Addicted to my phone!

[Dominic]

I'm currently 19 and at college. I find myself on my phone all the time because it's always more preferable to be sitting on my phone listening to music than doing anything productive. Mainly social media and group messages (and mindlessly on every app etc/changing songs). If I switch it off or delete social media I'll be disconnected because I like to know whats happening in my 'real' friends from my hometown. If I delete the apps I just end up downloading them again. If theres any other advice apart from deleting my accounts I would be grateful

[Ayla]

Bathe the phone? 

Have mom hide it from you? 

Just kidding. 

The energy behind any addiction is the same. Try figuring out what you are running away from 

[InternetPoints]

I turn off as many notifications for things as possible, and make the ones I don't to be as unnoticeable as possible. For example let the phone show facebook messages, but turn off the sound and vibration for them. That way I can still use it and lower the negative side of it.

Edit: One other specific is to turn off following people who for whatever reason you want to friend, but tend to post things you find as crap so you don't see it unless you visit their page.

Edited February 7, 2016 by InternetPoints

[Pallero]

1 hour ago, Dominic said:

I'm currently 19 and at college. I find myself on my phone all the time because it's always more preferable to be sitting on my phone listening to music than doing anything productive. Mainly social media and group messages (and mindlessly on every app etc/changing songs). If I switch it off or delete social media I'll be disconnected because I like to know whats happening in my 'real' friends from my hometown. If I delete the apps I just end up downloading them again. If theres any other advice apart from deleting my accounts I would be grateful

Have you ever found yourself so engaged in some activity that you forget about your phone for a while?

[Dominic]

4 minutes ago, Pallero said:

Have you ever found yourself so engaged in some activity that you forget about your phone for a while?

Yeah when I'm being productive I forget about my phone. But I procrastinate from doing work by using the phone. 

[Guest]

Can't you just get connected with your friends when you're on your computer at home?

Personally, my solution to avoid any further dependence from technology was to buy a simple cellphone that basically only serves to make calls and send text messages...

[Reset20]

Fear of missing out, that's what it's called nowadays. Try putting the phone away and notice what happens inside your body. Feel a bit stressed? Nervous? Don't walk away from that feeling but jump right in and 'see' how it melts. Works for me :-)

Ask yourself this: what is really missing at this moment? (Eckhart Tolle)

[Guest]

It is the same as attachment to things or ideas.  Your identity is defined by the things that you are attached to.  If you see the mechanics of that which  captivates your attention then you are that much closer to being free of its lure.  Any attachment is a limitation to realizing freedom.  We are not meaning "freedom from" something nor "freedom to do" something, but realizing the very freedom that you are, your true nature when you are free of the attachments elicited by limiting thought (personal mind).

joy

Edited February 7, 2016 by walt

[Erica]

The important thing to remember is to use your phone consciously. It would seem that people tend to use their phones with asking themselves why. My close friends and I notice that even while on the path of self-actualization, we still have periods of being more absorbed in technology. Perhaps it starts as a way of promoting our work and after a few days, we are checking to see how many likes we have received. At one point, I realized I NEVER want to check the Internet just to see how many likes I have!

So, what we’ve done is designated Internet free hours and days. Start slow. It’s like any addiction. I would initially try and spend the first hour of the morning not looking at your phone. Then progress to two hours, then three. Then consider taking Sundays off, completely away from your phone. It will be uncomfortable. You’ll want to look at it! But the longer you are away from it, the better you’ll get. As with anything, it’s about practice. Also if you do it with your friends, you hold each other accountable and it’s fun. It actually feels like a luxury to me to not look at my phone! You can meditate, read, journal, make art. You will never regret getting to know yourself. While you’re absorbed in your phone, your mind is shut off, and that’s ultimately not what you want. You’ll start to see unconscious Internet use for what it is, and when you do that, you won’t really desire it any longer.

[Psychonaut]

Have you tried meditating? I have found it helps with the urge to always do something. Even if it just scrolling through your apps mindlessly. I used to always listen to music and stare at my phone, but after I started meditating I can appreciate the things around me more and I don't really use my phone that much.

[Dominic]

1 hour ago, Psychonaut said:

Have you tried meditating? I have found it helps with the urge to always do something. Even if it just scrolling through your apps mindlessly. I used to always listen to music and stare at my phone, but after I started meditating I can appreciate the things around me more and I don't really use my phone that much.

Yeah I've been meditating for 3 months and it works really well. Hopefully I'll be able to resist the Internet more after a few more months

[Pallero]

11 hours ago, Dominic said:

Yeah when I'm being productive I forget about my phone. But I procrastinate from doing work by using the phone. 

So you already know that if you have something interesting enough to do, the phone becomes less interesting. That's a good realization.

Procrastination from work is normal. Do you feel like the feeling of boredom can be difficult for you to handle? So the instant you become even slightly bored, you take out your phone? In any case, the phone is not the problem. You could just as well be using something else to procrastinate. Some people get rid of an addiction by replacing it with another addiction.

I agree with the above comments that you could get a little bit more mindful of the addiction if you can. Notice the urge that makes you take out your phone. Chances are the phone is in your hand so fast that you don't even realize how it gets there. Just notice the urge. Notice the moment when you think "I want my phone". Then take out your phone as you normally would and see what happens. Relief? Numbness? Take note of that. Say to yourself "hmm, how interesting".  As you are browsing on your phone, ask yourself "what am I doing now and why?" and "how hard would it be to put the phone away right now?"

Just experiment and be patient and curious. Imagine you are doing an interesting study on phone addictions and you are studying you. You can even take notes if you like writing. Try to understand what is happening.

[Arthur M]

No need to delete or take drastic measures. I was addicted to video games at some point but like mentioned above I've noticed a pattern. We like to do things that are routine, that we are used to do, that we are good at. It reached the point where you do it unconsciously. Try to substitute your phone handling habit with something else of interest that will be productive in the long run. Working out, reading books (non fiction), approaching people and talking to them, make new friends, baking, It could be anything as long as it involves implementing a new and useful skill in your arsenal. And expect negative response from your body, but give it some time, let the new activity fall into you unconscious routine  In the mean time, it helps to have a schedule you go by. If you planned to take a nap, do the laundry or walk your dog from 3p - 4p make sure that's what you are doing and don't do a half assed job while daydreaming about a post on facebook. Give it all your attention. good luck