What Is Smartphone Addiction
While a smartphone, tablet, or computer can be a hugely productive tool, compulsive use of these devices can interfere with work, school, and relationships. When you spend more time on social media or playing games than you do interacting with real people, or you cant stop yourself from repeatedly checking texts, emails, or appseven when it has negative consequences in your lifeit may be time to reassess your technology use.
Smartphone addiction, sometimes colloquially known as nomophobia , is often fueled by an Internet overuse problem or Internet addiction disorder. After all, its rarely the phone or tablet itself that creates the compulsion, but rather the games, apps, and online worlds it connects us to.
Smartphone addiction can encompass a variety of impulse-control problems, including:
Information overload. Compulsive web surfing, watching videos, playing games, or checking news feeds can lead to lower productivity at work or school and isolate you for hours at a time. Compulsive use of the Internet and smartphone apps can cause you to neglect other aspects of your life, from real-world relationships to hobbies and social pursuits.
How Is Technology Addiction Treated
Unlike other addiction treatments, researchers agree that completely avoiding the internet isnt effective. Instead, IAD treatment should focus on time management and balancing or controlling use. However, it may help to avoid certain applications if theyre the cause of your addiction.
Treatment strategies generally include:
- suggesting a new schedule to disrupt patterns
- using real events and activities to help you log off
- setting goals to help limit use time
- quitting use of specific applications
- reminding yourself the benefits of stopping
- creating an inventory of missed activities due to an IAD
- joining a support group
- engaging in family therapy
Treating an IAD can also be a combination of therapies. Talk to a mental health care provider about your options, if you suspect you or someone you know has an IAD. Theyll be able to suggest a treatment plan to help.
What Is Samhsa’s National Helpline
SAMHSAs National Helpline, , or TTY: is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
Also visit the online treatment locator.
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Am I Addicted To My Phone
Genuine addiction to anything is obviously something to be avoided. Here check a few questions that can help you to understand whether excessive screen time is a problem issue for you or your child:
- Do you get nervous when cant find your phone immediately? Does the discomfort continue until you find the phone?
- Are you constantly checking your mail, social media profile or messenger chat even when youre not expecting a specific message or call? Do you do this even when someone in the same room is vying for your attention?
- Do you spend more time chatting on social media than face to face?
- Do you closely follow the latest news in mobile technology to ensure you have the latest devices, functionalities and fad apps?
- Do you find it uncomfortable to turn your phone off, even when the situation calls for it?
- Do you text or read your Facebook feed while driving?
- Do you ever bump into other people or objects because your nose is in your screen while you walk?
- Are you the app king among your friends? By which I mean that you regularly download a lot of new stuff but dont use them for long before searching for the next thing?
- Do you take the phone everywhere with you ?
- Is your most commonly used word Pardon? or something equivalent, because your attention is on your phone?
Its Okay To Put Your Phone Down And Enjoy Life
Its normal to take your phone with you. It is also natural to check your phone when you are driving, while shopping, or while watching movies. Many people use their phones as a replacement for a watch and an alarm clock!
However, if you start to feel that this habit is becoming a problem for you, its time to change. If you constantly check your phone during work hours and the rest of the day, then the gadgets will become more important than the person who owns them. This could lead to serious issues.
If there are things that bother you more than checking your social media accounts on your phone, then its time to change them. You can try changing some of these habits to avoid this addiction from getting out of hand.
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How To Get Rid Of Smartphone Addiction
In the present time, if you ask any of your parents what is their biggest problem, then they will give you the answer that their biggest problem is the smartphone. Neither the children are able to give time to the family due to the smartphone nor the children are studying properly. Just as people get intoxicated by alcohol, in the same way children have started getting intoxicated by smartphones. If you do not check by opening the screen of the smartphone for a few minutes, then they feel restless.
If a child in your home has become a smartphone stick or you have become a smartphone latcher, then you do not have to worry anymore. Today in this article, we are going to give you some tips by which you can get rid of smartphone addiction in a few months.
Do you want to get rid of smartphone addiction? So read the tips given below for that carefully. Today, in this article, the tips that we are going to tell you are the tips given by the psychologist himself. You can get rid of mobile phone addiction by following these tips.
Smartphone Addiction Causes Imbalance In Kids Brains
Parents and children keep tapping on apps and social media, because theyre designed to build habitual behaviour. Once you get hooked by persuasive technology, it means that your brains neurotransmitters have been damaged and become dysfunctional. Neurotransmitters are a type of chemical messenger which transmits signals across a chemical synapse, from one neuron to another target neuron.Phone addiction ruins the way our brains work, causing chemical imbalance that could lead to severe anxiety, tiredness and depression.
There are two types of neurotransmitter that are important in the matter of digital overuse and screen time problems: GABA and dopamine. Here are some useful facts to know, before you check your phones notifications again.
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What dopamine does in the brain
Then he found that rewarding it in a random schedule is the strongest way to reinforce a learned behaviour in rats. So, when youre favoured by luck, dopamine is released. To compare, look at the randomness of the Facebook feed. All social media apps today use digital confetti to give the user what he wants at random intervals.
The power of the dopamine system is very familiar to drug addicts and smokers. Every habit-forming synthetic drug affects the dopamine system by dispersing more and more dopamine than usual. Overusing is the consequence of wanting more and more pleasure to feel normal.
Sues brain and phone addiction
Rewarding stimuli include:
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Put It In Your Pocket
Simply turning off the PC at work may not be very practical after all, this is where most of our daily communication takes place. However, how about your mobile phone?
In most companies, intelligent cloud telephone systems have replaced the mobile phone for all work-related discussions anyway. These systems include appropriate features that actively enhance communication rather than constantly providing distraction. And if in doubt, your mobile will ring anyway, even when its in your pocket.
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How To Beat Internet Addiction: 5 Tactics To Help You
So after read this, youre now aware of the effect that Internet addiction is having on you or will eventually have on you.. Its stealing your time, stealing your energy, and stealing your focus. You now want to stop.
These tactics will help you get started, but the real work begins after you read this. Its up to you to change your habit patterns and eventually substitute healthier ways of being in place of your Internet addiction.
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Watch Tv Gradually Less
Limit your television time to a maximum of three to four hours. You can watch TV every day when you get home from work, late at night, or early in the morning. Try to limit the use of your television to less than half during this time. Try to watch less than four hours a day.
- Schedule and stick to the television schedule every day.
- You can also set an alarm to show when the TV can be turned off.
Cut the broadcasts you see in half. Evaluate which of the shows you are watching can be removed from your list. You may have recently stopped enjoying some of these things or think you are wasting your time. Cut them out and keep looking for the one that interests you the most.
Sign up for some of your TV subscriptions. Besides TV shows, you can also subscribe to some of their pay-tv subscriptions. If you have multiple streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, or HBO Go plus cable, you should cut down at least one or two. You save money, time, and are less likely to get involved in new programs. In this way, you can get rid of TV addiction.
Worried You May Be Suffering From Internet Addiction Disorder
Take our FREE Internet addiction quiz to see if you may benefit from further diagnosis and treatment.
Just because you use the Internet a lot watch a lot of YouTube videos, shop online frequently, or like to check social media does not mean you suffer from Internet Addiction Disorder. The trouble comes when these activities start to interfere with your daily life. In general, Internet Addiction Disorder is subdivided into varying categories. The most commonly identified categories of Internet Addiction include gaming, social networking, email, blogging, online shopping, and inappropriate Internet pornography use. Other researchers suggest that it is not the amount of time spent on the Internet that is particularly troublesome rather, it is how the Internet is being used. That is, the riskiness of Internet use can be just as important as the amount of time spent. Do you have a teenager using teen dating sites that could have child molesters lurking on the site? This is risky and one of the multidimensional aspects of Internet Addiction Disorder. Other identified multi-dimensional risk factors of Internet Addiction Disorder include physical impairments, social and functional impairments, emotional impairments, impulsive Internet use, and dependence on the Internet.
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What Is Internet Addiction
Do you play video games on the Internet in excess? Are you compulsively shopping online? Cant physically stop checking Facebook? Is your excessive computer use interfering with your daily life relationships, work, school? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be suffering from Internet Addition Disorder, also commonly referred to as Compulsive Internet Use , Problematic Internet Use , or iDisorder. Originally debated as a real thing, it was satirically theorized as a disorder in 1995 by Dr. Ivan Goldberg, MD who compared its original model to pathological gambling. Since this hoax of sorts, the disorder has rapidly gained ground and has been given serious attention from many researchers, mental health counselors, and doctors as a truly debilitating disorder. Though not officially recognized as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , its prevalence in American and European cultures is staggering affecting up to 8.2% of the general population. However, some reports suggest it affects up to 38% of the general population. The widely variable difference in prevalence rates might be contributed to the fact that no true and standardized criteria has been selected for Internet Addiction Disorder. It is researched differently among scientists and mental health professionals. And, it is researched differently across ethnic cultures.
Uninstall The Game After Use
No matter whether youre playing on your smartphone or computer, most games require installation before you can play them on a computer or a smartphone. So, if you are highly addicted to a particular game, you can uninstall the game after you have played it. I know thats painful. But that way, you will again need to download the game all over again, log in with all your credentials before you can get started with the game. Thus, if you want to play the game for maybe half an hour or one hour, you will require more time to download the game and carry out the initial activities.
Depending upon your everyday activities, there might not be adequate time for you to carry out all the activities and we will be forced not to play the game all over again. I know, it can be really frustrating to delete or uninstall the game after you play it and reinstall it when you need to play the game, but this can be an effective way to get rid of gaming on your computer or a smartphone. If you have a slow internet connection, that will be more effective, as it will require more time to download the game before you can install it which will again be more useful to get rid of gaming addiction.
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Take Action Against Technology Addiction
Though the DSM-5 does not officially recognize technology addiction, there is no denying that society is becoming more reliant on devices each day. To function in the modern world, most individuals need some form of technology.
Still, there is a distinction between healthy and compulsive technology use. As the emerging dilemma continues to spread over time, researchers and medical professionals may find a way for people to avoid developing a technology addiction. In the meantime, however, it is essential to stay vigilant, monitor our technology use, and seek help if we feel it may be compulsive.
- About
Suzette Gomez earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Central Florida. Her desire to help others led her to a Pre-medical track with a focus on psychological and social development. After graduation, she pursued her passion for writing and began working as a Digital Content Writer at Recovery Worldwide LLC. With her background in medicine, Suzette uses both science and the arts to serve the public through her writing.
Clinically Reviewed:
David Hampton
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All of the information on this page has been reviewed and verified by a certified addiction professional.
Get A Hobby Or Develop Some Good Interest
Most people have the habit of using their smartphones simply because they do not have anything to do. If you are one of them, who always keep using the smartphone when free, it is high time that you got a hobby. You can read a storybook, socialize with your friends in the real world, or do something productive instead of using the smartphone. I know, it can be really frustrating to get a hobby by giving up your smartphone usage, but this can be useful in the long run.
If you really want to keep using the smartphone, you can also develop some other interests, which are associated with a smartphone. For example, you can listen to podcasts, watch some informative documentaries, or do some similar kind of work on your smartphone and that can also give you some useful information without keeping your smartphone aside. Try to learn some new skills while using the smartphone and then find ways to implement them in your real life. That is also another way you can give up excessive use of smartphones for things that do not add any value to your life.
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Top 10 Effective Ways To Get Rid Of Smartphone Gaming Addiction
There is nothing wrong with playing your favorite game after coming back home from your workplace, at the time of commuting, or when you have some free time in your hand. But it is really bad if you free up time to play your favorite game as that will eventually affect your productivity, social life and every other positive aspect in your life. If you free up your time for playing your favorite game, it is the time when you should consider it as a form of addiction and it is high time that you got rid of gaming addiction in some way or the other. Gaming addiction can be for a particular game on your smartphone or your computer, but whatever may be the type of game or the device that you are playing the game on, gaming addiction is not at all something that you should take for granted.
Endless Sources Of Information
A recent study found that people who ate soup from self-filling, bottomless bowls consumed 73 percent more than those eating from normal-size containers. They didnt report greater satisfaction, however, and they substantially underestimated how much theyd eaten. Its the picture of mindless consumption eating because the food is there, not because it fulfills a need or delivers any pleasure.
Most of us require some kind of cue to stop consuming, but our devices provide no such thing. Scrolling has no breaks. Instagram and other apps might show only one like at a time, which keeps us checking back. Snapchat capitalizes on users loyalty to their friends by turning their conversations into streaks they dont want to break, guaranteeing traffic.
Facebook uses an ever-evolving algorithm that tracks every like, comment, and click so it can predict what kinds of posts are most likely to keep users reading and feeds them accordingly.
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