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Are You Spending All Your Waking Hours With Your Phone: 5 Ways To Reduce Smartphone Addiction

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Let’s face it. We are at a stage where we can’t leave without our smartphones. Most people are stuck to their smartphones most of the time. They spend hours and hours together in front of the smartphone using some apps. Worse, most people nowadays prefer to look into their phones rather than have a conversation with a real person. It’s not been long since smartphones replaced the features of phones and started ruling the mobile industry. With smartphones getting updated with innovative technology, more and more people are having smartphone addiction. 

Smartphone addiction is not a new term to the majority of people. Most of us might even deny the fact that we have a smartphone addiction. Especially since everything has turned online and people have been stuck home due to the covid-19 pandemic. Research and studies show that on average we use our smartphone at least 80-150 times a day. For those of you who feel like they are too dependent on their smartphones, maybe it’s time to curb your smartphone addiction. And start giving attention to those better things that matter. With that, in this article, we will walk you through a few warning signs so that you can check whether you have smartphone addiction or not. And a few ways which will help you curb your smartphone addiction.

Warning Signs

While there is surely a lot of good that comes out of using smartphones. Such as checking on family and friends who live far away, better work-life balance, and entertainment. But there comes a point when you cannot go without looking at your phone and this point, you are no longer just a normal smartphone user but you are a phone addict. So, how do you know if you have smartphone addiction or not? Here are some signs:

  • A need to use your phone excessively

If you have to use your phone regarding your work or some other emergencies, then by all means cuddle with your phone. But if you check your phone in the middle of the night to watch another episode of your favorite series on your phone, then you have a smartphone addiction. Your series and curiosity of “what happens next” can surely wait till your brain and body take the rest for the work they have done.

  • You text-walk

Although walking is good and healthy for your body, when you do it while using a phone it becomes less healthy and more harmful. Walking is an activity that requires most of your attention. But if you use your phone while walking then there is a high chance of you getting hurt by dashing onto them or a pole. You might even end up hurting other people as well. Therefore, stop multitasking.

  • You take your phone with you to the washroom

If you take your phone with you for a 2 min washroom break then you have a smartphone addiction. You need to stop it. You use your phone when face to face with others. Though it is fine to use your phone during urgent and emergency work in front of others. However, if you use your phone to check your social media when being with someone face to face, then it is rude. 

5 Ways To Curb Your Smartphone Addiction

Here are the some effective ways to reduce your smartphone addiction:

1. Turn the App Notification off

Studies show that notifications are one of the main reasons for smartphone addiction. When we hear an app’s notification sound our brain will respond to it or at least we will have the urge to check who it is. This can often end up leading to endless scrolling, looking at tweets, Instagram, and other apps. Turning your apps’ notifications off can be a big and effective step you take to curb smartphone addiction. Most android phones nowadays have ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, which doesn’t let you know about any calls, messages, or notifications. If you want you can even set this mode to give notifications for specific calls and messages and apps. You can even turn off the notifications of certain apps like, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram to reduce your screen time.

2. Do not carry your phone everywhere

If you have ever wondered how to reduce smartphone addiction, then leaving it aside might be a good idea. While smartphones are very essential to carry out everyday activities, it is absolutely fine to leave your phone alone for some time. Do not take your phone to dinner or when you hang out with friends or families. By doing this you will not only reduce the screen time but also save some time for yourself and enjoy your surroundings.

Read also: Tap Your Social Media To Generate Leads: Facebook Marketing

3. Turn your phone to Grayscale

Studies and researches have found out that colors are attached to emotions and priorities. You would have often noticed that bright colors attract your eyes more than dull colors. Turning your phone to black and white can reduce the urge to check new notifications that pull you into apps. This can save you from spending more and more time scrolling apps like Facebook, Instagram, telegram, Twitter, etc.

4. Use apps to monitor your usage

Nowadays there are plenty of apps present online to improve yourself. There are plenty of apps available for almost every problem in life. You will find many wonderful apps in your play store that will help you curb smartphone addiction. And let you know the progress of your reduction in smartphone addiction.

Use apps to monitor your usage

Here are some of them:

  1. Space – this app lets you set goals and track your daily progress to manage your friends.
  2. Forest – Forest is a really good app that helps you stay focused during work. In this app every time you set a goal and achieve it by staying focused you will be planting a tree.
  3. Moment – through daily exercises, moment helps you healthily use your phone.

Read also: 5 Foolproof Ways To Protect Your Social Media From Hackers

 5. Go back to the traditional way of waking up

There was a time when alarms were set on clocks instead of phones. Various studies and researches suggest keeping the phone away from you, especially before bedtime. This should make for better sleep because the blue light emitted from your phone can delay your sleep. So keep the phone aside and switching back to using a clock will help you reduce smartphone addiction.

Getting rid of smartphone addiction is an essential thing as excessive usage of smartphones affects your health physically as well as mentally. Hence make sure you combat your weakness and learn the effective way to use your phone.

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