Addicted to your phone? Here’s how to spend less time scrolling

For some years, our phone has become the very extension of our hand. GPS, music, videos… We can do absolutely everything with our smartphone. But scientists are beginning to examine a causal link between excessive screen use and the onset of mental health problems. such as depression or anxiety in people who may be prone to it.

Furthermore, a 2019 British study revealed a close link between the increase in consumption of social networks (about 5 hours a day) and the appearance of depressive symptoms. In girls, this risk would increase by 50% against 35% for boys.

But how do you detox and return to moderate use of your smartphone?

Know your screen time

To become fully aware of the issue, you need to know the time spent on your phone first. Social networks, email, Youtube, etc. The usage time of each app can be displayed to the minute at times. To give you an idea, according to a study conducted by the company App Annie, the French spend an average of 3h30 a day on the phone. And where are you?

By eliminating sound and visual notifications, we’re inevitably less tempted to check our phone every 5 minutes when a friend shares a funny video with us on TikTok, or when an online shopping site sends us its current promotions. The purpose of the maneuver is to wean us from the instantaneous dopamine injection we experience when we unlock the phone and scroll through the different applications.

By leaving the phone in another room, we are better able to focus on the task at hand. You don’t hear notifications, calls or text messages, and that’s a great thing! To make sure we don’t worry anyone, we can send a short message to our loved ones to warn them of this disconnect and try to hold off an entire episode of a series without going to consult it.

Avoid answering the phone in bed

The place we check our phone the most is in our bed ! Whether in the morning when you wake up or in the evening when you go to bed, you can sometimes spend several hours scrolling. Except that this nocturnal ritual can prevent us from falling asleep. To avoid this there aren’t 1000 solutions, you have to invest in an alarm clock (there are some very nice ones I promise) and leave your cell phone in the living room so as not to be tempted to consult it. All right? A little reading would be ideal, but a meditation session is fine too!

Have you ever noticed that when we walk down the street, we are a little less tempted to check our phone? This is because there are already many distractions around us. In fact, the stimulus to our appetite for scrolling often comes from boredom! When we walk, shop, play sports, we are more caught up in the present moment and this is exactly how we leave our smartphone aside.

If all the methods mentioned above didn’t help you and you suffer from spending too much time on the phone, think about talking to a drug addict or a psychologist! These two mental health professionals can help you find the appropriate solutions for your situation to allow you to calmly regain control. And remember, you are not alone.