Majority think they are not addicted to their phones; chances are you're reading this on your phone. Well, maybe you shouldn't be if you’re not addicted to your phone.
Right now, there is a growing body of research that says excessive phone use is really bad for you. For starters, it's bad for your brain, your neck, your eyes, and your fingers. It's also linked to poor sleep, higher stress levels, and depression. Today I will give you a few tips on how to remove that irresistible, addictive technology that has enslaved many of us.
Possibility is that you’re still having some doubts on if you’re really addicted to your phone or if you’re really a slave of your own phone. Here are some figures to help you; Research statistics from a screen lock app with over 10million users show that the average person unlocks their phone around 110 times each day. This unlocking is at its peak between 5pm and 8pm.
But how do you actually curb your phone use? After all, your smartphone isn't exactly that empty bottle you can easily throw after drinking. You need it by your side at all times to thrive in the 21st century; to chat with family, friends, your boss, even any potential romantic "matches." Not even leaving out your personal smiles during entertainment from TikTok, Likee or any other social platforms.
Here are some of the tips to get us off that prison of our phones.
1. Monitor Your Usage with your phone App
The irony here is the digital version of the common behavior that drunkards say you must drink more alcohol in the morning to remove the hangover. The more you stick your eyes to that Samsung, iphone, infinix, techno, itel, opo or the smartest gadget you hold, the more you fail to realize its effects on your life. The good news is that developers have created apps that help you track down your phone usage. Download apps like Moment and Break Free, which track your smartphone usage, so you can see, in raw data, how much time you're wasting. The raw data may worry you a lot and you will start to use any of our tips or even device your own.
2. Set an out-of-office message—even while you're working
If answering messages/emails on your smart phone anywhere is your phone-use poison and, especially, if you have an irresistible need to reply to everyone right away then this tip is for you. On busy working hours, set up a brief automatic reply that says something along the lines of: "I've received your message and it is important to me, but am currently not available. I will definitely reply you shortly when available online. Thanks." People aren't going to think you're ignoring them or you're being unproductive," says Roberts A James, A professor of Marketing at Baylor University. They will start to realize you have a standard.
Good news is that most social media and email platforms have this special feature of automatic reply. Make use of it and it could reduce your phone use by 10% which can save you from that stress factor of receiving messages while your that busy.
3. Fast from social media
Pick a time of the week and promise yourself not to visit or post on social media at all during that period. This is what is referred to as "social media fasts." It could be for three hours on Saturday afternoons or just from noon to dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Many social media researchers would suggest evenings, for three reasons. One, you're more prone to drink during the evening, and therefore more prone to sending a message you may regret. Two, "people just don't need to hear back from you at 10, 12, 2 in the morning," They know that you are at work or probably in class. They can wait. And three, you'll sleep better at night. The blue light that emanates from smartphones disturbs your sleep. Sounds like a win-win-win. But if you need your phone to spice up your social life, we understand. Here are the Best Dating Apps for you.
4. Draft up a contract
Psychologists use "social contracts," when it comes to helping people quit something, say, drinking or smoking, where they literally draft up a contract of where and when behavior is permitted or prohibited, and tie rewards and punishment. For example; No smoking after 5:00. If you succeed for a week, you get to watch the game on Saturday. If not, well you keep trying.
In this case, it would be a contract about phone use. You set your own rules and rewards—and punishments. The tough part is finding someone to execute the contract, ideally someone who won't fall to the same urges that had you drafting the thing in the first place.
5. How to Take Last Pictures
You're out for dinner, family outing, dates, or any special day together with a friend(s), your food arrives, and you're dying of anticipation, ready to push those hands to your pocket or handbag to pick up your phone and take pictures. But wait! Someone at the table just absolutely needs that perfect Instagram picture. Does this really need to happen? "These days taking a picture becomes more important than experiencing the event itself," We have seen these at parties too, everyone want to take the picture moment and caption it on their social media statuses ‘chilling out with buddies, what a day, Enjoying fresh Bush meat, This babe gat fresh nyash- All captions from all corners of the brain cerebrals or oblongata. So next time you're about to pick out your camera, think twice. Live in the moment—which is also a great way to Relive Your 20s.
6. Power Down During Every Meal or when together with someone
It’s very annoying to go out or when with that one special person and all they are doing is staring at their phones and giving you less attention. I bet this condition has happened to you at one point in time. It's tough, especially if dinner is with your in-laws. But those dinners are few and are and presumably most of your meals are with company you genuinely enjoy. Not to say your in-laws aren't great! Just that lunch with honey, boo, bae, ted, baby and sweetheart from down the hall is more conversationally enjoyable. You can testify how romantic such talks can be. So put away the phone and do what you're there to do: chat.
Also, for further evidence as to why this is an excellent choice is avoidance of nomophobia- a disease of worrying about your phone. Check this out Facts you didn’t know about your smart phone
7. Have Cx!
This is becoming more interesting if we consider the reasons why most people stick to their phones. One of them being looking for a lover or even chatting with their lovers or basically posting or reading love memes on friends’ statuses. Research has it that people in love and those who are hurt post on social media more often than those who aren’t in love. This is exactly human way of expressing public opinions. Looking at the positive effects of cx, the body becomes more active when the body has been romantically satisfied. This is no time to ignore since having that enjoyable moment takes about 12-15% of your total time. Come to think of it this way, 3hours romantic cx twice a week, the mind has enough time to relax, cell replication has enough time to take place, besides you would have wasted 6hours a week which you would have spent on that romantic late night call with your loved one and in the end you raised your cx urge and probably all those body fluid was released. Dangerous behavior is when the hormones responsible for cx are released and no serious marathon took place.
If you're looking to improve your performance in the cx department, here are the great steps to get her screaming or make you roar in the morning like the Lion King in the jungle mazogoto bed.
8. Exercise More.
Of course, another way to spend time off your phone is releasing some sweat . Go for a run, walk or dance. Lift some weights. Do some basic yoga. Yoga isn’t just for a few as many people have always taken it to be. Yoga is absolutely very healthy and necessary in our lives.
Every minute spent exercising is a minute not spent reading a silly internet article or viewing those WhatsApp statuses or watching videos that make you smile all day long. And whatever you do, don't bring along your smartphone as your first aid kit. That entirely fights the purpose because at a certain point in time you will pull it out to either take a few pics and caption them on handles. During exercises, you need to carry some mp3 players plugged to your headphones or some ear buds, this helps you think out of the box while doing the exercise. Here are the best fitness trackers on the market.
9. Just flip the phone over
When all fails, sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective. Flipping that phone by even turning off notifications for the whole day could be more beneficial. Notifications is just like that break time bell we had in primary school; once the bell is hit, no pupil or student concentrates on what the teacher is saying however important it is. Turning off the notifications could save you that stress of picking up your phone only to find Mr./Mrs. Right missing you during working hours.
10. Get a basic button Phone
Ever seen anybody carrying that cheap button phone, yeah that’s right! This is a great solution to having your important simcard in that so called cheap phone. This will just divert all important calls, messages to that phone when you can easily call or text back immediately. We all must agree that 60% of all our smart phone messages are jokes, inspirations or simply group stories which benefits us less. Only 40% benefit us financially, socially or even strengthen our relationships with those that think they love us. Oh yeah! talking about that message from sweetheart trying to check on how you’re doing at work during that busy schedule your having.
Avoiding these steps and letting your phone enslave you could cause you serious medical and health problems including but not limited to Nomophobia, eye strains and blindness, ulcers, brain disorders among others. One of the serious effects would be Dopaminergic or Serotonergic which are neuro transmitters associated with depression, appetite loss, tension, learning and the brain’s pleasure to be prisoners to a reward system of continuously doing something.
It’s time we try to practice these ten tips on how to avoid that phone addiction, it could save us from some serious cancer that may not have medication yet. Let us know which tip works for you.
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About Author
Lucky A Thomas
A digital content executive, writer, physics specialist and an Android app developer. With so much passion for creative writing, Thomas has authored ‘Alice’, a fictional novel depicting the life of a morally spoilt teenager who falls in love with an exposed dream chaser.
Thomas has too developed over 10 different Android applications all available for public downloads on Google playstore, these include UgaFlix, MyLibrary, SchoolManagementApp, Adcasher, SpareKey, AfriStatista, ViralMemes, OneDate, JarvisVPN, WhiteBoard, NotaBena, AfroMatch.
Thomas currently works as an App Developer at LuckyMobile Inc.; a creative skills Non-Governmental Organization that uses media technology to address youth related challenges. Through volunteers across the world, the organization believes that they can bring and change lives through social media platforms already available or still in production. LuckyMobile Inc. supports youths with competent and competitive skills in app developments, education, inspiration, creative arts and designs among many more mobile skills that can be practiced remotely from any part of Africa.