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Why are We Addicted to Our Phones?

If you’ve ever lost your phone, you know that anxious feeling that comes from not having the pocket-sized device on hand. It can almost feel like the symptoms of someone cut off from an addictive vice; you feel like a part of you is missing. That’s because we associate our phones as an extension of ourselves. We communicate with just about everyone on it—constantly updating friends, acquaintances, and strangers—and find entertainment and joy on its many platforms. 

When this extension of ourselves is stripped away, we feel lost and out of sorts, but how does this phone addiction come to be in the first place? It’s through the production of the hormones, oxytocin and dopamine. Oxytocin and dopamine are those “feel good chemicals” that are released through activities like exercise or a late-night rendezvous in the sheets. 

You also get quick spurts of these chemicals when you receive a like on a social media post, view a funny video, or win a game on your phone (Wordle, anyone?). These quick releases of happy chemicals are much easier to achieve than running or biking, which is where the addiction of swiping through apps comes into play. However, this hit of dopamine and oxytocin can’t stay in your system forever—eventually they metabolize, and you’re left to deal with the fallout. 

Your rational brain kicks into gear, and you realize that your endless cellphone scrolling has eaten away at hours of your day, and you’re left with nothing to show. In a way, your phone addiction can function similar to a gambling addiction (albeit less damaging financially). To break this cycle, start cutting the cord that makes your phone an extension of yourself. These phoneless activities are a way to separate yourself from your phone in a way that doesn’t leave you bored and wanting more screen time.  

Start With a Social Media Cleanse

The best way to get off your phone—and stay off—for an extended period of time is to cut ties temporarily with your social media apps. When you have the apps still readily available, you’ll feel the urge to check your phone no matter how entertaining the activity is. A social media cleanse doesn’t have to be a permanent solution. Just temporarily delete these apps from your phone before indulging in these phone-free activities. 

Have a Crafting Session

A great way to stop using your phone during an activity is to do something else with your hands. This way, you can’t quickly pick up your phone whenever your brain tells you to check it. You’d have to stop what you’re doing to take a look at your phone, which involves breaking the flow you’re in during your craft time. Getting into this flow state allows you to receive those same “happy chemicals” that you get from your phone, eliminating the need to check it. 

Go to the Movies

In terms of activities that are easy to do without your phone intervening, this is one of the easiest. You’re facing social ridicule from the people around you if you think about checking your phone during a movie. This pressure alone may make you wary about using your phone for the two hours or so that the credits and movie lasts. Also, you’ve paid the ticket price and are in the moment in the theater, so you’ll naturally find yourself not thinking about your phone (that is, if the movie is good).

Do a Puzzle

This activity is similar to crafting in the way that you’re utilizing your hands and can easily slip into a flow state. Puzzles are a great activity to distract you from your phone because you get that hit of dopamine each time you place a puzzle piece in the correct position. In this way, you’ll want to continue the puzzle and receiving those bursts of happy chemicals. Puzzling can mimic how you feel scrolling through social media, but it doesn’t come with the same hangover regret that comes from after you’ve finished scrolling and have to face reality. With puzzling, you have something to show for at the end with a sense of completion, instead of the negative emotions that can arise unpredictably when being sucked into your device’s screen.  

Read a Book

Find a book that interests you. This can be a non-fiction or fiction book that keeps you gripped to the pages. Thrillers are recommended because they’re designed to be fast reads that hold your attention. With each page that you grow closer to solving the mystery, releases of happy chemicals will start to flow through you. Make sure to read an actual physical book or on a e-reader. While apps for reading on your phone can be great for convenience, it’s easy to get distracted and swipe off the app. 

Take a Nature Walk

Getting outside and moving around can be more work than sitting mindlessly with your phone, but it will make you happier without any guilt. Walk with a friend or on your own through a nature trail near you. This can be as outdoorsy as you see fit. This may involve strolling through a park near your house or venturing out to the mountains and pushing your strength with a new trail. You’ll likely want to bring your phone with you for safety, and that’s perfectly okay! Just think of it like a flip phone for the time being. Use it for emergencies, directions to get to where you’re going, and other practical uses. Don’t bring it to distract yourself with social media. Agree to be present in the moment when exploring the great outdoors. 

Clean or Organize

This might not sound like a fun activity, but with the right atmosphere, cleaning truly can be. In fact, your phone is encouraged when doing this activity, but not in the way you would normally use it. Instead of mindless scrolling, play some motivating music, listen to a podcast, or throw on an audiobook. Choose a form of media that will either improve your mood or teach you something new. In this way, you’re using your phone as a tool, rather an extension of yourself, coming around full circle in how you utilize this device. 

Gardening

Gardening is another one of those activities that occupies your hands. Better yet, you have to remove your dirt-covered gloves before picking up your phone. This extra step might just be enough hassle to help stop your phone addiction and instead, focus on the task at hand. Getting outside to perform this meditative activity can give you a boost of happiness that isn’t correlated to your phone or social media. This also can apply to re-planting plants into new pots if you don’t have the outdoor space or desire to create an expansive garden. 

Take a Bath

The crucial step for this activity is to leave your phone in the other room. Once you’re in the warm confines of a bubble bath, the last thing you’ll want to do is exit to check a text or like an Instagram post. A large part of breaking the addiction to your phone in the beginning is setting up activities where simply sneaking a peek is difficult. A bath is a great way to not only get some relaxation, but also ease your mind from the stress of the day—exactly the opposite of how clicking on an email icon filled with notifications makes you feel. Bring a book to read, light a candle, and enjoy being phone-free for an hour or two. 

Small Steps Can Add Up

Challenge yourself to start doing more activities that take you away from your phone. You can start small with a short activity or one that doesn’t allow you to check your phone constantly. Then, work up to being sans tech for longer and longer periods. Soon, you’ll cut the cord that makes your phone an extension of yourself entirely and begin to see it as a tool that can aide you, not one necessary to your survival. Before you know it, you’ll no longer be wondering how to stop your phone addiction. Instead, you’ll be wondering where you left your phone because it’s slipped your mind completely.