How often do you check your phone? While smartphones are undeniably great devices, they can have the tendency to become addictive, which can be bad news for your productivity and your relationships with others.
Why is my phone so addictive?
There are several reasons why your phone can be addictive, including:
Dopamine release: Using your phone triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, in your brain. This can create a cycle of dependence where you seek out more and more of that pleasurable feeling.
Social validation: Social media platforms and messaging apps provide a constant stream of notifications, likes, and comments that can create a sense of validation and social connection. This can lead to a fear of missing out (FOMO) and a constant need to check your phone for updates.
Instant gratification: Smartphones provide instant access to a wide variety of entertainment, information, and communication options, which can create a sense of instant gratification and make it difficult to put your phone down.
Habit-forming design: Many apps and platforms are designed to be addictive, with features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, and push notifications that encourage you to spend more time on them.
Escapism: Using your phone can provide a temporary escape from boredom, stress, or other negative emotions, which can make it difficult to put your phone down and engage with the present moment. Overall, there are several factors that contribute to the addictive nature of smartphones, and it’s important to be mindful of your phone use and set boundaries to avoid becoming too dependent on it
Here are nine tips that will help you break your phone addiction and reclaim more of your day-to-day life.
1) Check Your Screen Time
If you are constantly checking your phone, it could be a sign of an addiction. This doesn’t mean you have stop being online or ditch your phone, Screen time is fun and can take our minds off of things for a little while, but we should be careful not to let it interfere with our daily lives. With that said, here are some tips for breaking your phone addiction:
1. Give yourself a specific amount of time when you can check your phone and stick to it
2. Put your phone in another room or on silent if there’s something important happening right now.
3. Leave the house instead of staying home with your smartphone.
4. Take care of yourself by eating well and exercising often – this will help reduce stress levels and make you feel better overall.
2) Lock Down The Screens
1. Turn off all push notifications on your phone. This includes anything that makes a noise and pops up over whatever you’re doing. If it’s not urgent, don’t let it interrupt you.
2. Put your phone in another room when you’re trying to concentrate or sleep. It may seem impossible at first, but gradually move it further and further away every day until it’s across the house or in the other room.
3. Put your phone down before dinner and give everyone at the table your undivided attention for an hour or two each night – no phones allowed
3) Deactivate Tiktok and Instagram While Not Working
The third tips to break phone addiction are deactivate Tiktok and Instagram. These two sites are notorious for stealing your time. When you log onto Tiktok and start scrolling, it becomes difficult to stop. The same goes for Twitter – the only difference is that the feed appears in reverse chronological order, making it more addictive (it’s impossible to know when someone will post something you want to see). You spend a lot of time without even noticing how much time has passed. Try using a site blocker like Freedom or StayFocused if you have trouble sticking with one site at a time.
4) Take Breaks(To break phone addiction)
1) Get a screen time tracker. Apps like Moment or Quality Time are great for tracking your phone use and making sure you’re not overindulging.
2) Create a social media schedule that helps you take breaks from scrolling.
3) Put your phone in airplane mode, turn off notifications, and set it on the other side of the room when you need a break.
4) Keep your phone in your bag when it’s time for an appointment or meeting.
5) Turn off push notifications for social media apps like Instagram or Facebook so they don’t interrupt what you’re doing on the computer with a distracting notification alert.
5) Use Time Blocks For Apps
One way to help you break your phone addiction is by limiting the time you spend on your apps. A survey of 1,316 teenagers aged 13-17 in the US reveals that 97% now use the internet every day, up from 92% in 2014-15. However, the Pew Research Center’s most striking finding is perhaps that 46% say they use the internet “almost constantly” – a significant rise from 24% in 2014-15.. This can have detrimental effects on our mood, health, and relationships. The average teen spends more than two hours per day on their phone with over one-third of that time spent using social media apps such as Tiktok, Instagram, Snapchat, or Twitter. Setting limits for yourself can help make sure you’re not spending too much time scrolling through your feed without thinking about it. For example, set a timer for 20 minutes and then put your phone away when the timer goes off.
6) Identify your triggers
Other tips to break phone addiction is identifying your triggers. The first step is identifying the triggers that are causing you to use your phone too much. Triggers could be boredom, feeling like you’re missing out on something, anything that makes you feel a sense of urgency or impulse. Once you’ve identified your triggers, make it a point not to engage with them. Doing this will help break the cycle of self-imposed distraction and keep you focused on what’s important.
7) Don’t charge your phone near your bed
Don’t charge your phone near your bed. If you can’t resist, put it on airplane mode before going to charge it. No one needs to be connected 24/7, says Dr. Roni Cohen-Sandler, a clinical psychologist in New York City and author of The Parent’s Guide for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids. It can help you disconnect from work or worries that might have been plaguing you. Plus, it’ll give your phone time to recharge, so it won’t die when you need it most.
8) Uninstall Games
If you feel like your phone is getting in the way of your life, it might be time for some uninstalling. Games are often the first thing people uninstall because they’re not really necessary but other apps can also have a negative impact on your mental health. Games like PUBG, shadow legends take so much time without realizing.
9) Encourage Real Conversations
All the time we spend on our phones can be a huge detriment to our relationships with friends and family, not to mention our mental health. The next time you’re tempted, try one of these easy tips:
1. Keep your phone in your bag when you’re around people.
2. Turn off notifications on your phone so they don’t keep distracting you.
3. Put your phone in another room or at least across the room from where you’re sitting so you don’t keep looking at it.
4. Set a timer for when you should stop using your phone so that it doesn’t take over your day.
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