It’s estimated that more than 5 billion people worldwide have a mobile device, with over half of these are smartphone users. Smartphones have been an amazing innovation that hasn’t just helped us more easily connect to other people, they’ve made our lives more convenient in endless ways – taking photos, find recipes, getting directions, playing games, become more fit, finding out who won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1993. Nearly every activity is connected in some way to a smartphone.
And therein lies the problem.
Many of us have become so reliant on our phones that we have trouble putting them away. In fact, this problem has given rise to a word: Nomophobia – the irrational fear of being without your mobile phone or being unable to use it.
There are other signs you may be addicted to your smartphone:
· You’re having trouble sleeping
· You’re more anxious
· Social media is stressing you out
· You’re easily distracted
· You mindlessly scroll
· You feel phantom vibrations you think are coming from your phone
The good news is it’s an addiction you can quit – or at least keep under control. Here are a few things you can try:
1. Place your phone out of your reach (at least for a set period of time): If you’re watching TV in the living room, leave your phone in the kitchen. It won’t stop you from checking in completely, but it’ll make it inconvenient to get up every time you want to.
2. Turn off notifications: Those constant dings, screen messages and red dots tease and tempt us to pick up our phones. The fewer of them you see and hear, the better.
3. Set a timer: If you’re like most people, you pick up your phone to read a text and the next thing you know you’re scrolling through Instagram or reading the news. Set a timer when you first pick up your phone and give yourself a limited amount of time to do whatever you like – say five minutes – and when the timer goes off, so do you.
4. Replace your habit: Some experts think the best way to break a habit is to replace it with something else. So, find something else you can replace your phone time with – cooking, reading, exercising.
Are you or have you been addicted to your smartphone? Share your thoughts and suggestions on how to break the habit now in the Shop Talk blog community forum.
Did you know: Don’t vs can’t
A study of women trying to exercise found those who told themselves “I don’t miss a workout” were way more likely to follow through than those who said “I can’t”. Tell yourself “I don’t check my phone more than once an hour” instead of “I can’t check it.” (Source)