We now spend an average of three hours a day on the phone. But the need to constantly hold your smartphone in your hands can be the first alarm bell that will tell you that it is time to change something in your life.
The technologies that were supposed to help, in fact, prevent us from living fully. And most of all the problems are from the phone because we do not part with it for a minute. According to scientists, we now spend an average of about three hours a day on the phone. And before smartphones appeared, it took us only 18 minutes.
“Scientists conducted a survey asking people to choose whether they would prefer a broken phone or a fracture,” says Adam Alter. - It turned out that 46% of the participants opted for a fracture. The remaining 55% preferred their health, but it was clear that the choice was not easy for them".
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How does phone addiction arise?
Addiction is not related to pleasure; otherwise, we would literally be addicted to chocolate. Addiction occurs when we try to relieve psychological stress to cope with some problem.
Addiction often develops when there are problems in life. For example, when we suffer from loneliness or cannot change our lives for the better.
“It doesn't matter what you do to calm yourself down: play a computer game or take drugs. Physiologically, behavioral and drug addiction are very similar, ”says Alter.
We live in an era of stress, and our phone calms us down. Some researchers even refer to the smartphone as an adult pacifier. It comforts us when we are irritated, upset, or bored. But this is an unhealthy approach because over time, it only aggravates the problem.
Coping with addiction
1. Do not keep your phone close at hand
Try to change your surroundings; take away what tempts you. Set your phone aside so that it is difficult to reach. It is preferable to leave it on the opposite side of the room. It's much more effective than keeping your phone close to you and testing your willpower.
When you still require access to your phone, turn off all unnecessary notifications. And those applications in which you usually sit for a long time, collect in one folder and hideaway.
2. Help yourself to stop
Have you ever picked up the phone for a minute, and then it turned out that an hour had passed unnoticed? While we are checking for updates on social networks, new letters come. All this is repeated in a circle. Scientists call this state a play loop. It usually occurs when we play slot machines.
We are being pulled into a state of artificial serenity. To stay in it, we repeat the same actions over and over again. We cannot stop until something distracts us and pulls us out of this state.
Adam Alter
Plan ahead for such a distraction. It should remind you to stop and bring you out of your calm state. For example, a countdown timer is fine. Before entering any application or social network, set a timer. When the alarm sounds, put your phone down.
3. Do not try to get rid of a bad habit, but replace it
When you take a seat on the sofa, make sure the phone is far away from you, and a book is at hand. As soon as you feel the urge to use your phone, grab a book and start reading. This will gradually replace the bad habit you want to give up with the good one.
It's okay if you're not at home and you don't have a book with you. Come up with another habit. For example, after flipping through the Instagram feed, delete the app from your phone. Then the next time you want to go into it, you have to install it again.
Leave your favorite reading app on the home screen. When you are mindlessly picking up your phone, you are more likely to waste your time.
Also read: 5 Reasons Why You Should Abandon Modern Technology
Finally
Addictions usually develop when there is a problem in life. So the urge to check your phone constantly can be the first alarm bell that will tell you that it's time to change something.
You have substantially lower chances of developing an addiction to something if you live a fulfilling life and maintain good relationships with loved ones.
Adam Alter
If you want to get rid of the habit of sitting on the phone, spend more time with loved ones. If you are reading this on your smartphone, write to someone important to you. Just let me know what you think of him. Make an appointment. Then put the phone away.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Life hacker
