What causes smartphone addiction? People who have psychological and emotional issues such as stress, depression, loneliness and social anxiety can easily get addicted to technology. The experiences that smartphones connect us to – social media, games, videos, apps – can all give us pleasure.
Self treatment: You have to set treatment by yourself for overcoming the cell phone addiction. If you want to stop some habits, you have to think. Set time limits: To stop the excess use of cell phones, you have to set time limits for the usage of the device.
Experts say adults should limit screen time outside of work to less than two hours per day. Any time beyond that which you would typically spend on screens should instead be spent participating in physical activity.
Smartphone or internet addiction can also negatively impact your life by: Increasing loneliness and depression. While it may seem that losing yourself online will temporarily make feelings such as loneliness, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air, it can actually make you feel even worse.
Chronic phone use is a recently developed form of addiction. The American Psychiatric Association does not officially recognize the condition. Still, it is acknowledged as a behavioral addiction by many medical professionals and researchers worldwide.
If you find yourself struggling to stay away from your phone or laptop, and somehow, despite urgent deadlines, you're still scrolling through Facebook, it's entirely possible that your restlessness or impulsivity is ADHD related.
Teens are more likely to become addicted to cell phones than any other age group. According to a study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, adolescents under 20 years old are the most at-risk for cell phone addiction because this age group is more likely to experience behavioral problems.
Researchers also found that smartphone addiction can lead to an imbalance in brain chemistry that triggers depression and anxiety. Ultimately, smartphone addiction can impair your ability to interact in the real world to the detriment of your personal and professional relationships.
Why are smartphones so addictive? “When we check our phones, our brains release a small amount of dopamine,” explains Buttimer. “Dopamine motivates us to take action and each time we hear a notification, we check our device. The problem is this dopamine boost is temporary and leads to a letdown.
From poor sleep quality to heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, smartphone addiction can take a huge toll. Mental health providers need to be aware of the potential issues associated with the overuse of smartphones so that they can help their clients identify, manage, and overcome the addiction.
Signs of phone addiction include feeling irritable or negative when going without a phone, being unable to go without a phone for long periods of time, or using a phone so much that it negatively affects physical health or mental health.
Nomophobia is a fancy term for “cell phone addiction.” A psychologist in California has been offering group therapy sessions focused on treating people who fear being without their phones.
The negative effects span beyond just wasted time. It also disrupts our real-life social interactions and literally alters our brain chemistry, contributing to symptoms like depression, insomnia, and anxiety.
Stress and anxiety
Excessive use of mobile phones is bad for your psychological health. Constant over-use of mobile phones leads to increased anxiety, feelings of loneliness, and low self-esteem. Reliance on mobile phones can also cause irritation, frustration, and impatience when they cannot be used.
That can lead to some troubling mental health consequences - similar to other forms of addiction. “It turns out that using your phone a lot can cause anxiety, and anxiety can cause you to use your phone a lot.
Depression
revealed that smartphones contributed to increased depression rates. This study showed that teenagers who were constantly on their phones were less happy than those who took part in non-screen activities.
25 Research results indicate that there is a relationship between addiction to mobile phone and mental health in dimensions of behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, and psychosis.
The blue light emitted by your cell phone screen restrains the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle (aka circadian rhythm). This makes it even more difficult to fall asleep and wake up the next day.
Yes, unless you are absolutely sure your teenager is able to put the phone away (and not pick it up) at bedtime. That's because screens and sleep do not mix. The light emitted by the typical screen inhibits the production of melatonin in our brains. Melatonin is the chemical that allows us to fall and stay asleep.
Keep your cell phone at least 3 feet away from your bed to limit radio frequency exposure. Turn your cell phone off before you go to bed (if you don't rely on your phone's alarm clock)
“Looking at the phone immediately takes you away from yourself. Before you have even registered your state of mind or how your body is feeling this morning, you're off into other people's stories, others' needs of you, and what the next demand might be.”
There's a Test for Cell Phone Addiction
According to Greenfield, a "yes" answer to more than five out of the 15 questions indicates that a person likely has a problematic relationship with their mobile device.