How often do you see someone walking down the street staring at their mobile phone? What about driving, or sitting at dinner, or out with friends? Most of us are hopelessly addicted to our cell phones.
Mobile Phone Dependence Is Real
Do you know where your mobile phone is now? I bet you do and if you don’t you just had a mini panic attack. If you suddenly realize you don’t have your phone on you do you drop what you’re doing and go look for it?
Modern cell phones are incredible tools. A technology we can use to make our lives better. The problem is most of us are being used by that technology instead. Social media is designed to suck you in.
Your phone goes off every time someone interacts with you. And every time your phone goes off you get a little dose of dopamine. It makes you feel good. That’s what dopamine does.
The designers of these platforms know this and use it to suck you in. They don’t want you to leave because the longer you’re plugged in, the more ads they can show you. The more ads they show you, the more money they make.
The more time you spend on these platforms, the more content you generate, the more they reward you. If you want exposure on Facebook, you better be active regularly, or you better be paying for it.
They’re all businesses that rely on your attention and they’ve been designed to take advantage of human psychology to make sure they get it. The more you post, the more your content gets shared. The more your content gets shared, the more interactions you get and the more dopamine bumps you get.
Break The Mobile Phone Dependence
You have to set boundaries. Turn off notifications on your phone for these apps, or don’t have them on your phone at all. Only check them during certain times of the day and after that leave them alone.
Must of us habitually check our phones the second we don’t have something else to do. Break the dependence. Don’t be a slave to your phone. Leave it at home or in the car whenever you can. People got along just fine without them for a very long time. A few hours are no big deal.
Remember to use technology and not to let it use you. If you stop what you’re doing, perk up, and look for your phone any time it chimes then you’ve been trained. It’s the same as a well-trained dog who hears a command. Don’t be the dog, be the wolf.
