Phones. We literally can’t live without them. They’re always with us, next to us, in our pockets, in our hands, and we’re constantly tapping and swiping away as if it’s just a normal thing.
It’s not.
According to USA TODAY’s Jeff Stribel, people unlock their phones up to 80 times per day, and all that tapping and swiping? On average, we tinker with our phones over 2,600 times a day. That’s insane! But why do we do this?
Courtesy: Huffington Post
We’re addicted to our phones like they’re drugs we can’t get enough of. Every single time we log on to social media and get a like, a reblog, a retweet, receive a text or even see a video we like, our brain immediately releases dopamine. Since the dopamine has you feeling all nice, you keep scrolling and posting to get the next hit.
Developers of social media features have admitted that most of the features you use on a day-to-day basis are made to be addictive! Features are designed with the color red as a notification to grab your attention and make you want more like it.
So, what’s the issue? Everyone’s on their phones nowadays whether they’re young or old. As a friend of mine put it, “It’s just the new norm,” but should it be a norm that continues?
Did you know that pedestrian deaths have shot up by eleven percent because either the driver or the pedestrian was distracted by their phone?
Alice Walton from Forbes reported that phone addiction along with a steady rise in teenage depression and suicide could be connected, but correlation is not causation. Going further into that though, it’s been proven that people feel a sense of anxiety when they don’t have their phone, can’t answer their phone, or even see that they have a message but can’t check it.
We’re experiencing withdrawals from a little box!
We’re always on them! Before class, on the bus, in our cars, when people talk to us, when we should be sleeping, so how much is enough? When you take a moment to put your phone away, even if only for ten minutes, you realize how often everyone else is on their phone and you realize you’re just like them.
If you want to break this unhealthy cycle you should try limiting the time you spend on your phone. At night you can let it charge on the other side of the room instead of next to you. Put your phone in your purse or your backpack instead of your pocket so you don’t instinctively reach for it every other minute or so. You can also put your phone on silent so you won’t have to hear the constant buzzes and beeps of all your new notifications. And when you want to talk to someone, try not to interact with your phone or try calling them. I know my mother likes actually hearing my voice rather than receiving a static text message. Most importantly, create a time of day or a space that is completely phone free. That way, you can have some peace and quiet to yourself without any notifications from anything.
It’s impossible for us to live without our phones, but that doesn’t mean we should become addicted to them.