Author Name: Carribean Channel, Cuba TV.
This story was originally published on canalcaribe.ict.cu. [1]

Ten tips to overcome mobile addiction – Canal Caribe

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Date: 2022-01

It is no secret that the cell phone has become one more appendix of the human body; an extracorporeal entity that intervenes in many of our daily activities. The benefits and facilities that mobile devices bring to our lives are difficult to list given their (almost) endless functions.

According to the specialized blog Ditrendia , 68% of the world population already has a mobile phone and 52% of total web traffic is made through it (4% more than in 2016). Likewise, the most carried out activities are instant messaging and social networks (74%), shopping (60%) and consulting news and information (59%).

It may seem that having the phone in hand all day is more of an imperative of the daily routine both to keep in touch with others and to work, inform ourselves, entertain ourselves … Nonetheless, if we stop to analyze the actions that require its use and the time that we really need, we will realize that it is extremely reduced compared to what we spend unconsciously in front of the screen.

As we have commented on other occasions, technology can have a dark side, especially if its consumption/use is not consciously regulated. Today, in particular, we want to warn about mobile addiction.

Professor James A. Roberts from Baylor University (Texas, USA) identified six symptoms that can help us identify cell phone addiction: notoriety, euphoria, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse . These behaviors are related to any other addiction.

Despite this, mobile addiction is still not considered an official and medically accepted diagnosis. An article on CNN in Spanish explains that there are criteria used by experts “to describe behaviors, feelings and thoughts that indicate a lack of control over the use of the telephone. Among them, the use of the telephone interferes with commitments and relationships; lack of access to the telephone causes fear, anxiety or irritability; and the ability to think deeply or creatively is hampered”.

The Psicoactiva blog specifies that at least 4 of the following signs and symptoms comprise the criteria for mobile addiction, and the problematic use of the phone must cause significant damage to the person’s life:

· A need to use it more and more often or almost all the time.

· Inability to adapt to shorter times in front of the screen.

· Constant worry.

· Unwanted feelings such as anxiety or depression when it is not in front of you.

· Excessive use characterized above all by the loss of sense of time.

· You have put a relationship or job at risk due to excessive mobile use.

· Need to have a newer mobile, with more applications or more data.

To this must be added that when the cell phone or the network is not available, the individual presents anger, tension, depression, irritability and restlessness.

Among the physical effects that a very large exposure to the cell phone can cause are digital visual tension, problems in the cervical area, an increase in diseases caused by germs, traffic accidents and even male infertility due to radiation. From a psychological point of view, this addiction disrupts sleeping habits; induces anxiety and depression; triggers obsessive compulsive disorder; and affects interpersonal relationships.

The most likely to be victims of this behavior are the youngest. Due to the introduction of technology at an increasingly early age, a behavioral link is created with the device, the specialists agree; who also emphasize that these ties between the person and technology come to substitute true practices of human interaction:

“Paradoxically, the communication addict reaches solitary confinement, this situation creates a special character seasoned with anxiety about calling or receiving messages. The dependence of the mobile is brutal and lack of coverage or suffer a blackout, creates a real chaos among addicts¨.

Now, if you feel identified with the above mentioned, below we offer you a series of recommendations that you can follow to improve your ability to deal with the cell phone as an inescapable refuge to spend (waste) the hours:

1- Recognize the value of limiting phone use as a cornerstone for developing and maintaining “intrinsic motivation to make a change,” suggests Dr. Smita Das, president of the Council on Psychiatry of the American Psychiatric Association and associate clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University.

2- Analyze how long you use the phone (you can do it manually or use the data that the system itself offers) and set schedules for specific uses. There are screen time monitoring applications that can be configured to stop your interaction and ask you if you want to continue or change activity.

3- Declare zones without a cell phone. Set physical limits: Don’t allow phones in family rooms or living rooms during certain hours. Also, prohibit them in group activities such as dinners and family or friend gatherings.

4- Know your triggers. What makes you run to the phone, even without realizing it? Knowing if your problematic phone use is related to boredom or mental health issues can help guide your approach to reducing screen time.

5- Forget about the FOMO or the fear of missing something that is happening on the network. The world is not going to fall down if you are not online all the time. Counter those fears by remembering other ways to connect with the people you really care about.

6- Do healthier activities. Remember that there is an offline world that offers equal or greater amount of satisfaction than virtual life. Visit your friends; talk face to face with your family members; stroll; do exercise; work on a project; and so on. To do this, DO NOT use the cell phone.

7- Avoid taking your cell phone with you to the bedroom at bedtime. In this way, you avoid falling into the temptation to check social networks or send text messages.

8- Turn off notifications, especially unnecessary ones. This way, you reduce the anxiety generated by seeing the flickering of the cell phone screen at the slightest activity of the device.

9- Eliminate all the applications and activities that you can do from the computer.

10- Seek professional help if you feel like you can’t follow any of these tips yourself. There are trained specialists to help you overcome this harmful behavior and have a healthy, balanced and beneficial relationship with technology.

(C) Cuba TV, Cuban state owned media.
[1] Url: https://www.canalcaribe.icrt.cu/en/ten-tips-to-overcome-mobile-addiction/

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