addiccted to her mobile

READING COMPREHENSION

Addicted to her
mobile
A teenager is to undergo psychiatric treatment after becoming addicted to her mobile
phone. Like the worst type of addicts, Caroline regularly blows all her spending money.
“I know it sounds like a silly addiction but it is real to me”, she said. “When I hear my phone beeping with a text message
I am all smiles and it makes me happy.
When I don’t have any credit left I become depressed. I haven’t got enough money for proper food and I have to borrow
it”. Her parents have become so worried that next week she is due to begin a course of treatment from a
specialist. She first revealed her craving to her doctor, who advised her to switch the phone on the silent mode, put it in
a cupboard and forget about it. But he has now referred her for more psychiatric care after the scale of the problem
became apparent. Caroline said: “I have become protective of the phone. I can’t let anyone take it from me and I check
where it is every two minutes”. A leading psychologist has classified Caroline’s plight as “technology addition”, in which
sufferers experience a “high” when they receive a message bleep from their mobile. “It is like the first flush of love when
you receive an e-mail or text, you feel good”. Caroline became hooked at 12 after her parents gave her a mobile for
Christmas. Since then she has spent all her pocket money on phone cards.

1. Answer the following questions using your own words but taking into account the information in the text.
a. Why is Caroline under psychiatric treatment?
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b. Why does Caroline call herself “protective” of the phone?
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2. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)? If false, justify using your own words.
a. She spends more money in food than in phone cards.
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b. Her parents sent her to a hospital when she was 12.
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c. The sound of an in-coming message makes Caroline feel good.
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d. Caroline’s doctor advised her to put her phone away

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