In this day and age, technology has helped mankind on so many things such as in doing everyday tasks. With the objective to make our lives easier, technology instantly has become a man’s best friend, so to speak. Take our smartphones for instance, it’s safe to say that the gadget is easily considered as our most loyal companion throughout the day.
From being our primary ways in communicating with people, and even organising our agendas… There is nothing that our smartphone cannot do for us, basically. Unfortunately, some of us has grown to be dependant and inseparable with our smartphone.
Is Smartphone Addiction a Real Thing?
Smartphone addiction is also known as nomophobia – the fear of being without a mobile phone. It is a condition which is often fuelled by an Internet overuse problem or Internet addiction disorder.
It’s no surprise that our smartphones may results us this kind of addiction or disorder, as social media apps basically are designed to hook you. Yes, apps on our smartphones have been expertly engineered to produce responses by designers skilled in manipulating brain chemistry to elicit addictive behaviours.
Aside from that, did you know that smartphones and slot machine has something in common? Well, smartphones and slot machine encourage addictive behaviours by targeting the sense that something exciting could happen at any moment. Not only that, smartphones are altering our brains with something called : “an intensely focused state of distraction.” What this focused distraction can do is that it will create long-lasting changes in our brain.
As this matter gets a little bit more concerning, there’s been several tests that can be found online to know if we might be addicted to our smartphones. One of them is the “Smartphone Compulsion Test” which is developed by David Greenfield, PhD, of the Centre for Internet and Technology Addiction at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
The Danger of Smartphone Addiction
Now, as scary as it sounds that smartphones can get us hooked up constantly. Some of the causes and effects of smartphone addictions are
- Increasing loneliness and depression
- Fuelling anxiety
- Increasing stress
- Exacerbating attention deficit disorder
- Diminishing ability to concentrate and think deeply or creatively
- Disturbing sleep
- Encouraging self-absorption.
It’s not just those effects on the list that will come from smartphone addiction. One of the warning signs of smartphone overuse is isolation from family and friends, as well as we might develop a problem when it comes to completing daily tasks at work or home.
Ways to Break Free from Smartphone Addiction
So, what can we do to help us get away from smartphone addiction problem? The first step would be recognising the problem and the triggers that makes us reach for our smartphones. Also, we should recognise any underlying problems that may support the compulsive behaviour.
After that, try to set goals for when we can use the smartphones. For some of us, one of our morning routines consists of checking on our phones after we woke up. For the first 30 minutes after waking up, try to dedicate the time to create a good start by doing healthy and positive things to build our fortitude to take on the day ahead. It would also help if we turn off the phones at certain times of the day, for example let’s say when we get into the car. In a way, it’s like we’re creating a “No-Phone Time Zones”.
Other than creating the times we can use our phones, try to also apply a “phone-free zones”. For example like not using our smartphones while we’re at the dining room, or not bringing our phones or tablet to bed.
It would also be helpful to limit our “check” time with our phones. Don’t spend so much time to keep tabs on what’s going on in our phones. Try to use apps to monitor and limit smartphone use, and we might be surprised with the numbers shown. Instead, we can replace our smartphone use with healthier activities like reading a book, going for a run or to the gym, or even going out to spend some real quality time with friends and family.