Notes on Phone Addiction and Strategies to Overcome It

Overview of Screen Time Statistics

• Average person spends 6 hours and 40 minutes on screens daily.
• This accounts for 40% of our waking hours.
• Over 50 years, that amounts to 20 years spent looking at screens.
• Many people feel addicted to their phones and may want to reduce usage.

Purpose of the Lecture

1. Understanding Phone Addiction
   • Reasons behind phone addiction.
   • Difficulties in addressing the addiction.
2. Negative Effects of Phone Addiction
3. Seven Actionable Tips to break phone addiction.

Part 1: Why is Your Phone So Addictive?

• Unlocking Phones:
  • According to Dr. Larry Rosen, students unlock their phones over 60 times a day and spend 220 minutes on them.
• Attention Economy:
  • Tech companies engineered designs (like infinite scroll) to maximize our attention.
  • Our focus is a limited resource, traded similar to money.
• Companies use "brain hacking" techniques to keep users engaged.
• Dopamine Release:
  • Built-in reward mechanisms lead to increased dopamine levels, making apps more enticing.

Part 2: Problems with Phone Addiction

• Nomophobia:
  • Fear of not being able to use one's smartphone.
• Physiological Responses:
  • Increased anxiety and stress when away from phones, similar to fight or flight response.
• Correlation with Mental Health:
  • Evidence links smartphone addiction with anxiety, depression, and procrastination.
• Generational Impact:
  • Research shows increased mental health issues among Gen Z coincide with heavy smartphone use, especially among young girls.

Part 3: Strategies to Control Phone Addiction

1. Use Blocking Apps

• Example: Opal (blocks social media during certain hours).

2. Set Automatic Focus Modes

• Configure phone settings to limit notifications during scheduled activities.

3. Rearrange Your Apps

• Keep social media apps off home screens or use apps like One Sec to create delays before accessing them.

4. Charge Phone Across the Room

• Prevents nighttime scrolling by putting your phone out of reach.

5. Turn Phone to Grayscale Mode

• Makes phone usage less visually stimulating, reducing screen time.

6. Use Your Computer for Messaging

• Respond to messages from a computer instead of a phone to minimize distractions.

7. Schedule Text Replies

• Instead of constantly replying, allocate specific times to respond to messages, reducing anxiety.

Conclusion

• There are numerous strategies to help regain control from phone addiction.
• Recommendation: Consider practical strategies rather than relying solely on willpower.