Curbing smartphone addiction: A short, actionable take
By: Samuel Goldberg
When I got my vaccine early last week, I was required to wait 15 minutes before leaving the premises just in case any symptoms arose after first receiving the shot. The convention center I was at provided a section of chairs spread out for everyone to sit and wait. As I waited, I looked at those seated in the chairs all around me and couldn’t help but notice, you guessed it, everyone was hunched over, staring down at their crotch. Soon after, I did the exact same. How can one thing hypnotize us so fully and completely, and do it so thoroughly? Even if we know the answer, it is extremely hard to stop.
Our phones really do a good job at making us impulsive. Instant gratification is at our fingertips every moment of the day if we let it. Sometimes I find myself sitting and I get a very strong urge to completely change what I am doing, just to have that altered a few seconds or a minute later. The ability for something to hold our attention for an extended period of time has been severely diminished in the way that we live our lives. It leads one to wonder and try to remember what life was like before having the internet and all its features at our finger tips at a moments notice. I read a book a while ago called 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week by Tiffany Shlain (link). The idea was to take a sabbaths rest from your smartphone, forcing yourself to spend time on other things. I never went through with this because at my current stage in life I could not afford to not be on my phone one day a week consistently. Perhaps that tells you something.
I sit here writing this out and I am reminded of the fact that we can structure our lives to suit what we want out of life. Frankly, at this point in my writing, I already want to move onto something else. Getting past the superficial takes work and is uncomfortable, something a distracted mind has no time for. However I feel an urge to push back against that. We control our own lives; smartphones, the internet and everything it brings is a tool, and should not be confused as anything else.
So what strategies could be used to limit and/or eliminate smartphone usage from your life? Our impulse is one of the most powerful mechanisms within us, and these devices have hijacked that impulse. This means that despite strength of willpower, if you have your phone next to you for an extended period of time, or in your pocket as most do, odds are you’re going to pull it out. Some say that “if everyone is doing it then it must be okay.” Since when did the norm become the barometer for our lives? Maybe the norm is wrong. Be reminded that we can choose the structure and make up of our lives. Even the most disorganized among us have some kind of inborn schedule whether we are conscious of it or not, in most cases we are not, but its there all the same. Before we dive into steps that you can take to regain control, I think it is important to again establish that your smartphone is indeed a tool. It is a tool meant to help you accomplish something in your life. If it is not working to help you accomplish a particular thing in your life, such as improved well-being, you should look to something else to do the job.
Strategies:
- Buy an alarm clock and leave your phone in another room.
- Schedule airplane mode → the fact that you think you might need your phone for a particular reason at any random time on this earth is a problem. You live on earth, the ground at your feet, not in a virtual space at the palm of your hand, you are safe here and now.
- Only let apps activate at certain times of day → Find and download an app blocker. At first glance, RescueTime appears to be a good option for this.
- Consider others ways you can spend your time rather than being on your phone. For me, this can include, writing, playing piano, painting, exercise, listening to music or an audiobook (while phone is on airplane mode), building or fixing something, researching something I am curious about, learning a new skill, reading, meditating, being in nature, petting my dog, dancing, spending quality time with friends and family, or doing some uh, work.
These are just a few strategies. For me, it definitely hurts to realize that I have wasted a lot of my time on things that did not actually contribute anything to who I am, or even made me a worse version of who I am. However, the first step out of the muck is well, one step. The first step forward is all you can ever take, take it with me.
Image Sources
Mcquate, S. (April 19, 2019) Patterns of compulsive smartphone use suggest how to kick the habit. https://www.washington.edu/news/2019/04/29/patterns-of-compulsive-smartphone-use/
