Many of us struggle with smartphone addiction.The first step to beating phone addiction is not to get a dumb phone, delete all your social media apps, or lock your phone during work hours. Granted, these can be useful strategies, but they're not where we start.Instead, we start by discovering the problems that our smartphones solve for us.For example, some of us have fidgety hands and need something to do while watching TV or listening to a lecture. So scrolling through Twitter gives our hands something to do. Scrolling through Twitter solves a problem.We overcome our phone addiction by finding better ways to solve our problems. For example, while we watch TV, we might keep our hands busy by drawing, crocheting, or folding paper. We might try doodling, knitting, are playing with a fidget toy.Once we find better ways to solve our problems, our phones lose much of their appeal.But what problems do smartphones help us solve?Here are the problems I've identified:A) I have fidgety hands, and they need something to do.B) I feel lonely, so social media keeps me companyC) I want to stay up to date with my friends and familyD) I want to stay up-to-date with world news, politics, and current eventsE) I don't feel like my life has much meaning or purpose, so my phone helps fill the voidF) I'm procrastinating on assignments, and I want to take my mind off the fact that I'm procrastinatingG) I strongly dislike boredom, and my phone serves me limitless novelty. What else am I gonna do while waiting in a grocery line or sitting on the toilet?H) I feel sad, depressed, and/or angry, and my phone helps soothe these negative emotions.I) I like background noise because it's motivating and/or makes me feel less alone, so I end up turning on YouTube or TikTokJ) I've built up a tolerance (and expectation) for highly stimulating media. I need a steady dose of stimulation just to feel OK. Activities with low stimulation (reading a physical book) are boring.K) I'm stuck in a negative loop, where I waste time on my phone, feel bad about myself, and then self-soothe by wasting more time on my phone.L) I have low confidence and self-esteem, so I comfort myself with distractionsM) I use my phone as an alarm in the morning, so I end up getting sucked into social media every morningN) I feel despair and dread about my future and the future of our world, so numbing myself with social media seems like the only sensible thing to doO) I need someone to care for, and I need to feel needed. And people online are the only ones who seem to need and appreciate me.OK, so these are the problems I've identified.Did I miss any?Do any of these resonate with you?
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Many of us struggle with smartphone addiction.The first step to beating phone addiction is not to get a dumb phone, delete all your social media apps, or lock your phone during work hours. Granted, these can be useful strategies, but they're not where we start.Instead, we start by discovering the problems that our smartphones solve for us.For example, some of us have fidgety hands and need something to do while watching TV or listening to a lecture. So scrolling through Twitter gives our hands something to do. Scrolling through Twitter solves a problem.We overcome our phone addiction by finding better ways to solve our problems. For example, while we watch TV, we might keep our hands busy by drawing, crocheting, or folding paper. We might try doodling, knitting, are playing with a fidget toy.Once we find better ways to solve our problems, our phones lose much of their appeal.But what problems do smartphones help us solve?Here are the problems I've identified:A) I have fidgety hands, and they need something to do.B) I feel lonely, so social media keeps me companyC) I want to stay up to date with my friends and familyD) I want to stay up-to-date with world news, politics, and current eventsE) I don't feel like my life has much meaning or purpose, so my phone helps fill the voidF) I'm procrastinating on assignments, and I want to take my mind off the fact that I'm procrastinatingG) I strongly dislike boredom, and my phone serves me limitless novelty. What else am I gonna do while waiting in a grocery line or sitting on the toilet?H) I feel sad, depressed, and/or angry, and my phone helps soothe these negative emotions.I) I like background noise because it's motivating and/or makes me feel less alone, so I end up turning on YouTube or TikTokJ) I've built up a tolerance (and expectation) for highly stimulating media. I need a steady dose of stimulation just to feel OK. Activities with low stimulation (reading a physical book) are boring.K) I'm stuck in a negative loop, where I waste time on my phone, feel bad about myself, and then self-soothe by wasting more time on my phone.L) I have low confidence and self-esteem, so I comfort myself with distractionsM) I use my phone as an alarm in the morning, so I end up getting sucked into social media every morningN) I feel despair and dread about my future and the future of our world, so numbing myself with social media seems like the only sensible thing to doO) I need someone to care for, and I need to feel needed. And people online are the only ones who seem to need and appreciate me.OK, so these are the problems I've identified.Did I miss any?Do any of these resonate with you?
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