Despite all of technology’s perks, your smartphone should not be your only companion and conversation partner in this world. Phone addiction is similar to other dangerous addictions. Its “toxicity” alters human consciousness and relationships with the world. Some practical tactics will assist you in overcoming phone addiction. In this post, we aim to teach you how to control your phone use.
No doubt smartphones are an integral part of our life but using them excessively can be harmful to your health. If you find yourself checking your phone first thing in the morning before even getting out of bed or texting while driving, checking your phone instead of working on a critical task, or checking Facebook while having your meal then your phone is interfering with your life, and you might be addicted to it. Check out these 5 useful tips to control your phone use.
1. Remove all distracting apps
Let’s admit it, it’s hard not to open certain apps if they are right in front of the eyes. You just can’t help but tap the app icon and continue doomscrolling through it. This is common for games and social networking apps. How can one resist succumbing to this temptation? Well, the easiest way is to uninstall or at least hide it from the home screen.
You can alternatively move all the distracting apps to a hidden folder and turn off their notification. However, temporarily deleting the application is the best idea because no matter where you hide it on the phone, you’ll eventually open it.
2. Establish phone-free intervals throughout the day
The truth is that having a cell phone nearby at work is usual, and in certain cases, mandatory. on your phone is business-related, that particular phone alert is rarely relevant to the current work at hand.
If you are frequently distracted by your phone ringing, you will be unable to focus on the task at hand, resulting in decreased productivity. As a result, I call for the establishment of a no-phone time zone. This implies that for at least two hours each day (when you are most productive), you turn off your phone and focus entirely on the task at hand.
3. Use Digital Wellbeing tools available in your Phone
Google introduced the Digital Wellbeing dashboard as a new tool set in Android Pie. Google touted the tools as part of its new “digital wellbeing” programme, which aims to help people be healthy in both their actual and digital lives. According to Google, 70% of individuals seek assistance with their digital well-being. It is highly helpful if you want to control your phone use
The Digital Wellbeing dashboard in Android’s settings menu shows you how much time you spent in apps during the day, how many times you unlocked your device during the day, and how many notifications you received during the day. You will be able to go deeper into any of these topics. For example, you can tap on an app, such as YouTube, to see how much time you spent using it on, say, Sunday.
4. Turn off notifications
You probably saw this one coming. Notifications are a necessary evil; they distract you from doing important stuff. While some notifications like calls and emails are important, others are just irrelevant and distracting. If you want to control your phone use, you might want to consider turning off notifications for unwanted apps. Sometimes the notification sound is enough to pull you towards the phone, so you should minimize that.
You reach for your smartphone to check another notice, and it quickly transforms into a half-hour stroll through your news feed. Do you know what I’m talking about? That’s because alerts are addicting, and you’re lured to them without even realizing it. You won’t be tempted to check another notice if you switch off the notifications. If you’re worried about missing something crucial, start by turning off the sound.
5. Do not rely on a single device for everything and switch between activities you do
A smartphone can replace books, newspapers, magazines, MP3 players, cameras, Televisions, gaming devices, desktops, and a variety of other useful items. Furthermore, it provides you with chances that past generations did not have. But this doesn’t mean that we should stop using everything else and just stick to smartphones.
It is beneficial to both your brain and your body to switch between activities. This method broadens your living options. And you will be less attached to a single device because your interests and feelings will be spread among numerous. You should not use your smartphone at a family dinner or an essential meeting. If you want to control your phone use, indulge yourself in various activities.
Conclusion
Remember that dependency occurs when you have troubles in your life. You are less prone to acquire an obsession if you live a full life and have suitable strategies to address obstacles such as communication with your nearest and dearest. So, the long-term solution to being less hooked to your phone is not the phone itself. It is more about shifting priorities and devoting more time to those around you. These are some powerful tips that u can use to control your phone use.
