They say that the human body can go without food for 3 weeks, 3 days without water, typically 7-8 minutes without air. Did you notice that I just listed the 3 essential elements that are primarily needed to sustain human beings or life? The question is why all of a sudden I decided to take all the science or the encyclopedia with you.

What if I told you that while I conveniently ignore our evolution from apes, we have evolved to a level where these three things are no longer the only things we need to sustain life? Knowingly, unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, it has slowly and steadily worked its way as one of the foundations for survival. Of course, I am referring to mobile phones and their minions (tablets, smart watches and such).

If we’re all honest with ourselves, I guess 90% of people will agree with me when I say that we can’t live without our mobile phones for more than a minute. Call it a force of habit, being a slave to them or whatever, but that’s the sad truth none of us want to face. Since social media plays a vital role in the lives of people of all ages, it seems that people feel the need to become “cool” and as a result, the need for mobile phones has increased dramatically. That vibration and sound of receiving a message has become more imperative than eating, sleeping, and all day-to-day activities.

Phantom notification syndrome (the tendency for someone to believe they’ve received a notification when in fact they haven’t) is not just an observation about young people, but about almost everyone with a “smartphone” these days. It’s like we’ve been programmed to check our phone every minute or two for no suggestive reason. And if it’s not to check our zero messages, it’s to take a selfie, or to comfort us that we look good, or to play. In a very rare case, it is a task outside of these 3 categories.

And if you look at it objectively, after messaging/texting/tweeting/instagraming, people’s next favorite thing is to tire their fingers playing games.

After WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram this is common on all devices. So simple and yet so addictive. The craze for online gaming is such that at one point I even started playing it and can’t remember how my next month went. I mean there can’t be a single person who isn’t inundated with game requests every day. It’s hard to put into words what makes the mobile game so addictive: its cool sound effects, its increasing difficulty as you progress, its simple interface, or whatever, it’s a mystery yet to be solved. But there is one thing set in concrete: it will definitely remain a favorite among people for a long time.