onus of control is really on the user.
More from China
With overuse linked to obesity, sleep disorders and mental health problems it's time we all started realising the true power of the drug we are carrying in our pockets.
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Sky News
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