According to the findings of a new study by California State University, people's dependence on technology has increased to such an extent that most people would find it difficult to last even 10 minutes without getting extremely anxious if their smartphones are taken away.

The researchers - led by Larry Rosen, Professor of Psychology at California State University - have come to the conclusion about people's increasing 'mobile addition' on the basis of the study for which they divided a group of 163 college students into light, moderate and heavy smartphone users.

The study - which will be published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior - found that when the smartphones of the participating students were taken away, half of them sat in silence without their handsets and the remaining half turned off and out of sight.

The study found that, irrespective of where their handset was, heavy users showed more anxiety, as compared to light users, at the 10-minute 'without smartphone' mark.

The findings of the study substantiate the viewpoint of the experts that heavy smartphone use is driving more and more people towards behavioural addictions like gaming, social networking, pornography, etc.

In that reference, Joel Edwards - executive director of Morningside Recovery in California - said: "We are dealing with more and more smartphones as part of the underlying issues. These technologies are driving addictions faster and with more intensity than ever before."