Gadgets craved like drugs

A US university has found that students' addiction to modern technology is similar to drugs cravings.

Researchers at the University of Maryland found that four in five students would experience symptoms such as mental and physical distress, confusion and isolation when forced to give up their phones and laptops for an entire day.

In the study conducted on young people across the globe they found college students in 12 campuses in 10 countries including Britain, America and China admitted being addicted to the internet, their phones and watching television.

During the gadget-free day they experienced cravings, anxiety attacks and depression, with one student on the US even admitting to "itching like a crackhead".