People today are increasingly tied to their smartphones. People use their phones throughout the day and sometimes the night. Many even stare at their phones during mealtimes and in the restroom. Do you know how to tell when smartphone use turns into smartphone addiction?
Smartphone addiction impacts users just like drug addiction. There may not be a risk of overdose, but the impact on health and well-being can be just as destructive. Know the signs and how to stop being addicted to your phone. Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery at 866.300.5275 for more information on treatment options for smartphone addiction.
What Is Smartphone Addiction?
Smartphones have been around for fewer than 20 years. Because of this, smartphone addiction is a new phenomenon. However, all forms of addiction follow the same dynamics, and smartphone addiction is no different. Signs of smartphone addiction include:
- Compulsively checking your phone
- Spending hours on your phone each day
- Checking your phone throughout the night
- Feeling anxiety when separated from your phone
- Preferring phone use over hobbies and activities
- Allowing phone use to interfere with relationships, school, or work
Smartphone addiction can even cause withdrawal symptoms when the person doesn’t have access to a phone.
How to Stop Being Addicted to Your Phone
Here are four tips on how to stop being addicted to your phone.
Recognize the Problem
There’s less awareness of smartphone addiction compared to other forms of addiction. However, this doesn’t mean the problem is any less serious.
Smartphone addiction is a form of process addiction wherein the user is addicted to an action rather than a substance.
Identify the Reasons for Smartphone Use
Smartphone addiction happens because their phone use meets a need. People use smartphones addictively to handle stress, gain a sense of connection, and avoid problems. Gaining insight into the reasons behind phone use is an important step toward making a change.
Find Other Ways to Meet Your Needs
Work to establish alternative ways to meet the needs that smartphone use fulfills. When phone use is an escape from anxiety, stress, or depression, therapy and medication are alternative options for supporting mental health. If phone use gives an artificial sense of connection, work to cultivate relationships by scheduling quality time with friends and family. It takes work, but there are ways to satisfy your emotional needs that don’t involve cell phone use.
Limit Phone Time and Access
Make a plan to reduce the amount of time spent on the phone. Examples include:
- Only using your phone at scheduled times
- Physically removing your phone from the room
- Not using phones during other activities, like mealtimes
- Not sleeping next to your phone
Parents of teenagers addicted to smartphones may need to take away phones entirely to give their kids a chance to detox and rebuild healthy phone habits.
Why Is Smartphone Addiction Treatment Important?
Clients dealing with smartphone addiction benefit from treatment approaches that help them understand the thoughts and emotions contributing to addictive patterns. Compulsive phone use can be a form of escapism for some individuals, helping them avoid unresolved trauma or untreated mental health conditions like depression or anxiety. Identifying co-occurring disorders is essential for getting to the root of addictive behavior and successfully creating new habits.
Find Smartphone Addiction Treatment at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery
Teenagers today are the first generation to have access to smartphones from childhood. This means dependence begins early, and it’s an issue that older generations haven’t had to face. Few quality treatment centers offer programs designed to counter smartphone addiction and other similar process disorders in teens. Foothills at Red Oak Recovery recognizes the importance of evidence-based treatment for smartphone addiction and is one of the few treatment centers to offer quality treatment for this growing social issue. Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery at 866.300.5275 for more information on smartphone addiction treatment for teenage boys.
