We spend an average of 4 hours and 37 minutes on our smartphones daily. Another crippling stat that paints a sobering picture: we typically touch our phones 2,617 times daily! Given the statistics, putting down our smartphones and walking away would be easy.
Sadly, we can’t break away from the chains of how our lives are inextricably intertwined with smartphones. It is a blessing and a curse that these pocket-sized portals affect our communication, entertainment, access to information, learning from sources like essay writing service, social media, shopping, banking, and health.
You’re not alone if you’re conscious of the overindulgence with your device. Phone consumption prevalence is a growing scourge for the current generation, who spend hours glued to their devices, mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds, consuming content, or engaging in digital distractions.
What is It?
This is an obsessive and impulsive behavior characterized by excessive device use. The number of smartphone users is predicted to reach 7.1 billion. Over 90% of college graduates own a smartphone, and up to 50% of US citizens spend 5 to 6 hours on their phones daily.
Currently, phone addiction isn’t officially listed as an addiction by DSM-5. However, it holds significant ramifications on one’s life and can lead to stress, anxiety, coping issues, and relationship problems.
Symptoms of Phone Addiction
Phone addiction, like other behavioral addictions, is a problematic pattern to which its users attach much meaning and experience much distress. Cell users display a number of signs of addiction. The main users are bored as a whole; however, others are completely reliant on their cellular devices and do not have any other means of income.
In addition, most users develop feelings of anxiety, irritability, or depression when separated away from their phones. Here are some worrying signs that you might have this addiction:
- Constantly seeking your device
- You spend huge chunks of your time online
- You feel negative emotions after separation from the device
- Your professional and personal life starts getting affected
- A persistent desire to quit or reduce your device screen time
- FOMO
- A feeling of lack of connection
- Check social media feeds repeatedly due to anxiety
How the Addiction Affects Your Mental Health
More recent findings reveal a solid connection between heavy phone use and serious mental problems. Overconsumption of these gadgets affects their sleeping pattern as well the rhythm in a functional way. This severely affects your mental health. It also affects your thinking and stops you from having cognitive and learning abilities.
In addition, overindulgent cellular use is associated with other conditions like depression, anxiety, paranoia, bipolar affective disorder, and ADHD.
Owning a mobile phone at the workplace triggers workers’ anxiety, and perform poorly on given tasks. The heavier the cellular dependence, the higher the anxiety incurred. Also, it builds pressure to remain active online to keep up with what’s happening worldwide. Repeatedly checking and responding to texts or emails increases stress and burnout.
Benefits of Limiting Your Dependence
What happens when you abscond your mobile phone for a few hours or a week to cater to other needs in your life? Here’s what users can accrue from limiting their screen time:
Less anxiety and stress
Buy essay from any reputable research facility on behavioral addiction, and you’ll find a connection between phones and anxiety and stress. The constant stream of notifications and updates from your phone creates a sense of urgency and FOMO, leading to increased stress and anxiety.
Work-life balance
Disconnecting from devices in the workplace improves productivity and reduces stress and anxiety. This helps to concentrate on the work. When the mind is constantly on alert mode with multiple devices, notifications, messages, and alerts can distract from the attention.
The minimized level of interruption helps people concentrate on their work better, thereby improving productivity. Workplaces that regulate smartphone usage have reported more productivity, and increased output should be tracked by workers.
Better sleep
Cellular dependence can alter sleep patterns in young adults. Blue light affects our melatonin levels and electromagnetic fields, which are critical for how we interact with the world. This habit of not adhering to the body clock causes late bedtimes, unmeasured sleep patterns, sleep deprivation, and exhaustion. This is the reason why most youngsters remain insomniac!
Neck gets a break
Most young adults are rapidly experiencing soreness and neck strains in the upper back and shoulder area due to excessive consumption. To avoid straining the cervical spine, avoid bending your head and slouching your back.
Deep connection with others
Due to our overindulgence in smartphones, our social interactions are adversely impacted. Maintaining attention and being responsive to others in a social setting becomes hard. Reducing phone dependence helps re-ignite old forms of sharing our thoughts and ideas to form deep connections.
Apps to Limit Screen Time
There are hundreds of apps launched to help us unplug and limit our screen time. These apps feature multiple features to reduce your screen time and break these unhealthy phone habits:
FlipD
FlipD is an all-in-one productivity app that allows users unlimited session lengths, allows them to take multiple breaks, whitelists accessible apps, and tracks their history. It features two modes: casual lock and full lock, which shuts you out of your device or hides apps.
Forest
This is another productivity app with a focus timer to help you stay focused and boost productivity. It helps users beat their phone addiction while interestingly managing their time. Users earn credits by not touching their smartphones and planting real trees worldwide with credits. It has an aesthetic appeal to encourage you to focus on your work and achieve your goals.
WonderShare
Another possibility, actually another all-in-one option by FamiSafe to limit screen time, is WonderShare Assistant, which helps you manage your digital consumption. It comes with an easy-to-use interface as well as some really powerful features to help you achieve that healthy relationship with technology. Cross-platform Compatibility- Windows, Google Chrome, Mac, and Kindle. It includes a built-in screen time limit and even weekly phone activity reports.
AppDetox
An app that allows users to purposely create rules to keep them off certain apps that take up much of their time. The end goal of the app is to minimize distractions and curb procrastination. It blocks alerts, notifications, and messages from blocking your focus during sensitive tasks.
