Art of Life/Donna Parker
Are You Addicted To Your Cell Phone?
“Life is what happens when you put your phone down.” — Unknown
Our work, social lives and entertainment have become inextricably tied to our devices, and the pandemic has made matters worse. Everywhere you look these days, everyone is on their phones. Whether at work, at a restaurant, or even sitting in traffic!
Americans cell phone use and abuse, include:
- 80 percent of cell phone users check
their phones within 10 minutes of
waking up
- 70 percent use while on the toilet
- 67 percent have texted someone in the
same room as them
- 62 percent sleep with their cellphones
- 47 percent of users check their phones
when on a date
- 35 percent use or look at their phones
while driving
It is no surprise that 45 percent of Americans say that their phone is their most valuable possession. What is surprising is how far our obsessions with cell phones go:
• Over one-third of Americans (36 percent) say they would give up their pets to keep their cell
phone.
• 53 percent say that in a house fire or other disaster, their cell phone would be the number one possession they would try to save
• 26 percent say they have endangered themselves to avoid losing or damaging their cell phone
Is it really possible to be addicted to a smartphone?
Phone or screen overuse is not officially recognized as an addiction (or a substance use disorder, as experts call it) in the American Psychiatric Association’s official manual of mental disorders. However, there is a growing number of mental health specialists who recognize that people can get addicted to their smartphones.
Phone or screen overuse is not officially recognized as an addiction (or a substance use disorder, as experts call it) in the American Psychiatric Association’s official manual of mental disorders. However, there is a growing number of mental health specialists who recognize that people can get addicted to their smartphones.
An addiction is partially defined by the three C’s:
Control: Using a substance or performing a behavior (like gambling) in ways that would be considered out of control, or more so than intended.
Compulsion: Being intensely mentally preoccupied with and using a substance (or performing a behavior) automatically, without actively deciding to do so.
Consequences: Continued use in spite of negative social, physical and mental consequences.
Nearly everyone in the United States — 95 percent of the population — owns a cell phone of some kind. Certainly, there are benefits to everyone walking around with a mini computer in-hand all the time, but what about all the downsides? More specifically cell phone use can:
Alters Your View On Reality
In general, social media presents a distorted view of reality. No-one is really as happy as they seem on Facebook or as wise as they appear on Twitter. By nature, we then compare our lives to these false realities. It can be stressful and it promotes a fear of failure.
Increase Your Stress and Anxiety
Excessive use of mobile phones can be bad for your psychological health. Constant over-use of mobile phones leads to increased anxiety, feelings of loneliness, and low self-esteem. Reliance on mobile phones can also cause irritation, frustration, and impatience when they cannot be used.
Decreases the Quality of Your Sleep
Phone use every day and for longer than 20 minutes at a time will lead to poor sleep quality and duration. People who have their mobiles in the bedroom sleep for shorter durations than those who do not. One possible reason is that the brightness of the backlight on your phone delays the sleep hormone, melatonin, from being released, keeping you awake for longer.
“Get your head out of your app.” — Unknown
Here are five benefits that typically occur whenever you do put your phone down.
Become More Productive. When not wasting time looking at random pictures, videos, statuses, updates, and blurbs about nothing, you will actually get a lot of work done. Typically, your output skyrockets.
Become More Social. Here is a little rule about phones when it comes to being with a friend: “Don’t use them!” When you are with someone special, like on a date, or in a situation where you are trying to get to know someone better, using your phone is perhaps the biggest insult to the interaction you could make. It takes the social aspect and connection out of the attempt at connecting!
Live In The Moment. When you put your phone away, you take in the world around you and see more clearly. You do not think about the future, like what your response is going to be, what you should say in your email, how to word a text, what you should be posting, etc. Instead, you live in the now, in the present! You get all of life, with all of its awesome idiosyncrasies, imperfections, beauties, wonders, tastes, smells, textures, and everything else!
Relationships With Others Improve. Your relationship with other people is always better when the phone is away. When the phone goes down, the level of communication goes up. Friends, family — all love interacting when the phone is away.
You Feel More Empowered. By taking more control of your own life and actively deciding to choose the way you live you are taking control of your life and how you actively choose to live. If you allow every phone distraction to get the better of your attention, you will feel less in control.
I know it may be difficult but just try putting down your phone today, and watch what happens. You will probably realize that life is so much more enjoyable when you actually experience it!
