How to Overcome Your Cell Phone Addiction

Understand what makes you want to use your phone. Triggers are your feelings and thoughts about a situation that lead to a particular behavior (phone use). Finding out why you feel this urge can help you develop alternatives. ^[14]

• Are you using your phone because you are desperate to chat and connect with others? If true, you may be able to satisfy your needs with more permanent methods such as meeting the other person face-to-face.
• Are you just feeling depressed? Boredom can be a huge trigger for others to engage in addictive behavior. If you often feel bored, perhaps you should develop a hobby or engage in another activity that will sustain your attention.

Engage in other mood-boosting activities. Cell phone use has been linked to improved emotional well-being, and it may be the reason people want to do this. ^[15] Instead of using your phone to feel better, you should engage in an alternative activity such as exercise/playing a sport or a creative activity such as writing or draw.

Keep yourself busy! If you have a specific plan for each day and you focus on your responsibilities, you will have less time to use your phone. The advantage of this is that you will spend more time focusing on your own goals and from there, will be more effective.

• If you don’t work, you can sign up to volunteer at many organizations in your area.
• Try to develop a new hobby such as knitting, sewing, or playing an instrument.
• Spend more time on tasks that need to be done, whether it’s housework or family time.

Divert your attention by doing something constructive. When you feel the urge to use your phone, you should try to take constructive action. Make a to-do list that has nothing to do with your phone, and whenever you want to check your phone, stop and redirect your focus to your task. ^[16]

Accomplish social tasks in a different way. Much of our desire to use our phones stems from our innate and evolutionary drive to be social creatures. However, there are quite a few socializing options that can be beneficial and satisfying in the long run. ^[17]

• Instead of texting, write a handwritten letter, or go out for coffee or eat out with friends.
• Instead of constantly posting photos of you on Instagram, you can invite your loved ones over to your home and let them know about your memories through a casual activity. This type of connection can help increase intimacy.

Replace habits. Think about each reason why you want to use your phone (playing games, texting, calling). One of these habits will likely be quite essential in your work and day-to-day life (be it work email, etc.), while a few others may be disruptive to your life. if they remove your normal interactions and responsibilities. You should try to replace them with more productive, social, and quality experiences.

• If one of your problems is excessive use of your phone for gaming, you should think about alternatives such as inviting friends over to your house and playing board games.
• If you spend too much time reading other people’s posts on social media, you can meet up with close friends or loved ones and ask them about what’s going on in their lives (instead of just talking about it). simply read about them online).

Notify everyone about your problem. Social support is a very important ingredient for your mental health. ^[18] Having an active social network provides a sense of security and connection. These are quite important factors when you are trying to limit your phone use, because in fact, the process is also partly based on social connections (such as texting, using social apps, etc.) ). While using the phone can feel positive, it limits us and makes us withdraw from intimate relationships.

• You just need to tell family and friends that you think you use your phone too much and that you are trying to reduce it. You could explain that you would appreciate it if they supported the process. Alternatively, you can also make specific offers and invite them to participate in your plan. For example, you can ask them to call or text you only at a specific time of day.
• Asking for advice. Your loved one knows your personality best and can help you form a specific plan to limit your phone use.

Call for sympathy. Let your family and friends know that you probably won’t be texting, calling, or emailing them right away because you’re working to cut down on your phone time. If they are aware of the situation, they will easily empathize and will not be upset with you.

Plan face-to-face meetings. Instead of focusing on seeking support over the phone, you should engage in activities that are personal and intimate. And you can only achieve this through face-to-face meetings. ^[19]

• Plan an activity that involves family and friends. You can use the limited phone time you have set aside to research and plan the event. In this way, you are using your energy in a useful and meaningful way.

Give your phone to someone else. This method is especially useful during times when you feel a strong urge to use your phone including after school, after dinner, and on weekends.