The XXI century is characterized by the interconnection that sees all of us present everywhere and at any time. Phones are a great tool to keep in contact with everyone and to know the latest news, but they also are one of the greatest dangers of our society when it comes to real human connection. If you want to live in the moment and enjoy the present, read our complete guide on how to overcome a phone addiction.
What is a phone addiction?
Do you ever find yourself stopping to study or waking up in the middle of the night to check your phone? Do you spend a lot of time on your phone instead of sitting in the living room to talk to your family or going out with friends?
If you replied yes to these questions, chances are you have a phone addiction. You are not alone on this. This is a problem shared by millions of people around the world, regardless of their age. People think that addictions can be measured in hours, but that is not how it works. You can spend just a couple of minutes on the phone and be considered addicted to it. Think about how many times during the time you spend just a couple of minutes on your phone.
If you want some tips on how to overcome your phone addiction, keep scrolling down to read our complete guide.
How do you overcome a phone addiction?
It is really difficult deciding to ditch your phone all of a sudden, but when you take small steps towards your goal, rest assured that you are going to win. Here is what you have to do to overcome your phone addiction.
Don’t charge your phone near your bed
It might seem obvious, but it is not. When you charge your phone near your bed, you feel the need to check it continuously. Sometimes you might be having a hard time falling asleep, and you think that in the meantime you can look at just a couple more tik toks. Before you realize it, it is 3 in the morning and you have not slept a single moment.
If you need to charge your phone at night, consider charging it in another room or, if possible, on a completely different floor of your house. You will not be tempted to check it and you will have a good night’s sleep.
Set timers
Set timers for the time you spend on your phone. You probably do not realize it, but we spend a good deal of our daily hours on our phone apps just as a form of entertainment. The problem is that this kind of entertainment is readily accessible and highly addictive. You could spend all of these hours learning a new language, reading a book, studying more, going for a run, or doing something more productive.
Avoid spending your whole day on apps by setting timers. You can use third-party apps, but some apps have this in-built feature. For example, Instagram allows you to set a daily reminder for your activities on the app. All you need to do is go to your settings, choose how much time you want to spend on the app, and it will send you a notification when you have exceeded that amount of time.
Turn off push notifications
Push notifications are a real temptation. You hear your phone vibrating and cannot resist the urge to check what is happening and to reply to that post that all your friends are commenting on.
Turn off as many push notifications as possible. If you do not know that you have received a message or a notification from some app you will not be tempted to check your phone and reply. You should turn off notifications especially when you are doing something important. Students, for example, should consider turning them off while studying.
Set boundaries
It is really common to use the phone during mealtimes, during social events, and now even in the bathroom. If this relates to you too, consider setting some boundaries and deciding when and for how long you should use your phone. Think about enjoying those times instead of focusing on your phone. Take the time to have a relaxing meal and to enjoy what you are eating. And think about the time you could spend with your loved ones that you are wasting on some app. Live the moment and create real and valuable memories instead of some random ones just to share them on Instagram and flex them on other social media.
Use a watch
Many people light up their phone’s screen just to check the time, but then they see notifications and feel the need to reply. If you check what time is it multiple times throughout the day, consider buying a watch. In this way, you will not need your phone and you’ll avoid touching your phone.
Decide for a day of the week when you are not going to touch your phone
To make a habit out of something, you need to do that same thing more and more times. If you want to have a healthy relationship with your phone, you should establish some limits not only in terms of hours but also of days.
Decide for a day of the week in which you are not going to check any of your apps. You can log out of all of them so that if you need your phone to make an urgent call you will not be drawn to any of the apps. Remember to put your phone out of your sight, or consider giving it to someone who lives with you and make them hide it.
Change your phone settings
Most phones give you the chance to turn on blue lights to strain your eyes. But did you know that you can also turn on gray lights to fatigue your eyes? Many phones, especially the newer ones, have a new feature called grayscale mode which will remove all colors from your screen. In this way, you will not feel the urge to check your phone because you will find it less desirable and interesting.
Delete all the apps from your phone
If you cannot resist checking the latest posts, consider deleting all your apps. The rule is simple, if you do not have them, you cannot check them. Remember to also remove the Play Store or Apple Store icon from your main screen otherwise you will be tempted to download them again.
Downgrade your phone
If none of the above tips worked, consider downgrading your phone. This is one last and desperate resort, but be sure that it is going to work. We are not talking about the 2015 iPhone model, but about those old phones with buttons used only for phone calls and messages used by most grandparents. You will travel back to a time when Instagram and TikTok were totally unknown, and you will in no way be tempted to check your phone. Maybe you’ll find out that there is a whole world out there just waiting to be discovered by you, a world where you do not need your phone to have some quality time.