We never leave the house without it, and the mobile phone has become man’s best friend in the modern day, with UK mobile phone users spending an average of four hours each day on their devices.
They are everywhere, and we would be lost without them. We use them for a variety of activities such as interacting with friends and family, browsing the web, reading the news, buying our weekly shop, and conducting our online banking, to mention a few.
However, our ‘always on’ culture is costing us. We are so preoccupied with our phones that, according to a 2021 Ofcom survey, we Brits check our mobile phones on average every 12 minutes of the waking day, with 40% of us looking at our phones within five minutes of waking up and 37% of us checking our phones five minutes before going to sleep, with these figures rising to 60% for those under 35.
There is even a term for mobile phone addiction: ‘nomophobia,’ or the fear of being without a mobile device.
Scrolling our lives away
Did you know that in 2022, UK mobile phone users spend an average of four hours and fourteen minutes a day on their mobile devices? 62% of polled UK adults asked said they ‘hate’ how much time they spend on their phones, and research indicated that just seeing the Facebook logo can trigger difficult-to-control cravings. According to a recent survey, 46% of respondents use their mobile phones more than they did before the Pandemic.
engaged and interacting with them. Former Google design ethicist Tristan Harris claims that features like “pull to refresh” were inspired by slot machines and other casino games. Designers and engineers diligently develop every part of the device in order to create devoted users.
The signs and symptoms of mobile phone addiction
There is a fine line between healthy and compulsive mobile phone use and the signs and symptoms of mobile phone addiction range from the psychological to the physical and are very real for those suffering. Below are listed some of the typical signs and symptoms that you’re addicted to your mobile phone:
- Lying about mobile phone use
- Loved ones expressing concern
- Isolation from loved ones
- Neglect or trouble completing duties at work or home
- More and more time using a phone
- You text more than you talk
- You never eat alone (your place your phone on the dinner table, even if eating with friends)
- Checking peoples’ profiles repeatedly due to anxiety
- FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
- Angry or irritated if phone use is interrupted
- Getting up at night to check your phone
- Reaching for the phone the moment you’re alone or bored
- Accidents or injury due to phone use
- Limiting phone use is difficult
- Phantom vibrations (thinking the phone buzzes when it doesn’t)
Mobile phone usage and our mental health
Our love affair with our mobile phones is also impacting our mental health and according to experts, mobile phone addiction can have a harmful impact on the brain. Overuse of mobile phones can lead to unhealthy dependencies, which can lead to psychological disorders. Depression, anxiety, and behavioural and compulsive disorders are some of the other psychological effects of mobile phone addiction.
How to break the addiction
With the average Brit spending four hours a day on their devices, it appears that we are wasting a lot of precious time scrolling our lives away when we could be doing much more productive things. It has also been reported that in the 11 years after smart phones were introduced, the average human attention span has fallen so dramatically that it is now lower than that of a goldfish.
It’s time to develop healthier relationship with our phones. So, what can you do to reclaim control? Let’s explore some options below:
- Overcoming FOMO – this entails shifting your thinking and recognising that you simply cannot achieve everything. There is always something going on, and you cannot be available 24 hours a day.
- Banish your phone from the bedroom and get an alarm clock. If the phone is not close to your bed, then you are less likely to be distracted by it.
- Choose one day a week, a Sunday for example where you set your phone aside for the day. Try to make a habit of it.
- After your working day, put your phone away in a drawer at least for the majority of the evening so you can give full attention and your valuable time spending it with family or friends.
- Change your phone settings –
- Turn off your notifications
- Set your screen to black and white
- Remove distraction-based apps from your home screen
- Set a longer passcode
- Use airplane mode
- Turn on do not disturb
- Get outside and meet people face-to-face
- Get more exercise
- Set aside 30 minutes per day to consciously refrain from using your phone and instead pursue a new hobby. Gardening, reading, and cooking are just a few examples you could try.
If you really want to go ‘cold turkey’ you can try a digital detox, which is a temporary period of completely disconnecting from all digital gadgets in order to focus on social connection, relieve stress, and be fully present in the world ‘offline’. For further information and help with this, please visit ‘Time to log off’.
It’s time to set some boundaries in your relationship with your mobile phone so it doesn’t take over your life. Reclaim your time, your passions, and your real life.
