Hi, my name is Ryan and I am addicted to my cell phone. I’m not going to deny it. For the last 40 hours, I have been without a cell phone. It has made my life super interesting. Despite the fact my computer was in full operation, I still felt completely disconnected and even anti-social without using my cell phone. Without a phone I had no clock, no guitar tuner, did not regularly check my email, didn’t make dinner plans because I couldn’t text or call, could not find the cheapest gas, could not check the stocks or weather, did not save money from a foursquare deal, couldn’t check my bank account, did not have my calendar, lost my to-do list, could not look at a map if I got lost, could not take people’s information and the list goes on and on.
During the time without my mobile phone, I really began to worry about how many different areas of my life were wrapped up into a small little device. I knew I was addicted, but I began to wonder if cell phone addiction is okay (in moderation, of course) or if i needed to find the cure for cell phone addiction.
The Cell Phone Addiction Cure
Addiction in general is not a good thing. Being addicted means there is a certain level on dependency on something, whether a substance, a person, or in this case a device. Below are some quick and easy steps to breaking your dependency on your cell phone.
- Turn off pointless notifications. Do you really need to be alerted every time you get a new email or a new DrawSomething picture or a new word on Words with Friends? I didn’t think so. Turn off all pointless notifications so the only thing your phone buzzes or beeps for are text messages and phone calls. Everything else is useless and pointless.
- Get a watch. So many people use their mobile device as their clock that they totally avoid the need for wearing watch. Unfortunately, when you pull out your phone to check the time, you may see a notification on Facebook because someone liked your status. Before you know it that notification turns into a full-on stalking of that friend you haven’t talked to since middle school. If you get a watch, then you won’t have to pull out your phone and get sidetracked.
- Put it away. If you have pockets, a backpack or a purse, put your phone in it. Be social when you need to be social. Whenever my phone is sitting on the table or beside me on the couch, I am so tempted to look at it just because it is there. Once I flip it over to look at it, I start getting paranoid and begin checking it more and more.
- Ignore the buzz, break the urge. We totally fall victim to classical conditioning with the vibrating or beeping of our cell phones. As soon as we are aware that we have a notification we immediately reach in our pockets or purses and pull out our cell phone to see what the latest news is. Next time your phone buzzes, intentionally leave it in your pocket. Resist the urge to pull it out. Soon it will become second nature.
- Get your friends involved. As with anything in life, we need running mates. These running mates are people that support you on your journey of life. Tell your friends that you want to break your cell phone addiction. Hand your phone to your friends or tell them to correct you every single time you reach for your phone over the course of a meal or an afternoon of hanging out.
Hopefully those five ideas will help to rid your cell phone addiction. We live in a day where so much can be done literally by the palm of our hands and our little mobile devices. Yet, despite their convenience, they are really impeding on social relationships and are becoming extremely rude and obnoxious and most of all addicting. Take these five easy steps to curing cell phone addiction and it won’t take long to notice that you actually can function without always being attached to your cell phone.