--- title: WhatsAppitis Doctor Says Overuse Of WhatsApp Messaging Harms Health description: One doctor says it's a real thing, caused by too much smartphone use canonical: https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-26T19:48:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:08:12.760Z og:title: Doctor Diagnoses Texting-Obsessed Woman With "WhatsAppitis" og:description: One doctor says it's a real thing, caused by too much smartphone use og:url: https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2d9f33035cacbd5/69868761169ab03c98278713/470653989.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Images of WhatsApp As Facebook Inc. Makes Acquisition For $19 Billion og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Doctor Diagnoses Texting-Obsessed Woman With "WhatsAppitis" twitter:description: One doctor says it's a real thing, caused by too much smartphone use twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2d9f33035cacbd5/69868761169ab03c98278713/470653989.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Quit Texting All the Time Because You Might Get WhatsAppitis > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9588ff92-2db2-4916-af6f-8f8acc7ea330&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 26, 2014 7:48 PM UTC  Icons for the WhatsApp Inc. mobile-messaging application WhatsApp and the Facebook Inc. application are displayed in a social media folder on the screen of an Apple Inc. iPhone in this arranged photograph taken in London, U.K., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014\. Facebook, the worlds largest social network, agreed to acquire mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. for as much as $19 billion in cash and stock, seeking to expand its reach among users on mobile devices. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images Icons for the WhatsApp Inc. mobile-messaging application WhatsApp and the Facebook Inc. application are displayed in a social media folder on the screen of an Apple Inc. iPhone in this arranged photograph taken in London, U.K., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014\. Facebook, the worlds largest social network, agreed to acquire mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. for as much as $19 billion in cash and stock, seeking to expand its reach among users on mobile devices. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images Getty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 26, 2014 7:48 PM UTC A 34-year-old woman in Granada complaining of sore wrists was diagnosed with “WhatsAppitis” — named for the popular instant messaging service WhatsApp — after the doctor ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome and nerve damage, the _Guardian_ [reports](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/26/can-instant-messaging-damage-health-doctor-warns-whatsappitis). The woman had spent at least six hours with her phone in her hands, exerting her thumbs to respond to a deluge of messages she had received. Soon, she felt pain in both her wrists. Prestigious medical journal the _Lancet_ [wrote about](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960519-5/fulltext#bib1) the diagnosis, explaining that the treatment consisted of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Sure, fine. But treatment also included — wait for it — “complete abstinence from using the phone to send messages.” ([Gasp!](http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr%5Floqidn2G3p1qmfoslo1%5F500.gif)) Because the woman was pregnant, however, she only took acetaminophen and also, she did not completely abstain from smartphone messaging. The _Lancet_ warns doctors to be mindful of disorders like this, but perhaps it should also warn everyone to be mindful of, you know, not spending six continuous hours texting. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/"},"headline":"Quit Texting All the Time Because You Might Get WhatsAppitis","datePublished":"2014-03-26T19:48:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:08:12.760Z","description":"One doctor says it's a real thing, caused by too much smartphone use","url":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Technology","apps","Tech","whatsapp","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2d9f33035cacbd5/69868761169ab03c98278713/470653989.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2d9f33035cacbd5/69868761169ab03c98278713/470653989.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Images of WhatsApp As Facebook Inc. 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