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So, Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone?

Are you addicted to your smartphone? The majority of people in the world would say “yes” to that question. It’s almost as if their phone is like oxygen for them and without it, they feel naked or immediately out of touch with the rest of the world. Also, when you factor in the rate that technology is evolving and people yearning for the next new smartphone, things probably won’t be improving any time soon.

Is this addiction the new “norm”?

According to the National Library of Medicine, the fear of not having your smartphone at your fingertips is called "nomophobia" which can be considered a fairly common thing nowadays. It’s as if we constantly have to have our phone on us so we can check out a new app or find a new way to talk to family and friends. Our phones have become a part of our daily lives to which over time has led to a silent addiction to them.

We, as consumers, have been so spoiled the past twenty years or so when it comes to smartphones. Each year they keep getting better and better and we become more and more addicted to them.

For example, what do you do when you first wake up in the morning? Exactly. You check your phone for missed calls, text messages, emails, etc. We want to see what missed out on in our sleep. It has become as normal as waking up and eating breakfast.

Try taking a break from your smartphone

Some people will say they are going to “take a break” from their phone or “take a break” from social media. When you stop and think about those remarks, they are almost equivalent to someone saying “I’m going to cut back on drinking or smoking”. In other words, they have an addiction to some degree. Only it’s an addiction to their own phone.

One of the biggest uses we get out of smartphones is social media. Whether it be Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, we have access to all of it right in the palm of our hand. We can look at what other people are posting and respond by saying good things or bad things or upload pictures and videos in a matter of seconds for the whole world to view.

Perhaps people are looking for some sort of validation by blasting every little corner of their life on social media. It could be something positive or negative, but as long as they can evoke a reaction from someone then that is all they need to make their day. Social media has allowed people to unload all their insecurities and personal issues or whatever they wish online for anyone and everyone to see.

It’s a Tiktok world

Tiktok has become one of the more recent and popular apps we can use on our smartphones. It’s an app where someone can make videos on their smartphone and share them with the whole Tiktok universe. The videos could range from someone discussing their divorce proceedings or something funny that happened to them at work.

For some people, Tiktok can be an emotional outlet for them to vent about personal issues they may be going through in their life. Granted, it is helpful for some people and other people may find it bizarre to disclose such private information.

When it comes to this particular app, it just goes to show how powerful our smartphones have become over time. We are able to connect with people all over the world in ways we never thought possible.

Quick, fast, and easy

Between social media, our smartphones, and everything the internet has to offer, it’s difficult not to become addicted in one way or another. We have the ability to have endless information in a moment's notice from pushing a few buttons on our phones. From ordering food from Door Dash to seeing our best friends' vacation photos. All of it in the palm of our hand. Why would we ever want to go back to the old days of say, a flip phone?

There are pros and cons of using smartphones and social media though. Yes, it allows us to stay connected to one another as a society like never before and it has revolutionized how we think and work and has made our daily lives easier in a sense. However, there is always going to be a downside to something that significant and that’s where the addiction part comes in.

Social media addiction facts

As humans we love to consume and consuming all that we can from social media is really no different. It has become a drug that there is no real cure for. Below are a few consequences that can come from being addicted to your smartphone and social media -

Anxiety

Depression

Loneliness

Poor work performance

Unhealthy relationships with friends and family

Almost 6.5 billion people in the world have smartphones. On average, a person will check their smartphone up to 63 times a day which accounts for almost 5.4 hours looking at social media, etc.

There are roughly 3.5 billion social media users in the world where every 6.4 seconds a new account is being made across multiple platforms. The typical user has an average of 7.6 social media accounts.

Clearly, there is no shortage of consumption with social media and what smartphones have to offer.

Looking to the future

In this day and age, there is no escaping social media. It is everywhere around us.

As we move towards the future, we have to stop and wonder if social media and smartphones will get better or worse in time and how it will affect us as humans. We’ve become so used to having these two significant things in our lives that we panic if our phone battery starts to get low as we won’t be able to use our precious device. Is that how we want our future to be though?