Despite all of technology's benefits, your smartphone should not be your sole friend and conversation partner in this world. Phone addiction is comparable to alcoholism, drug addiction, and gambling addiction and definitely needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Of course, it doesn't harm your body in the same way as alcohol does, but its toxicity alters your mood and awareness and even your relationships with the world and the people around you. If you're worried your smartphone addiction might be at problematic levels, here are some ways to slow things down and reduce it.
Have More Than One Device
A smartphone can replace books, newspapers, magazines, MP3 players, cameras, television, gaming console, computer, and a variety of other essential items. Plus, technology provides you with so many more possibilities that earlier generations did not have. But this doesn't mean we have to accept the smartphone as a replacement for everything.
Instead, only use your phone as a means to look at social media and answer emails, for example. Have a different gadget or 'thing' for everything else. Read a newspaper or paperback book, watch TV, look up more about cordless phones and use those to talk to friends and family. Use a radio to listen to music. When you're using the phone for less, you'll be able to reduce your addiction.
Reduce Your Screen Time
Installing a parental control app on your smartphone means you can monitor exactly how long your children use their phones. This can be extremely useful and certainly does help to mitigate the effects of smartphone addiction. Yet why should this technology only be for children? Why not use it for yourself as well?
If you find you spend far too long on Facebook or YouTube or scrolling through any other app or apps you might have, then install a parental control app that will block you after a certain amount of time. This will alert you to the fact that you've been using the device for too long and remind you that there are other things to do.
Turn Off Notifications
A sound pings or buzzes or beeps. Perhaps there is no sound, but instead, you feel a vibration. You grab for your smartphone to check another notification, and it quickly develops into a half-hour browse through your news feed. Does this scenario sound familiar? This is because notifications are addictive, and you are attracted to them without even realising it. You just have to know what's happening right away.
Although switching off your notifications might be hard to do, it will make a huge difference once you're used to it. You won't constantly be looking at your phone, perhaps only checking on once every couple of hours. The world will open up to you, and you'll feel much freer.
Schedule Phone Free Time
Let's face it; we don't need our phones with us all the time. So why not turn it off when eating, watching a movie, or chatting with your family? Schedule your phone use and set aside time to be phone-free. When you're doing anything else, turn off your phone. Even better, leave it in another room entirely. This simple technique can minimise distraction and help you become less addicted to your phone.