Halooooo guuuuuuuuys! i hope everyone is doing fine…exams took me away from you guys for a while,it’s all for good abi? yes oooo…
Remember i blogged about about Addiction to smart phone in this 21st century, And i promised i was going to blog about how to manage the use of smart phone right? so here we go….
This actually requires discipline,you can’t just get off something you are addicted to in a day,the addiction didn’t happen in a day, so it won’t stop in a day as well..so you need to be patient and try the following….
The first thing is recording and awareness of your use and abuse — become aware of how much time you’re spending on [your phone] and how many times a day you’re checking it,and then set realistic limits like using your phone after every 3hours or so.
You might want to try to figure you where and when you use your phone mostly,say in the car,during an event, in the kitchen and so on,this will basically help you know why you shouldn’t be using your phone in those places,and what kind of rules you should set,e.g
- No answering calls or text messages on a date unless you’re expecting an emergency call or the calls will not stop coming.
- No smartphone use while driving or cooking and so on….
Try to think about things that might happen to you if you keep using your phone in these places,an accident could occur (both on road and in kitchen),your friends could feel less important,there could be disconnection between you and your partner and so on…obviously you wouldn’t want any of these to happen…
Believe me,it’s not that easy to follow the rules and that’s why i said it requires discipline….
Another main reason why you pick up your phone every time is because you get notifications always,you can turn of all notifications during the day time as well….
Having your phone close to you always is not a good idea,if you need to focus,or pay attention on something,you can put it far away from you,if you are in the sitting room,it should be in the bedroom or somewhere inaccessible and on silent mode as well,that way when you stretch for it,it will be no where to be found…..
Another thing you can do is to get a small phone,when i say small i mean a phone at which you can only call and send sms, so as soon as you remember you are trying to get off your smartphone you might as well turn it off,and leave the small phone on,The trick is,as soon as you unconsciously pick up your smart phone to use,you will realise the reason why you turned it off in the first place…this really helps…
You might be experiencing withdrawal syndrome,trust me it is normal, Signs of withdrawal can be feeling agitated, upset, distracted, and incredibly stressed out about the lack of connectivity.
And it makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Greenfield says your compulsive cell phone behavior is basically created by a Pavlovian conditioning system — when you hear the ding of a text message or new email, or even when you reach into your back pocket to take your phone out to look at it, you know that there’s a possibility that something great could happen. Not every time, but sometimes. And when something great does happen, your brain gives you a hit of dopamine and you experience actual pleasure. And then you begin to crave that pleasure. And then your cell phone behaviors can begin to look a bit… compulsive.
And then when you don’t have your cell phone around, you lose that source of pleasure. Cue the anxiety!
“Part of the reason that we’re so attached to our phones is because social expectations exist that we’ll get back to people right away,” Roberts says.
If you tell your friends and loved ones (and even coworkers) that you’re making a serious effort to cut back, that helps establish new expectations. Spell it out for them that you might take a few hours responding to texts and emails, and that it’s not personal, but this is so that you will be happier and more calm. Which if you think about it allows you to be a better friend, sibling, and so on in the long run. (They may not take it well, but stick to your guns, guys.)
And that’s it guys…. I hope that helps 🙂
