Addicted to your smartphone?
Do you think you would be able to happily “survive” a week without your smartphone? What would be hardest about not having a phone for a week?
I’ve got a problem with my brother, Hiro. He bought a smartphone a couple of months ago, and he took it on our recent trip to DisneyLand. It was a great trip except for one problem. He has a constant urge to check for text messages; he checks his phone every five minutes! He’s compulsive about it. He can’t stop checking even at inappropriate times like when we are eating in a restaurant and I am talking to him! It’s almost as if any small amount of boredom can trigger a need for him to check his phone even when he knows he shouldn’t. The temptation to see who is contacting him is just too great. When I ask him toplease put down the phone and stop ignoring me, he says, “In a minute,” but still checks to see if there is an important text or if someone has posted something new on Insta. I don’t think he is even conscious that he is being rude! If we go somewhere and I ask him to leave the phone at home, he suffers from withdrawal symptoms. I just keep thinking that maybe this dependency on his smartphone has become more than an everyday problem.
I recently read an article about “nomophobia.” It’s a real illness people can suffer from: the fear of being without your smartphone! I’m worried that Hiro may be suffering from this dysfunction. Why? Because he experiences a great deal of anxiety if he doesn’t have his phone with him, even for a short time. It is sooo bad that he sometimes brings it into the bathroom with him.
While we were in Tokyo, we talked a little about his “problem,” and he agreed to try to slowly wean himself away from the phone. But so far, I don’t think the amount of time he spends using his phone each day is really diminishing. He’s got to do something, or I am going to throw his phone away while he is sleeping!
Who would have thought that little devices like these could be such a blessing and yet such a curse!
He’s not the only one struggling with this very modern compulsion.
People aren’t addicted to smartphone themselves as much as they are addicted to “checking habits” that develop with phone use- including repeatedly ( and very quickly) checking for news updates, emails, or social media connections.
Managing your smartphone use
Be strong when your phone beeps or rings. You don’t always have to answer it. In fact, you can avoid temptation by turning off the alert signals.
Be disciplined about not using your device in certain situations ( such as when you are with children, driving, or in a meeting) or at certain hours ( for instance, between 9pm and 7am). You’ll be surprised and pleased to rediscover the pleasures of being in control of your attention.
Nomophobia is the fear of being without your mobile phone.
Phantom vibration syndrome is an associated problem in which people think they feel or hear their phone vibrate and check it expecting to find a message or a call- but the phone did not vibrate.