Smartphone Pinky: Another Side-effect Of Using Social Media

As you read this article, notice the placement of your fingers while holding your phone, there are high chances that you have developed a new condition called ‘Smartphone Pinky.’ Social media addicts are reporting this problem frequently, though it is medically not recognized yet people worldwide are noticing the condition.

Tremendously increasing smartphone users can notice their little fingers bent slightly and they have hugely assured that reason for its cause is the way they hold their smartphones. The awareness was boosted when a TikTok user @cllopez2000 shared a video of the same that conveyed the message for people to notice if there was something wrong with their pinky finger like the user if they handled their phone with the little finger beneath the phone, he added, “You’ll notice a dent between the top and the bottom knuckles on your pinky, that’s called a smartphone pinky.”

The clip went viral and fetched more than 24k likes and soon everyone was noticing the bent on their fingers. Whether the case is true or just a trend, that’s still a mystery but all the social media addicts can be found deliberating over it and the situation has bombarded all the social media platforms. People all over are tensed about their deformed fingers and have started blaming their phones for it.

A person tweeted that it's crazy to spot the smartphone pinky on his finger and it’s scary to see the wee dent on the finger and he blamed the pandemic for the damage. Another shared a snap of the bent finger and ranted that it’s an iPhone injury that could never be healed. While others made fun of the issue by spotting celebrities who had the same bent finger as others.

To highlight the correct facts of the issue, Lloyds Pharmacy pharmacist Pareena Patel explained that the disease was not medically found yet but the constant strain on the finger could have caused it. She shared that extensive phone usage is the prime cause of the dent and has resulted in a social phenomenon. She further revealed that it wasn’t a medically approved term and the smartphone being the idol cause of affecting the little figure is a vague statement.

Revealing the facts, she added that muscular functions and joints can be however damaged by extreme phone usage and especially the thumb and wrist areas get affected quickly as they are highly sensitive. She said, “Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a common condition which affects the muscles and nerves if they are overused or subject to frequent repetitive movements.” She stressed the fact that people should reduce their phone usage of it may cause RSI and should focus less on fancy terms like smartphone pinky. To make people understand the side effects of extensive phone usage she also highlighted the fact that it can cause severe thumb pain which could lead to decreased hand functioning.

To conclude it all, the true concern remains to lessen our phone usage and spend more time on being fit and healthy.