Top 10 Effective Tips to Beat Smartphone Addiction

1. Gradually Break Free from Addiction

Smartphones are indispensable tools in our lives, so the aim here is not to entirely give them up but to reduce addiction gradually. Implement the following steps at your own pace.

Remember, these suggestions are meant to control excessive smartphone use, not to quit using this device altogether. Quitting smartphones and the internet can lead to various troubles, such as missing meetings or even getting fired. Instead of checking your smartphone every few minutes, try to use it moderately and meaningfully for your life. Remember that machines cannot be more important than yourself and your loved ones.

2. Uninstall Applications

You should remove unnecessary applications or those that consume too much of your time, like entertainment games. Keep only the essential work-related apps such as Facebook, Gmail, or YouTube.

Eliminating unnecessary apps is one effective way to limit your smartphone addiction. Your phone will have fewer notifications to check, fewer updates, free up storage space, and reduce clutter on your phone screen.

3. Schedule Phone Checks

Instead of constantly glancing at your phone for messages or notifications, which can be distracting with notification sounds, try turning off the vibration (or sound) feature of your phone and disable app notifications. Instead, schedule regular phone checks (around 1 hour). Doing this multiple times will help you develop a habit of checking your smartphone regularly.

When you immerse yourself in activities that require focus, such as chatting with people, running, swimming, or engaging in any other sports,... every day, you will develop a habit of distancing yourself from the phone, effectively preventing smartphone addiction. Try to extend the time of these smartphone-free activities as long as possible.

Recent scientific studies have shown that using a smartphone in bed is not at all beneficial. The blue light from the phone screen can stimulate the nervous system, making it difficult for you to sleep, especially when used in complete darkness.

Therefore, before going to bed or planning to rest in bed, keep your smartphone at a distance, preferably not in the bedroom, to protect your own health. The first few days without a smartphone may not be easy, but with just a few attempts, you will develop a good habit for yourself.

The image of someone looking at their phone while talking to those around them seems to be a quite familiar scene that can be encountered anywhere. This is the most typical example of human smartphone addiction in today's digital world.

And the advice for you is to focus on the person you're talking to. Don't try to touch your phone, overcoming temporary temptations will help you a lot in life. Put yourself in the other person's shoes; they will probably be very annoyed when you keep staring at the smartphone screen.

It may sound absurd, but in reality, setting a complex password for your phone is also a quite effective way to limit your own smartphone addiction. When the smartphone password is set with multiple characters, including uppercase, lowercase, special symbols, or drawn with a complex pattern, quickly unlocking the phone becomes very challenging.

Entering the password at this point is like a 'tough task', too complicated and time-consuming. You will hesitate to unlock the phone and only do so when absolutely necessary.

Once a week, you should completely stop using your phone for a day. Choose a day during the week (perhaps Saturday or Sunday) to go out and have fun without bringing your phone. Enjoy life in the simplest way possible without the influence of technological devices.

You can go outside, find your way by reading a map (instead of using GPS), participate in group activities like camping, or gatherings to forget the 'craving' feeling for using a smartphone.

Every smartphone has an alarm function, but using this utility on the phone will unintentionally make you interact with it every morning when you wake up, inevitably checking messages or new social media feeds before leaving bed. To address this situation, you should use a clock with an alarm function and forget about the smartphone.

Moreover, this prevents you from experiencing unexpected accidents with your expensive smartphone, such as accidentally dropping the device on the floor while half-awake every morning.

Many of us have the habit of looking at our phones while eating. If you want to break the addiction, put your phone aside, set it to vibrate, and don't pay attention to it during meals. You can also dine with friends or family, try to engage in direct conversations to forget about this 'addiction.'

It will also help you lose weight as scientific studies show that you tend to eat more than usual if you use the phone, as it distracts you.