Representational picture

Turns out, digital addiction can increase the feeling of loneliness, anxiety, and depression among people. In a new San Francisco State University study, researchers Erik Peper and Richard Harvey argued that overuse of smartphones was just like any other type of substance abuse. "The behavioural addiction of smartphone use begins forming neurological connections in the brain in ways similar to how opioid addiction is experienced by people taking Oxycontin for pain relief -- gradually," Peper explained.