Text message addiction among young people is an "accident waiting to happen".

That's the opinion of Josh Dhaliwal, head of research mobileYouth, who claims that texting could endanger young people's health and emotional well-being.

Research has found that some people suffer withdrawal symptoms if their phone doesn't ring leading to "lack of self esteem and anxiety".

In some cases it gets so bad that mobile phone users suffer sleep deprivation and cases of RSI as text addicts lie awake at night glued to their mobile phones.

London-based market research company mobileYouth also reckons that young people under the age of 25 in the UK will spend close to £1.5 billion on text messaging, this year alone.

The problem of text addiction is becoming so bad, apparently, that punters are booking themselves into celebrity clinic - The Priory - for treatment, according to weekend press reports.

O plz! ®