A young couple in eastern Henan Province filed for divorce because neither of them love each other more than their own mobile phones. According to a report by China News, the couple in their early 20s were constantly playing with their cellphones to the point that neither of them were taking care of their new-born baby.

Eventually, the lack of communication led to a divorce after only one year of marriage, underlining the damaging effects of digital device addiction. The report said this kind of addiction has become a leading factor in divorces among young couples.

China currently has more than one billion cellphone users, the most among all countries. Attachment to mobile phones and other digital devices has mostly been accepted as daily facts of modern life in the Internet age. Chongqing even opened a Mobile Phone Lane dedicated to mobile phone-using pedestrians.

But obsessively checking one’s mobile phone also comes with a price. Scientists and health experts argue that it could lead to shortened attention spans. Last week, some students from Liaocheng University in Shandong Province organised a campaign against mobile phone addiction in an effort to warn people of the harm of overusing mobiles. It also called for students to engage more with families during the upcoming Chinese New Year, People’s Daily wrote.

Photos: China News