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How to overcome Phone Addiction

cognitiontoday.com

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Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#171
post #146
post #112

Some ideas on this topic: 1. Inconvenience based solutions don't address the problem: using apps to restrict phone use, physically hiding the phone etc. Once you leave those carefully constrained conditions, you are more vulnerable than ever. Not to mention the contradiction with the core issue that it's a symptom rather than a cause. 2. Turning abstinence as an ongoing status condition (e.g. "X days since I did Y")…

Few more ideas: 1. When I quit Facebook, I first started disabling my account but that didn't work, at all. It just brought me back. Every time. I realized it wasn't a feature for deleting account, it was a pressure relieve valve for people who need a quick break because they felt the service had taken control of too large a portion of their lives. FB didn't want people to quit and they didn't offer such feature. I s…

I find it surprising that there's no push for regulating engagement algorithms similar to tobacco and gambling.

The same kinds of bad behaviours are being done by companies to profit off of addiction

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#172
post #13

Is it the phone people are addicted to, or the media available through it? Especially Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Twitter. All of which seem designed to cultivate obsessive compulsive behavior in their users with social proof, intermittent rewards and a builtin hedonic treadmill.

Isn’t that a difference without a distinction? If the headline were about television addiction would you question if it’s the TV set or the shows?

Watching TV stations was the only purpose of TV set, while social network apps are just one of many purposes of mobile phones. Many people do not use such apps, but still use mobile phones.

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#173
Here’s what I did to counter my phone addiction. I was mostly addicted to social media apps and it got worse as I wouldn’t go without spending at least 2hrs on these apps. So in order to counter my addiction I ordered a kitchensafe box to control my addiction.

Now I just lock my phone for certain amount of time and try to do something else or engage myself into new things such as reading, learning new skills and etc

For me kitchen safe has worked and it has helped me cope with my phone addiction and allowed me to stay away from my phone before going to bed which has improved my sleep quality

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#174
i always wonder (and never seem to find out) how the authors of these normal people things (‘video game’ / ‘phone’ ) addiction ideas disambiguate with generalised executive function disorders, which seem almost more common?

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#175

Here’s what I did to counter my phone addiction. I was mostly addicted to social media apps and it got worse as I wouldn’t go without spending at least 2hrs on these apps. So in order to counter my addiction I ordered a kitchensafe box to control my addiction. Now I just lock my phone for certain amount of time and try to do something else or engage myself into new things such as reading, learning new skills and etc…

What would you do if you got a phone call while it was in the kitchen safe?

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#176
post #112

Some ideas on this topic: 1. Inconvenience based solutions don't address the problem: using apps to restrict phone use, physically hiding the phone etc. Once you leave those carefully constrained conditions, you are more vulnerable than ever. Not to mention the contradiction with the core issue that it's a symptom rather than a cause. 2. Turning abstinence as an ongoing status condition (e.g. "X days since I did Y")…

I definitely have a browsing addiction. Learning things as an information junkie is addictive. What’s funny is that when I go for trips in the mountains with little to no internet I do fine. It is less like a chemical addiction and more like a habitual craving. If I have more interesting things to do I will not browse. If I’m bored though...

Habits are related to our environment. Your brain is probably wired to your current living arrangements and taking a vacation- with the added caveat that you know you have no internet- means no behaviors. This is why people can easily get sober in rehab and then come home and instantly relapse.

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#177
post #112

Some ideas on this topic: 1. Inconvenience based solutions don't address the problem: using apps to restrict phone use, physically hiding the phone etc. Once you leave those carefully constrained conditions, you are more vulnerable than ever. Not to mention the contradiction with the core issue that it's a symptom rather than a cause. 2. Turning abstinence as an ongoing status condition (e.g. "X days since I did Y")…

I definitely have a browsing addiction. Learning things as an information junkie is addictive. What’s funny is that when I go for trips in the mountains with little to no internet I do fine. It is less like a chemical addiction and more like a habitual craving. If I have more interesting things to do I will not browse. If I’m bored though...

Are you learning specific things for a passion, hobby, or job or learning random facts and TILs?

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#178

“Phone addiction” is way too broad. A lot of this criticism of phones appears out of the fact that a phone can be used for a wide range of activities. If I said someone “spent the day doing some research for work, journaling, watching TV, chatting with friends, playing a game, looking at photos from a friend’s trip, then reading local and global news”, then that sounds like a healthy balanced day. But if I described…

More specific diagnoses are best left to the professionals.

However, perfection is the enemy of good. The more complicated you make the diagnoses and more specific the criteria, the more difficult it becomes to engage with the concept.

For the average smartphone user, the criteria for identifying potentially detrimental smartphone addiction needs to be as simple as possible.

> But if I described the above as “they were on their phone for 7 hours straight” it sounds unhealthy, even though it’s the same.

Being on your phone for 7 hours straight is not healthy, regardless of what you're doing. Much better to do work and research on a proper screen that you're not holding 9 inches from your face, and much better to sit with proper posture instead of craning your neck at a smartphone.

The problem with trying to divide everything into ultra-specific categories is that addicts are very good at rationalizing away their problems. For example, someone addicted to social media might justify it as keeping up with their social life, and someone addicted to 24/7 news headlines would justify it as keeping up with current events. Give enough leeway, and an addict can easily justify away 90% of their smartphone usage as beneficial, all while letting a smartphone take away from other, healthier activities in their life.

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#179
post #112

Some ideas on this topic: 1. Inconvenience based solutions don't address the problem: using apps to restrict phone use, physically hiding the phone etc. Once you leave those carefully constrained conditions, you are more vulnerable than ever. Not to mention the contradiction with the core issue that it's a symptom rather than a cause. 2. Turning abstinence as an ongoing status condition (e.g. "X days since I did Y")…

I definitely have a browsing addiction. Learning things as an information junkie is addictive. What’s funny is that when I go for trips in the mountains with little to no internet I do fine. It is less like a chemical addiction and more like a habitual craving. If I have more interesting things to do I will not browse. If I’m bored though...

Reminds me of the experiments on rats, where they couldn't even convince them to try heroin (-laced water) if they were living in a natural environment, whereas the rats stuck in cages became addicted to heroin immediately.

Re: How to overcome Phone Addiction

#180
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it bad to feel rewarded for legitimately engaging your brain? Is it bad for something to be a "dopamine slot machine" if it's only because it actually allows you to consume knowledge more rapidly/efficiently?

I don't think I've ever acquired deep knowledge or insight via my phone. It's all shallow junk food.

Is that because of the nature of the technology or because of what users choose to seek out with it?

Also consider that a big insight might come from many small insights

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