Today, we are often no more than a yard away from our smartphone. In our pockets, on our nightstand or on our desk, they’re never far away. As we discover more about the way smartphones are impacting mental and physical health, concerns are rising about the potential damage that can result from smartphone addiction.
Are phones really addictive?
Every time we receive a push notification on our phones, our brains release a hit of dopamine. Dopamine is connected to our reward system, whenever something good or exciting happens it rewards us with feel-good chemicals. It’s the same chemical that is released when we eat delicious food and it reinforces the behaviour which causes it. Making us want to do that behaviour more and more. Eventually, this pattern creates an addiction and makes it difficult to go without the behaviour which feeds it.
Is smartphone addiction dangerous?
Smartphone addiction may be more accepted in society than a substance abuse addiction, but we shouldn’t trivialise the problem. Here are a few reasons why phone addiction needs to be part of the conversation and addressed:
- Depression: Studies have shown that increased social media usage has been linked to higher rates of depression and suicide risk in teens. More time on social media often means more time comparing themselves to others and spending more time alone. Meaning, they are often missing time with peers or engaging in sports or other hobbies.
- Tech Neck Pain: On average, we spend five hours every day looking at their phones, which can lead to tech neck pain. Tech Neck compresses and tightens the muscle, tendon, and ligament structures in front of the neck while lengthening the muscles, tendon, and ligament structures behind the neck.
- Problems with sleep: Phones cause sleep problems because of the blue light they create. This blue light can suppress melatonin, a hormone that helps control your natural sleep cycle.
Tips for managing your phone time
If you’re noticing that your phone use is becoming excessive, these actions can help you reduce it:
- Monitor your screen time: Most smartphones have a wellbeing section in their settings. Here, you can see how much time you spend on your phone and which apps you spend that time on.
- Set Specific Goals: Think about what you want to use your phone for and limit yourself to a set amount of time. For example, you may want to limit yourself to one hour of social media scrolling a day. Many smartphones have the option in their settings to lock you out of certain apps after you’ve hit a specific limit.
- Delete time-consuming apps: If you’re spending too much time on a specific app and need to take a break, try deleting it for a day or two and break the cycle of constantly checking or responding to it.
- Turn Off Push Notifications: Our brain gives us a dopamine hit every time we receive a push notification. Head into setting and adjust your push notifications to limit what messages are interrupting you.
- Buddy up: Speak with your friends or family and see if anyone else would like to reduce their screen time. You can set goals together and hold each other accountable by sending screenshots of your digital wellbeing data.