Are you addicted to your smartphone? You may need professional help...

Easily distracted? Can't be separated from your smartphone? Constantly checking your device for no real reason? Chances are you're an addict - and you may even need professional help.

Psychiatrists in Singapore are pushing for medical authorities to formally recognise addiction to the internet and digital devices as a disorder, joining other countries around the world in addressing a growing problem.

Led by Singapore and Hong Kong, the Asia-Pacific region boasts some of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates, according to a 2013 report by media monitoring firm Nielsen. Some 87 per cent of Singapore's 5.4 million population own smartphones. A similar percentage of Hong Kong's population also owns smartphones.

In the United States, where there are similar concerns about the impact of smartphones on society, a 65 per cent penetration rate would not even make the top five in the Asia-Pacific region.

Singaporeans also spend on average of 38 minutes per session on Facebook, almost twice as long as Americans, according to a study by Experian, a global information services company.

Adrian Wang, a psychiatrist at the upmarket Gleneagles Medical Centre, said digital addiction should be classified as a psychiatric disorder.