Nearly Half of Global Population Shows Signs of Smartphone Addiction, Lancet Commission Warns

As artificial intelligence (AI) turbocharges addictive apps and algorithms, global health experts are sounding the alarm on a growing crisis: Internet addiction now affects nearly half of smartphone users worldwide, with children and teens facing the most significant risks.
But social media is only part of the problem, and the Lancet commission wrote about a need to include online forms of gambling disorder and gaming disorder, “which are classified primarily as disorders due to addictive behaviours and secondarily as impulse control disorders.”
“The confluence of recent investment in networked research to detect risk and prevent PUI in teenagers at an international level, advances in large language models, and ongoing legislative attempts to address online safety and to regulate AI in the USA, Europe, and Asia make this effort timely,” the statement noted.
The commission stated that its ultimate goal is to create a framework that guides the development of evidence-based care while reducing population-level adverse effects linked to technology use. It intends to focus on developing preventive and therapeutic interventions while balancing civil liberties with harm prevention.