There’s a bit of excitement that comes with getting a new notification, but there can also be some stress attached too. Here are three ways turning notifications off on my phone has improved my life.
1) I’m less distracted
As college students, there are soooo many things vying for our attention: social media, text messages, and that new series you “just have to watch” on Netflix. Notifications make it even harder to fight the urge to pick up your phone constantly. After I turned off my notifications, I realized I was less distracted by who liked my tweets and more easily able to focus on studying.
2) I appreciate real-time interaction more
You ever go to hang out with a friend, only to have them be on their phone almost the whole time? I love sharing memes with my friends as much as the next person, but all of us being on our phones made us miss out on really connecting with each other. Turning off my notifications allowed me to be more present and have better conversation with my friends, which made me appreciate our relationships even more.
3) I’m less stressed
When I had my notifications on, I found myself checking on apps that weren’t even that important, just to clear them out. I realized not looking at my horoscope immediately wouldn’t end the world, but something about getting a notification made it seem urgent, even though it wasn’t. A Daily Mail article noted that constant notifications can cause the release of cortisol, a stress hormone, which in excessive amounts can lead to anxiety. Without notifications, I stress less and feel like I can check my phone on my own time, not when my phone tells me too.
If you’ve ever felt distracted or stressed out by your phone, I hope you’ll consider turning off your notifications.