7 Signs You’re Addicted to Your Smartphone
By: Colj Smith
Tags: Wellness, Mental Health, Addiction, Mindfulness, Technology

7 Signs You’re Addicted to Your Smartphone

Getting back to a reality in a world that is increasingly digital

Photo by PHOUNIUS on Unsplash

At the tender age of 34, I’m just about old enough to remember a time before smartphones.

When I was at school, the most fashionable pieces of status-enhancing tech were Nokia’s iconic and indestructible 3210, and the Sony Walkman; the cumbersome, easily-breakable device responsible for the ripped seams of a thousand and one trouser pockets.

Maybe if you were right at the top of the social sphere, and your parents were rich enough, you possibly spent many a wasted hour converting your entire CD collection to the now obsolete mini-disk format (remember those?).

Now, we are living the future that existed in the sci-fi films and comic books of my youth.

Every piece of documented human knowledge is at our disposal, and even more pseudo-science and fake news beside it. Not to mention that our friends and family, our businesses and every form of entertainment imaginable is accessible in moments.

He’s right you know

In fact, the abundance of information available has very much rendered the power of information useless. There’s so much opinion and ‘fact’ to choose from on the internet, that many people will only click the link that provides an answer that fits in with their existing world view and backs up their preformed narratives.

Filling the lockdown void

It’s no wonder then, especially in the era of self-isolation and lockdowns, that many of us are now struggling with smartphone addiction.

And I speak here very much from current personal experience.

Not so long ago, I had got a handle on the situation. I had deleted the Facebook and Instagram apps from my phone, I would leave it in a different room whilst I was working, and I had made a habit of reaching for my Kindle instead of my smartphone when I was on my own time.

But it soon came to an end when my cracked and dented old phone finally gave up its tenuous grip on life, only to be replaced with a 5g capable, 6.6inch screen, 4k ready, supercharged new device.

I downloaded all the apps I had previously banished (and more), spent the following days acquainting myself with the new UI, fiddling with the settings, and adding the little personal touches that make our phones all the more desirable; my own wallpaper, quirky ringtones and a cool metallic case.

Before I knew it, those first few days of new phone excitement stretched into weeks, and I was right back into the grips of an even deeper bout of tech dependency.

No stopping the tech tide

Although I can remember the days before smartphones, I still can’t figure out how the world functioned back then. I have spent the last twelve months travelling around Asia and Africa, and frankly, it baffles me how travel was even possible before digital technology.

Just last month I flew from Kathmandu to Johanessburg. I booked the flight, downloaded my boarding pass, hopped into Ubers’ to and from the airport, booked hostels, ordered food, found attractions to visit, transferred money from my UK bank account, translated menus from Emirati to English during my layover in Dubai; all whilst keeping my friends and family up to date with my every move.

Most of these tasks would have been at the very least time-consuming, and at the worst impossible, without the little black rectangle with more power than the computers that took man to the moon resting in my pocket.

It’s an obvious double-edged sword that we all have to deal with. One blade slices through inconvenience, saves us countless hours, and offers us endless entertainment. The other sucks us in, zombifies our brains and destroys our attention span.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Luddite — I love technology and innovation. And it’s clear now that there’s no going back to the days of telephone directory books and blockbuster video rentals; smartphones are here to stay. And if Elon has his way, soon we’ll be able to download our work emails directly into our consciousness faster than Neo learned martial arts.

A balance must be struck.

That’s why I’ve compiled this (by no means comprehensive) list of signs that may indicate you are in the early throes of — or the deep grip of— smartphone addiction.

1. You take your device to the toilet. Every. Damn. Time.

Maybe it started off as a way to kill time at the office. You grab your phone, sit down, spend 30 minutes scrolling through memes or your family WhatsApp chat, and come out just in time for lunch.

Maybe it’s gone so far now that you’ve developed a reverse Pavlovian response, where you can’t let go without it and you run around the house searching for your phone whenever you get the urge.

Stop that, right now.

Whatever happened to the good old days when we would be content trying to mentally pronounce the multi-syllable chemical compounds on the back of the toilet cleaner?

Bathroom breaks can often be the quietest times of the day, especially if you have children and pets. Personally, some of my best thinking is done on the can.

Restrict the bathroom as a no-phone-zone.

Our smartphones are already harbouring enough bacteria as it is, without adding this unhygienic habit to the mix.

You can even set the time aside for mindfulness, with this 6-step toilet meditation guide.

2. The first thing you do in the morning and last thing you do at night is look at a screen

This is one is a killer, and super hard to combat. Just when our brain is starting to shut down in the evening, or at its most tender and vulnerable in the morning, we bombard it with blue light and pointless, anxiety-inducing information.

As well as the possible physical health benefits, banning my cell from the bedroom completely is a decision that has boosted my mental health significantly.

The best tip to make this achievable is to buy an alarm clock (remember those?). How often do you swipe away your phone alarm in the morning, then immediately go on to open your socials or check your notifications? An alarm clock will cut out this devilish morning cycle.

Set your alarm clock and put your phone down in another room before you go to bed.

Give yourself a buffer — one hour either end of sleep — without your phone. Let your mind have the time to unwind that it needs in the evening and enjoy your breakfast and a cup of coffee without thinking about the economy, the war in the middle east or your colleagues' new car.

3. Your loved ones or friends are regularly fighting against Apple for your attention

We all do it. Someone is talking to us and we’re barely listening, giving them the occasional glimpse of eye contact, and just enough ‘hmmms’ and nods to stop them slapping the phone out of our hands altogether.

It’s a good tactic to get out of conversations with strangers on the bus, but when our partner or friend is trying to talk to us it’s just plain rude.

Take a deep breath in, place your phone screen down on the couch next to you and look them in the eye. Engage them. Listen to what they are saying in full and give them a thoughtful response. Show them that you care more about them than winning an argument about soccer against a stranger on Twitter.

4. You’re constantly cycling from one app to another looking for entertainment

You scroll through your Facebook feed until it gets boring, then you open Instagram, watch all the stories, then you open WhatsApp and re-read old conversations, then you do the same with Twitter, Messenger….

This is a sure-fire sign that the apps you're using are adding no value whatsoever to your day.

Most of the popular apps have built-in time monitors, even if they bury them somewhere deep in the settings. Find them and turn them on and stick to your chosen time plan.

Set aside a period of your day, say half an hour in the evening, for social media use. You’ll find that you begin to use them for what they’re best for — reaching out to friends and family, connecting, socialising — rather than endlessly scrolling hoping to spark some elusive crumb of seretonin.

5. Every thought that goes through your head is a possible social media update

If you can’t have a semi-intelligent thought, cook a nice meal, or have any kind of minor life incident, good or bad, without thinking how to sculpt it into a like-inducing post on the internet, smartphone addiction has got you.

I get it, life can leave you feeling isolated sometimes. For some people, social media can be our only chance of human interaction that day, and for those people smartphones — and the connections they bring — are a godsend.

It’s good to share, inspire, and make people laugh.

But it’s also good to be in the moment. Appreciate your own thoughts, laugh at your own jokes, savour the taste of your food (before it goes cold). Don't overlook the beauty the universe can throw your way because you’re too busy documenting it for Insta.

6. You reply to messages or sneak a peek at your feeds whilst driving.

Don’t.

Just don't.

Seriously, don't do this. It’s illegal in many countries, dangerous, and frankly, stupid. Your life isn’t worth it, nor is the life of any of the strangers you’re sharing the road with, should the worst happen.

If you really need to use maps or take calls, invest in a mobile phone holder, and switch on and become familiar with voice commands. Activate driving mode or do not disturb to filter out all the non-essential notifications.

If the temptation is too much for you, put it on silent and throw it on the back seat. This is more than beating addiction, this is life-saving.

7. You spend more time interacting with strangers online than you do with friends and family

I’ll throw my hands up on this one. Some of my closest friends are people I have met through online gaming. If fact, we even had a meet up last year in Amsterdam.

The internet has made it far easier to find people who share our common interests.

How likely are you to bump into someone at a bar who is also obsessive about the obscure Japanese anime that you love, or subscribes to the exact same branch of niche left-wing politics as you?

It can happen, but it's much easier to Google One Punch Man and find a whole forum of comic book devotees.

When your real life relationships start to suffer then it’s time to make a change. It’s hard to strike a balance here; digital friends can provide as much support and companionship as friends IRL.

Physical contact — hugs, handshakes or even something as simple eye contact and face to face conversation— is known to release chemicals in your body that help regulate your mood, stabilise sleep pattern and keep your digestive system in balance.

FaceTimeing is great but nothing beats sitting down for a cup of coffee with a friend you haven’t seen in weeks.

Make an effort, stick to those plans you made even when you’d rather binge on Netflix, or go for a walk in nature. You’d be surprised how far birds, trees, and a gentle breeze will go to boost your outlook on life.

It’s all relative

Tech addiction is a sliding scale. For some, it might just be a small problem you can tackle on your own with little steps. For others it could be a completely debilitating illness that is causing you high levels of anxiety, ruining your productivity at work and home or causing major ruptions in your personal relationships.

If you feel you’re at the extreme end of this spectrum and these tips aren’t enough, reach out to friends and family, speak to your doctor or seek professional help online.