By Timothy Roe, Staff Writer
With every great innovation comes an inevitable dependability on that product. Cell phones are by no means an exception: a silent classroom evokes visuals similar to a zombie apocalypse, but the infection’s not an undead virus; it’s a small box emitting lights. Such a thing can have highly negative effects in the long run, and rooting out the causes is the first step in becoming sober. But first, let’s identify: are you addicted to your cell phone?
Symptoms of cell phone addiction, as categorized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.
- Greater dependence on cell phone for a desired effect.
- Failed attempts at using the cell phone less often.
- Preoccupation with cell phone use.
- Using the cell phone to escape feelings of anxiety or depression.
- Excessive use involving a lost sense of time.
- Need for newest cell phone, more applications, and increased usage.
- Experience withdrawal when cell phone is not accessible (feeling angry, tense, depressed, irritable, or restless).
If at least 4 of the following symptoms are present, the criteria for cell phone addiction is met (even if you’re not addicted, overusing your cell phone can result in similar negative effects and lead to addiction).
The causes of phone addiction are highly behavioral, and gradually changing these behaviors is key to being relieved from it. First, it’s important to understand dopamine: very simply put, it’s a brain chemical that gives people a “high” whenever it’s released. It’s essentially a reward from your brain for performing a certain behavior.
Using a cell phone has multiple triggers for dopamine, including satisfying curiosity through the internet, feeling an immediate connection to others through social media and obtaining self-validation through likes and shares. Every time that little box buzzes, we’re reinforced to reach for it more and more often, being rewarded with a release of dopamine from the knowledge that something interesting will appear in front of us. Eventually, we start reaching for it regardless of the buzz, becoming enamored in videos and posts that do absolutely nothing to contribute to our well-being. This pattern becomes wired in our brain and forms a habit that unconsciously eats away at so much of the day.
That’s a brief rundown of how phone addictions develop and the main causes of it, but so what? The only thing really lost from the addiction is a little bit of time, right? In the short run, yes. But we’re not animals; for people, immediate gratification is what very often drags our lives down. A couple hours a day is also a couple days a month, and in a year weeks on weeks of life have been cut down. And time isn’t the only deficit.
Effects of cell phone addiction:
Psychological distress
On the issue of sleep deprivation, the blue light a phone emits is the same type of light the sun exposes, which keeps us, as humans, more awake and unable to fall asleep. Paired with the endless channel of social media, using your phone before going to sleep does cause a greater lack of sleep. In addition, keeping away from the phone while addicted adds to anxiety and depression, especially if the device is used to escape such feelings. This trained dependence on the cell phone is what often leads to an inability to cope with them, a substitute for mental fortitude.
Physical problems
Cell phone addiction brings a plethora of physical problems to the afflicted, including digital eye strain (pain and discomfort in eyes and head associated with phone overuse), neck pains, and increased illnesses. Car accidents, too, are very often brought from the belief that multitasking is possible while driving, when the impairment is actually equivalent to drunk driving.
Less productivity
As stated previously, cell phone addiction burns away huge amounts of time in the long run, time that could have been used being productive. But the problem also cuts into efficiency; whenever you receive a notification, whatever you’re working on comes to a halt, and the focus geared toward that activity becomes split with the contents of that notification. 100 percent of the concentration put into a project diminishes to 60 when what lingers in your mind isn’t the project, but that video your friend shared with you a minute ago. And when these notifications come every five, ten minutes, the time it takes to complete your work doubles without any more quality to make up for it.
Relationships suffer
When social media and online chats are prioritized over your friend standing right in front of you, perhaps the relationship at place is suffering. Offline relationships may be neglected as a result of cell phone addiction. There’s no time to maintain physical relationships when the only thing you do is create online ones; you essentially isolate yourself by hanging on the words of the online world.
The effects of cell phone addiction are detrimental to one’s life, even dangerous in situations like driving. Fortunately, like all addictions, it’s very possible to recover from it with enough dedication.
Treating cell phone addiction
The cure for cell phone addiction isn’t quite as simple as a pill. As stated before, the problem is behavioral. The method to changing a behavior is to, put simply, change the behavior. No one is expecting you to throw out your phone (it’s a wonderfully useful device in moderation). Just start by creating a zone where you can disconnect yourself from it. A certain time period, for example, could be dedicated to keeping away from the device. Turn it off after dinner, expend your energy on work or exercise and turn it back on after getting to school. You could even keep notifications off for certain applications and schedule break times to check up on social media. The best treatment for an addiction is lessening the presence of the substance; in this case, the phone.
Gradually, with time and effort (the start of breaking the addiction is the hardest), that previously habitual craving for your phone can change into a habit for productivity. The more you use your phone, the more you desire to use it. The more you regularly work, exercise, read and stay focused, the easier it will become. That’s the flip side to habits.
