The mobile telecommunications industry takes seriously any claims of misuse of its technology and is committed to promoting the safe, responsible and affordable use of mobile telecommunications, AMTA said in response to a newspaper report claiming that “many of us are as addicted to our mobiles as some are to nicotine, booze or drugs”.

The Herald Sun newspaper yesterday ran a report: “Giving up the mobile like giving up the smokes” which said 20% of “phone junkies” suffered increased heart rates and anxiety levels, citing a report from Queensland University of Technology researcher Diana James, who said “phone addicts” used mobiles for 90 minutes to five hours a day with an average monthly bill of $140.

However, the psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the jury was still out on mobile phone addiction.

“There is still no body of evidence to show nomophobia (mobile addiction) is real,” he was quoted saying in the newspaper.

An AMTA spokesman said the industry believed there was little to be gained in blaming technology because it is how it is used that leads to abuses and misuses.

“Our industry provides practical and workable safeguards to assist people to use technology responsibly,” the spokesman said. “Often there is ‘moral panic’ whereby people point the finger at the technology.”

“Just because someone feels the need to have their phone with them at all times does not necessarily mean they are ‘addicted’. Phones offer security, safety and vital contacts for family and business. It is understandable that some people would feel ‘lost’ or ‘uncomfortable’ if they do not have their mobile phone with them.”

AMTA accepts that some people may be psychologically dependent on their mobile phones which leads to overuse and misuse. The industry relies on the expert opinions of medically-qualified experts in the field.

Ms James has said “danger signs” of potential addiction occurred when people were “running up huge bills”.

The AMTA spokesman said there is also a wide range of bill management tools, such as on-line bill checking and spend alerts, to assist people control their spending. Also, capped deals are an easy and convenient way to keep bills within budget.

The industry has co-operated with governments, regulators and consumer groups to offer a wide range of tools to assist mobile phone users to manage their spending.

Some of the initiatives include:

• Pre-paid mobiles

• Capped plan deals

• Online bill checking

• Spending alerts

• Limits on customers’ monthly billed amounts

• Consumer tips to help people manage their mobile phone spending

• Carries can notify customers with an SMS notification service that lets them know when they have reached 80% or 100% of their mobile data plan.

The key findings from the largest and most comprehensive report undertaken in Australia – Impact of Mobile Phones on Work/Life Balance – on mobile phone use found:

• More than half of the employed respondents believe that the mobile helps their work-life balance. Very few report that the mobile phone has a negative impacton it. More than half of mobile-owning workers who have high levels of satisfaction with their family interactions regard the mobile as having increasedtheir ability to find work/life balance.

• The mobile phone is an indispensable part of the everyday life of Australians. About nine in ten people report that their lives could not ‘proceed as normal’ ifthey were suddenly without their mobile phone.

• Carrying a mobile phone makes most people (75%) feel more secure.

• Most people (61%) find that the mobile phone does not affect their level of stress. Of those who report that it has some impact, three out of four say that itreduces their stress level.

• The study found that the median cost of using a mobile phone was in the range $20<$30 per month, although the modal cost (i.e. the amount spent by the highest proportion of people) was $10<$20. People aged 25-29 years are the highest spending mobile users, with 38.6% spending $50 or more per month and the smallest proportion (2.7%) spending less than $10 per month.

“Despite the pattern of moderate and responsible use by the vast majority of people, the industry takes all issues related to potential addiction seriously,” the AMTA spokesman said.