How To Break Addiction To Phone

Clear Out Your Home Screen

How To BREAK Your Phone Addiction || Break Up With Your Phone

In addition to hiding the apps I dont want to use, I place the apps I do want to use in a prominent position: my home screen. Were going to go over good apps later in this guide, but for now know the cardinal rule: never put an app you dont want to use on the home screen. Any apps on the home screen are going to get used more than apps on any other page, so make sure the apps that are there are ones you want to use.

To recap:

Hide apps you want to discourage yourself from using in the second page of groups.

Place apps you want to encourage yourself to use on the home screen.

Keep Your Car A Zone With No Phones

Using your phone while driving your vehicle is incredibly dangerous for both you, other drivers and pedestrians.

While some people might use their phone for navigation, it would be much better to purchase a SatNav for this specific use instead of utilising a phone.

This is to remove the temptation to look at your phone so that you can leave it in the back seat of your car.

Ask Your Friends And Family For Help

Asking your family or your friends for help doesnt necessarily have to be too dramatic, but if they catch you scrolling through Instagram during a family dinner or while youre out, they can bring you back to reality.

It can help you to stay accountable, as tackling any addiction by yourself can be difficult.

You could also ask a friend to keep hold of your phone while you are out, so you can enjoy the moment without worrying about checking Facebook or Twitter.

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How To Beat An Addiction To Cell Phones

This article was co-authored by Trudi Griffin, LPC, MS. Trudi Griffin is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Wisconsin specializing in Addictions and Mental Health. She provides therapy to people who struggle with addictions, mental health, and trauma in community health settings and private practice. She received her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in 2011.There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 19 testimonials and 88% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 573,711 times.

Do you find yourself constantly texting, surfing the internet, sending emails, using applications and playing games? Depending on how much time and effort you put into those situations, you may have a problem with excessive cell phone use. Overuse of your cell phone can lead to reduced quality of personal relationships and lack of productivity in daily life.

Strategy : Become Aware Of The Urge To Distraction

How often does this happen to you? Youre in the midst of a busy day filled with back-to-back meetings, emails and pressing deadlines. Then, out of the blue, you have a short, unexpected gap in your day. And then, without even thinking about it, you pull out your phone and dive into email, Facebook, news or some other distraction.

This urge is even more damaging when were at home. Its what causes us to respond to our childs request to play by saying, Just a minute, as we stare blankly at our device. Its what causes us to interrupt a conversation with a friend, a meal or an important event with occasional surreptitious glances down at our phone.

What we now know from the science and practice of mindfulness is that the best response to this urge is to simply become aware. When you feel like you just have to check that score, stock price or text, become aware of the experience of craving. Notice what it feels like. Notice the thoughts that arise.

Then make an actual choice as to whether or not you will indulge the urge. Even if you do end up on Facebook or Instagram, this micro-moment of awareness changes everything. It breaks you out of autopilot. It gives you back the ability to choose how best to spend your time.

Statistics On Phone And Internet Use

Almost 6.4 billion people use a smartphone in 2021.

According to a 2019 report, the average person spends about 3.5 hours on their phone in a day with the top 20% of people spending more than 4.5 hours a day. The quarantine has increased these numbers many users report over 8 hours a day.

The 2019 report also says that 70% of all phone use lasts lesser than 2 minutes and 50% of all phone pickups occur within 3 minutes of the previous pickup.

68% of 18-34 year-olds cant go an hour without their phone and 71% sleep next to it.

96% of Gen Z Americans wont go to the toilet without their phone.

Another 2019 report says at least 3.3 billion people use the internet and social media from their phones.

Comscores 2019 Global state of mobile report says 70% of all digital media engagement in the US happens from a smartphone. So TV, games, laptops, gaming consoles, theatres, etc. are all squeezed into the tiny remainder of 30%.

Introspect About Your Expectations

Continuous short-interval phone checking may have a lot to do with what you are expecting out of phone usage. It would help to introspect and ask yourself what you expect is it a rewarding experience? is it a social interaction? are you waiting for some to approach you? are you wishing for some exciting change? do you want a flood of notifications but not getting any? These questions will help you figure out what psychological needs your phone is compensating for. Maybe its the need for belongingness or social approval or a need to feel desired. Try to satisfy those needs in healthier ways. Usually, interacting with people in person and doing some meaningful activity satisfy those needs.

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Using The App Library

I am an iPhone user, so this unfortunately doesnt apply to Android users. However, if your phone has a similar feature, feel free to try it out!

The iOS 14 update pushed out a new feature called the App Library. This is where you can store apps you dont use but dont want to delete. All you have to do is hold on the app , click the button in the top corner, and select Move to App Library.

Now that app is gone from your main pages! To find the app, simply scroll to the right-most screen on your phone the App Library and find the app again.

Here Are Five Ways To Break Your Phone Addiction

THIS Will Break Your Phone Addiction (Backed by Research!)

Write a diary Or install one of those apps that record the amount of time you spend on the phone, this will give you perspective. A starting point and a definitive goal.

Offline hours Make sure you schedule periods of the day wherein you stay away from any sort of brightly lit screen, tabs, tv and phones included. This means that for at least a few hours everyday, switch off your phone and stay completely offline !

Disconnect at dusk Looking at a bright screen while in bed confuses your biological clock. This can lead to all sorts of issues ranging from insomnia to depression ! Make your bed a no phone zone !

Have dumb phone days or no phone days Schedule regular off days from the constant dings from your smartphone. Procure a cheap phone with no internet and use it a couple of days a week. It would be even better if you could sneak in no phone days !

Limit your time on social networks/games An hour a day or lesser. You may scroll, tweet, post, like, share only during this period, you arent allowed to exceed this time limit. Network in real life. Play a sport, pick up a new hobby !

Back to reality Learn to be present, enjoy the beauty of life , meet new people, go to new places and do new things. You get one shot at life, you can sit at home scrolling all day, or get up and go do something worthwhile. Your choice. You can start with our mindfulness guide.

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Put Your Phone Away When You Walk In The Door

Christopher Mims writes a weekly technology column for The Wall Street Journala job that certainly requires the use of tech on a consistent basis. His simple and proven way to keep life in healthy balance with his cell phone is to put it in a kitchen cabinet at the end of the workday. In his words, The more you physically remove the phone, the more you can build a habit of having some ability to ignore it when its on your person.

When you finish your day of work, put your phone in a drawer or cabinet. This is a helpful practice for all people, but I think it is especially important if you have kids or a spouse at home in need of our undivided attention.

Leave It In Another Room

On the advice of a therapist, I started practicing leaving my phone in one room while I went into another. I brought it up and said that I was way too attached. Thought it was making me anxious. I didnt like being in places without reception and would go home if my phone were at risk of dying. Still to this day, Ive never had an iPhone die because I obsessively keep it charged. But my therapist basically had me practice just leaving it in another room for increasing increments of time. Small increments. Like 15 minutes at a time but getting longer. Im still bad, but much better. And I dont really work on it anymore. ¯\__/¯Yoni Rechtman, investor

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Delete Apps That Are Addictive

The less reason you have to look at your phone, the less likely youre going to use it. Whatever app you use the most on it, consider deleting it.

Whether its the Facebook app, Instagram app, or a bunch of games you play too much, try deleting them from your phone for a few days. If you feel more in control of your phone usage after a few days, you can consider adding some of them back.

Deleting All Social Media

If youre an avid social media user, deleting them wont work well for you. Somehow, youll always find an excuse to redownload them , defeating the entire purpose.

In addition, for apps like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, there are web versions you could sign in to. So even if you manage to delete the app on your phone, youll be likely to start scrolling through them, but on your desktop.

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Symptoms Of Phone Addiction

Want to establish your own reliance on tech? Try the following, she reccomends.

1. Being on your phone more often than not

Become aware of how much time you actually spend on your phone. Ask yourself: if you dont check it for a while, do you feel nervous or on edge? If so, this may be a sign that youve become dependent on your device.

2. Brushing off excessive screen time as normal

How many waking hours do you spend gazing at your phone, and when others touch on it, do you merely pass it off as a necessity?

3. Consistent unproductive days and unfulfilled daily tasks

Are you managing to fit in your workload, daily activities and spending quality time with loved ones? Or do you find that hours can easily pass when youre on your phone?

4. Comments from others

If you start receiving comments from others about how much youre on social media or on your phone in general, there may well be a problem.

5. Starting to feel low or down about things you see online

As above, excessive screen time can lead to mental health problems, so if you suspect that you may have phone addiction, now is the time to create new habits and begin to set boundaries for yourself, Spelman shares.

The Technology That Was Supposed To Help Us Connect More

Think about the way you would have interacted with someone before the smartphone era. You might have called them on the phone. You might have mailed them a card. You might have put up an ad in the paper, or sent a letter.

When you email someone now, the technology has gotten much more sophisticated, but the technology thats being used is just as old.

The average human being is walking around with dozens of thousands of bytes of personally identifiable information on them at any given moment. At the same time, smartphones are allowing us to put this information in our pockets.

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Keep Your Phone Literally Away

Its easier to forget about checking your phone when its physically out of sight and reach. After coming home, I just leave the phone in my bag and put it in the cupboard. Nothing terrible ever happens. Ill hear an urgent call or notification, and at the same time, I can cope with most of the sudden urges to check my phone. Who wants to get up and walk to the other part of ones apartment all the time?

The same trick can help you at work, school, and family dinners. When theres no phone on the table in front of you, its much easier to focus on the things you need to do, be it finishing some work or chatting with your loved ones.

Smartphones Are Built To Be Addicting

How To BREAK Phone Addiction (Get Clean)

If youve ever wondered why its so easy to feel so reliant on your device, know its all by design. Your phones constant notifications and never-ending opportunities to scroll are purposely designed to make it difficult for us to put them down.

And our kids are not immune. If you notice your child feeling overly anxious when separated from their device or having trouble sleeping, they might have an addiction to their phone.

Strategy : Time For Flow

In the early 1990s, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term flow to describe the state of full absorption in the task at hand. Flow is the polar opposite of distraction. Its that state we all encounter from time to time where our sense of self and time dissolves, where we get more done in a matter of hours than we might ordinarily accomplish in several days. The research shows that you dont have to be LeBron James or Serena Williams to experience this state. Its available to everyone — no matter your occupation.

But theres a catch. Flow requires space from interruption and distraction. So here are a few tips to create spaces in your day for full engagement:

Schedule flow blocks on your calendar. Dont just assume theyll happen.
If possible, work at home, at a coffee shop or in some other environment where you are free from interruptions during these blocks.
Turn your phone to airplane mode.
Close your web browser and email program.

Is Mobile Addiction Real

Its hard to know for sure if theres such a thing as mobile addiction, but there are enough reports to make it worthwhile looking into. Technology addiction describes excessive smartphone use.

This includes excessive phone and computer use, compulsive checking of social media and online accounts, internet shopping, or other behaviours in which excessive time is spent interacting with, organizing and manipulating digital technology.

I think there is something that makes us addicted to smartphones, but I dont think its simply having them all the time, or even using them too often.

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Strategy : Tie Yourself To The Smartphone Mast

You might recall the ancient Greek myth of Odysseus. As his ship approached the Sirens, he knew that the seductive call of their voices would overwhelm his rational capacities — that their intoxicating call would lead him to abandon his best interests and jump off the boat to his death. So before encountering the Sirens, he had his crew tie him to the mast.

Our smartphones are modern-day Sirens. Theyre intoxicating and utterly addictive. And that means that we simply cant be trusted to make good, rational decisions in their presence. Like Odysseus, were best off creating limits around how we use these devices before were in their presence.

Here are some strategies to consider:

Delete the addictive apps off your phone. If thats too radical, move them off the main screen or into a folder thats out of sight.
Use the app Moment to monitor your usage patterns.
Put your phone on grey scale so you arent as enchanted by the colorful graphics.
Use airplane mode or do not disturb to silence incoming distractions.
Consider unplugging your router during nights or weekends.
Downgrade to a smaller phone like the iPhone SE.

Important Parenting And Screen Time Issues In Screenagers

The impact of screen time on kids and teens. According to a study done by the movies authors an average child spends about 6.5 hours a day at screen and more than 11 hours a week playing video games . Among the problems being addressed in the movie are:

general phone addiction
teens obsessive desire to take photos of themselves for social media and their worry about how they look
how too much screen time at a certain age can cause damage to the development of some brain functions
kids being distracted at school because of their smartphones
problems associated with multitasking and self perception even though kids were performing worse and worse they were sure that they were actually doing well and even improving
parents and other relatives noticed many times that some kids almost literally turn into a different person while playing computer games
computer and video game violence and similar issues it is interesting, that some kids think the video game experience is more important and relevant for their future than things like math or school in general.

Parental authority and the way you should assert it, especially in questions of screen time is another important topic of the documentary. This includes exploration of:

Protect your kids

Screen addiction: the Black Mirror lesson

Too much screen time?

Why this plot is crucial

Technology is not guilty. Marie is guilty

Digital education

Limit screen time

AAP

The hard slog

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