Do These 5 Things to Overcome Smartphone Addiction
Smartphone addiction is common. Among young and old alike. Maybe a little more in youngs. But not a thing to be cherished. Smartphones are a necessity in this day and age. However, overuse of these devices could easily turn all the benefits into harm.
Follow these five steps to stop becoming a zombie, like these people:
1. Delete Social Media Apps
First and foremost, kill the biggest culprit. Social Media Apps. Only use social media in the browser or on a computer only.
Everybody knows these apps are designed to keep you glued to your screen. On an app, rewards are high and friction is low. However, using a mobile/computer browser offer considerable friction, and thus you can resist temptations more easily.
Delete the Instagram app and then use Instagram in a mobile browser. See the difference.
Maybe when you are going to be away from your PC for more than a day, it is okay to reinstall them.
Social Media isn’t bad. It’s use is. (It’s a cliche, I know).
2. Delete Games
This goes without saying. Phones are not made for video games, at least not for three consecutive hours of PUBG.
Not only does it waste your time plus a smaller screen as compared to that of computer, puts extra strain on your eyes.
If you really want to get some fun out of your smartphone install games like puzzles, chess, or similar brain games.
3. Clean Your Home Screen
Just like a cluttered desk, a cluttered home screen can distract in many ways. You decide a write an email, but instead of clicking on the Gmail icon you see the beautiful icon of Twitter and you click it just to get some highlights. An hour later, your email is still waiting for you while you have posted three tweets and reacted to seven tweets.
Delete all icons and shortcuts from your home screen so it goes completely blank. It should only display your beautiful wallpaper. In this way, you are less likely to be tempted to click an app icon.
If you really need to keep some icons on your home screen, be sure to keep as few icons as possible.
4. No Screen in Bed
This piece of advice is thrown out a lot these days. And I agree with this. Using your smartphone before going to sleep feels really great. However, this 15 minutes of quick check can easily turn into two hours of social media, news, and video games.
If you really need to use them at night, keep a chair in your bedroom and use them sitting on the chair rather than in bed.
Remove all electronic devices to transform your bedroom into a true sanctuary for sleep. No TVs, no iPads. No Kindles with backlights — Make Time
5. Set Screentime Limits and Find Alternatives
Set computer and mobile time limits. Install apps that track the amount of time you spend on your devices.
At the end of the day look at your total time. See where you could cut back and fill in with some non-screen activities.
Find alternatives to your mobile. Start taking notes in your notebook instead of a note-taking app. Instead of using a to-do app, make the to-do list on a piece of paper.
