New app aims to prevent health problems from texting too much on your phone

You may want to put your cell phone down and listen to this: doctors are finding our smartphone-obsessed world is causing major health problems.

Everything from neck and back problems to wrinkles on the neck.

A doctor wanted to do something about it so he made an app for that.

You see it everywhere. The classic position: head down, shoulders hunched over, fingers swiping and typing away on smartphones.

"I'm always on my phone, I'm never without my phone, I always have to have it on me," said Brieanna Bookter. "I would say I'm addicted to it."

Doctors say the mobile device addiction is now to blame for a whole host of health problems.

"I deem it an epidemic," said Dr. Dean Fishman.

He decided to use the very device that is causing the problem to fix the problem. Dr. Fishman developed the Text Neck Indicator app available right now for Android phones.

"It's a constant reminder, although it's a quiet reminder," he said.

Dr. Fishman has seen patients as young as 16 years old come into his office complaining of headaches and developing problems with their spine. He says usually the problem can be traced back to the phone.

"Now, we are in this constant forward flex position," he said. "It is speeding up the degenerative process. I would tell young people to stand up, change the way you are viewing your devices, or else it will speed up the conditions that your parents and grandparents are and have been complaining about."

Here is how the app works. Once you download the Text Neck Indicator, you will see a little green icon in the top left part of your screen. It is in the shape of a head. What it does is it monitors the angle of your head, and once you start going too low, it goes off and you hear a beep to alert you that you are at risk for "text neck."

You can also set the app to vibrate or just be mindful of the icon on the screen.

Allie Gardner says she struggles with tension headaches all the time.

"My chiropractor is always yelling at me to stay off my screens because being on your computer and phone all day is not good for your neck," she said.

That is the message doctors want everyone to hear, but for some, it doesn't seem to be an immediate problem.

But the time to prevent it is probably now.