Walk down any street or into any cafe and it is clear that nomophobia or “no mobile phone” phobia is reaching pandemic proportions. The fear of losing the connectedness we get from our phones means we must constantly reassure ourselves of its presence. In fact, studies have found that heavy users spend nearly four hours per day on their phone, while attention spans have dropped by a third.
While it may be virtually impossible to give up one’s phone completely, its clear that steps need to be taken to limit the effects of our phone addiction. That’s why Saving Spot at CashNetUSA have created this excellent guide on how to do just that.
A good start is to try and increase the periods of time during which you avoid your phone. If you’re a heavy user, set yourself 15-minute phone-free windows and gradually build this up. To help you to steer clear of the siren’s call of messages or updates try disabling push-notifications from your most intrusive social media and news apps.
Another way of reducing your dependence on your phone is by limiting the neurological effects it has on your brain. The anticipation of what we might find when we look at our phone makes us excited and releases dopamine. By changing our habits and congratulating ourselves for not using our phone we can self-reward our brains with that feel-good chemical. Also, by actually meeting and having physical contact with our friends we feel happier as our body naturally releases oxytocin.
Getting over our phone addiction won’t be easy but doing so can lead to a happier and more productive life. Use these tips to start getting a phone-use reduction plan in place.
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