Tips to Overcome Unhelpful Smartphone Use
Smartphone usage prompts a break in processing information, including our thoughts and feelings, captivating us in another reality. This hand-held, limitless technology allows us to quickly check out of our lives or, more clinically stated, dissociate. An increasing pattern is recognized among all age groups in the mental health field, an inability to effectively self-regulate. Self-regulation is about controlling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and functioning in daily life. When we dissociate, we do not have to deal with our feelings; we escape them. With technology at our fingertips, children never have to cope with boredom. Teenagers aren’t learning how to be alone, adults easily ignore their mounting responsibilities, and the elderly struggle to accept a new phase of life. Escaping or avoiding emotions is what leads to clinical mental health concerns.
As a creative-minded person, I have experienced and witnessed smartphone usage stunt creativity and growth. Novel ideas often emerge from a wandering mind, a mind which flourishes in boredom. Daydreaming has been replaced with scrolling social media or playing smartphone games. When used as a tool, technology can be empowering. When used to avoid, escape, or fill time, smartphone usage can damage our well-being. When we use our phones in moments of boredom, we separate ourselves from our environment, becoming less mindful. We can miss cues about what brings us joy, sadness, and comfort and are left searching for our feelings or the cure to our emotions in our phones.
Smartphone Usage Tips
Setting limits for various apps like games and social media can be a great place to start when setting healthy boundaries around smartphone usage. Think about setting time limits on your phone and setting aside “phone-free” or “phone-use” times during the day.
It can be helpful to take inventory on what apps support your learning, wellness, and growth, and if you have other apps, what their purpose is. Intentionality is critical for the consumption of content on your phone and the use of your phone.
Consider limiting the ease of access to applications that act more as a distraction, do not serve you, or are not used as a tool (calculator, notes)
The organization of the apps on our screens is essential. Consider placing the games and social media apps on a different screen than apps that help with mental wellness, productivity, sleep, and physical health. If you are like most other humans and become a creature of habit, consider scrambling your “fun” apps every few weeks, so you have to make a more conscious effort to find the app to use it. Sometimes the slightest pause can allow you to make a more intentional choice of smartphone usage.