Man got addicted to his cell phone, staring at the phone’s bright screen while sitting in the dark. These addiction statistics are quite overwhelming. A typical cell phone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times every day. Most people, on average, spend 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phones every day.
Half of all phone pickups happen within 3 minutes of a previous one. Impact of this usage is staggering, as it results in reducing quality of conversations, adversely impacting short-term memory and problem solving, negatively affecting our sleep patterns, resulting in more negativity, distress, and less emotional recovery in young children, increasing obesity etc.
The positive correlation between smart-phone addiction and depression is alarming. You would think, given the statistics and what we know to be true about cell phone usage, it would be easy to put down and walk away. But I can attest technology addiction struggle is real.
7 proven ways to break cell phone addiction
- Set aside one day/week: This is, by far, the most common approach I see among people who have taken intentional steps to curb their cell phone habit nowadays. But I credit Tammy Strobel for being the first person I heard talk about it-almost ten years ago. Choose one day each week (usually a Saturday and Sunday) and set your phone aside. That’s it, make a habit of it.
- Use 30-day experiment to reset your usage: For me personally, this has been the most helpful way to break my cell phone habit. My cell phone use, when not intentionally limited, tends to take over more and more of my free time. It happens unintentionally and quietly-I don’t even seem to notice it happening. Seven years ago, I gave up my smart-phone for lent and used it only for calling and texting (no other apps allowed-even maps and photos). It was a 40-day period of reset that helped me align my usage with more important pursuits in life. Since that first experiment, I have used the 30-day reset two additional times-each with great success.
- Use apps to bolster self-control: There are apps for almost every problem in life. In fact, there are even some wonderful apps built to help us limit our time on our devices. These include Space. Set goals and track your daily progress to manage your habits. Moment: Through short, daily exercises, Moment helps you use your phone in a healthy way. Screentime: Set daily usage limits on your phone or specific apps.
- Don’t charge your phone near your bed: Want to know the best way to keep your kids off their phones too much? Don’t allow them to charge their phones in their bedroom. Want to know a great way to keep yourself off your phone? Don’t charge it in your bedroom. Many of the negative effects of overuse (poor sleep, hindered communication and intimacy) can be eliminated by keeping your cell phone out of your bedroom. As with many of the items on this list, this is a principle I’ve found personally helpful.
- Put your phone away when you walk in door: Christopher Mims writes a weekly technology column for Wall Street Journal-a job that certainly requires the use of tech on a consistent basis. His simple and proven way to keep life in healthy balance with his cell phone is to put it in a kitchen cabinet at the end of the workday. In his words, “The more you physically remove the phone, the more you can build a habit of having some ability to ignore it when it’s on your person.” When you finish your day of work, put your phone in a drawer or cabinet. This is a helpful practice for all people, but I think it is especially important if you have kids or a spouse at home in need of our undivided attention.
- Change your phone settings: Among the most often suggested ideas for reducing cell phone usage, you find tips and tricks by simply changing the settings on your phone. In my opinion, turning off notifications is something everyone should do regardless of how habitual their cell phone use is. Just because someone in the world wants to text you, email you, or tag you in a post on Facebook doesn’t mean they deserve your attention. My cell phone screen is not currently set to grayscale, but I have found that setting helpful in the past.
- Put a hair-band around your phone: In one of the most thoughtful personal stories I’ve ever read on how to overcome cell phone addiction, Brad Soroka recommends placing a hair-band around your cell phone. When placed in the middle of the phone, the hair-band allows users to answer phone calls easily, but makes other uses of phone more difficult (including simple texting). In his words, “Every time you want to use your phone, this brings about a mindfulness exercise and makes you ask ‘what is my intention?’ If you really want to use the phone, set your intention for why, and remove the hair band.”