I don’t think I fit into the category of a millennial (apparently they were born after 1984), however this infliction of smartphone addiction is something I definitely have.
Often attributed to millennials, its actually a condition I think every smartphone user has. I’m so confident that is true, that I’d be willing to bet that the percentage is over 99% of all smartphone users suffer from smartphone addiction. Now this could be addicted to texting, or to WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or searching for cat photos (apparently that’s a thing), or a combination of these, but if you’re always on your smartphone or always have a desire to check if you received a message in the last 3 seconds, that is you.
To test how prevalent this is, consider the last 24 hours. How many times were you talking to someone whilst looking at a screen – excluding video calls like Skype? [thanks smarty pants] Or how many times were you talking to someone who was looking down at a screen during the conversation? If you drive, did you check a message whilst in the car, even if it was during the 2 seconds it took for the lights to go green or when you were in traffic? When you were with someone, and they had to pop to the bathroom, what was the first thing you reached for as soon as they left your sight? Did you ask someone to wait for a response, whilst you finished typing a message on your phone rather than let the inanimate phone wait whilst you responded to a real live person that is in front of you?
I’ve done all of the above. There, I said it.
I’ve been aware of this addiction for a long time, and I’m no longer in that group of people that think its not an issue. It is an issue – I am no longer in denial. I’m aware that smartphone and social media usage releases dopamine in my body, the same chemical that is released when you drink, smoke or gamble, i.e. its addictive by nature.
Upon realising this, I wanted to curb my addiction so I took one simple step. No, I didn’t go off to live in the woods and no I didn’t drown my smartphone – well I did, but that’s a different story. With one simple move, I took away that anxiety we’ve all felt when our phone buzzes or plays a short tone. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, but if a phone plays a notification tone, or buzzes, we have to, HAVE TO, check what has come through. We can sit there and assume we can control ourselves but there’s an easier way.
I went to WhatsApp, found the notifications setting, and turn it……..wait for it……..OFF. Yes, there is such a setting. And its been brilliant. I no longer have a desire to check my phone for that WhatsApp beep that just went off, because no such beep goes off anymore. If you’re like me, you’ll have many more apps that notify you of “events”. I’ve turned them all off. Now its just texts or calls that can alert me by sound or with a blinking light. For everything else, I’ll see it when I turn my phone’s screen on, but not otherwise.
One simple trick – Notifications to Off/None/Nada.
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