A life without smartphones nowadays is pretty much unthinkable. We use smartphones for a lot of things: news, social interaction, gaming or checking the holiday pictures of your grandma. On our planet there are almost as many phones as people. The almost 4,6 billion phones that are active, are being used on average about 2 hours a day. That’s a month per year!

Awareness

Luckily, we’re becoming more and more aware of the amount we use our phones. With different apps you can now keep track of your screen time and some shops and restaurants won’t serve you when you’re using your phone. 

It’s good to be more aware of our phone use, because it can also cause some complaints, such as wrist- and neck pain. Also mood problems, social anxiety and FOMO are not unusual. The phone use can even start to take on addiction like forms including withdrawal symptoms.

Social pressure

The pressure to use your phone is really high because of the perfect life everyone wants to have. We pay a lot of attention to social media and communicating with others. Our phone has become a central aspect of our social world. And that’s what makes it a bit dangerous. It turns out that social stress is one of the causes of the complaints that can develop. People fear a negative judgement and try everything they can to be viewed as positive as possible. This can lead to an increase of phone use.

What to do?

What can you do about your smartphone addiction? Below we share some tips

• Put your phone away for a moment. Do you experience stress? Maybe you already feel anxious thinking about it! What’s the first thought that pops up in your mind? Do you fear not being accessible? Or do you fear that people think you’re not giving them enough attention? Do you fear missing out on important things? Write down which thought makes you feel most anxious. And try challenging that thought.
• Do you have to do something important, but are you quickly distracted by your phone? Try putting it in another room for an hour. You will notice you are ill at ease, but after a while you will discover your concentration will increase. 
• Try making a deal with others to not use your phone during dinner or other social occasions. Socializing in real life is much more satisfying!