Why We Look At Cell Phones So Much (And Tips To Get Rid Of Them)

A lot has changed since 2011. When it comes to technology, Apple had just released the iPhone 4s, with the iOS 5 operating system. blackberry It was still present and quite current, while Huawei had not yet fully entered the market. Little was known then about selfiesTikTok didn’t exist, Instagram launched a few months ago, and Facebook still reigned supreme.

In 2011, the smart phones They were already widely used in much of the world. In fact, that year, 472 million mobile devices were sold to end users. A significant figure, but very far from the current reality: in 2021 alone, more than 1,535 million mobile phones were sold. A figure so high that it is difficult to read it without putting Don Francisco’s voice in Telethon mode.

But the money figures are less chilling than those of our attachment to these devices: in the United States, people unlock their mobile phones an average of 180 times a day : this means that, given about 7 hours of sleep, we look at it every five minutes and we make more than 2,600 clicks or touches per day. 20% of respondents in a study in this country said they would rather go without their shoes for a week than go without their mobile phone.

For this reason, in Europe and the United States, we speak of nomophobia to designate the withdrawal syndrome that produces the estrangement of smartphone. A disputed term, because cell phone addiction is not (yet) classified as a disorder in the approved classifications of mental illnesses. But that takes into account the dimension of the problem: we are excessively dependent on the mobile phone and what it contains.

The question is: is there a way to opt out of its use?

Although the first smart phones appeared at the beginning of this millennium, it took until the second decade for them to sell better than the old mobile phones. This, according to José Pinedo, a psychologist at the UC CHRISTUS network, was a revolution. “A window has been opened to the world, in terms of social media, video, news, music and entertainment that you can take anywhere.” This offer of unlimited access, he adds, “is what generates this excessive dependency, associated with the need to be constantly connected”.

“Most of the research on this subject focuses on the use of social networks,” adds Jaime Silva, clinical psychologist at Clínica Alemana. Of course, before smart phonesfew have complained about the addiction generated by playing a lot of “snake”. The fact that smartphone use can be problematic in terms of mental health gradually became apparent through apps such as Facebook, Instagram and later TikTok.

Silva, who is also director of the Institute for Socio-Emotional Well-Being at Universidad del Desarrollo, appreciates the possibilities that these devices open up in general, for example, being “in contact with different people and groups”, or distracting and “emotionally regulating” when there’s a lot of stress—but he admits it can also serve as an escape tool not only to responsibilities but also to emotions that can represent psychological discomfort.

It can also generate a series of mental, behavioral and cognitive effects, such as feeling high levels of stress, anxiety and irritation, or developing sleep disturbances and seeing the ability to pay attention, concentrate, processing and retention of affected information. “Today, taking lessons is very difficult: young people are used to a lot of stimuli per second, to everything being fast,” explains José Pinedo.

Another risk of a strong dependence on the smartphone is the loss of a critical mind vis-à-vis the information received. “We talk a lot about fake news, said the psychotherapist. “There’s a very famous meme that says, ‘Never believe everything you see on the internet,’ next to a picture of Abraham Lincoln.”

How do we know if our relationship with the telephone is dangerous? Soledad Garcés, director of the Fundación para la Convivencia Digital, assures that a clear sign is when daily life is altered by its use. “The family complains of abandonment, there are sleep disturbances, anxiety only calms down with the phone in hand, and it is difficult to regulate its use.”

This last sentence is the key. Why is it so hard to stop using the cell phone, or even less of it?

At the beginning of the 1960s, the American psychologist David McClleland presented his most prestigious work: The film company. Based on Pyramid, of Abraham Maslow, McClelland develops in this work his theory of needs, where three motivations are distinguished in people’s action, as unconscious as they are fundamental: the need for affiliation or belonging, the need to be recognized for one’s achievements, and the need for power.

“In the smartphone The three are very stimulated”, explains José Pinedo: “the center of the reward, the motivation of the power, the accomplishment and the belonging. I am the one who decides what I see, when I see it and how I see it. There’s the very addictive feeling that I can move the world with my thumbs. While video games greatly exacerbate the reward of achievement and power, social media drives belonging and recognition.

All this generates a false sense of control, associated with the need for power, something essential for the emotional stability of the human being. “Human beings are always looking for control. The more control we have, the less energy we expend,” says Pinedo.

On the other hand, social networks, endless games like candy crash and gaming apps are designed to stimulate the brain’s reward center, the area that releases the pleasure hormone dopamine. “Social networks are a source of pleasure by offering you content adapted to your needs”, explains Garcés. “Since they also allow you to show yourself to your community, and generate recognition through like or comments, they are very addictive to the human brain”.

The more a person is sensitive to the content available on the smartphone, the more likely they are to develop addictive behaviors, explains Jaime Silva. Of course, the psychologist clarifies that mobile addiction is not only associated with social networks or games, but also with other types of situations, such as parental control. “I have had to see many parents who have nomophobia, the fear of being away from the telephone, because with it they control the ‘well-being’ of their children: where they are, what they do, etc.”

There will always be the mental trap that says, “What if an emergency occurs?” In this sense, while some compare its effects to those of drugs, others, like Soledad Garcés, choose to draw a parallel with gambling, or addiction to pornography or video games. “The treatment is the same in all cases: basically, emotions, impulse control, willpower, anxiety regulation and life habits must be re-educated”, explains the director of the Fundación para la Convivencia Digital .

In 2018, American science journalist Catherine Price published How to terminate your phonea book containing a 30 day plan to quit smoking smartphone and overcome the cravingthis is what they call in English the irrepressible desire to give in to the withdrawal syndrome which produces the abandonment of an addiction.

Among the measures proposed by Price are becoming aware of the time you spend on your mobile on a daily basis —some systems allow you to check it from the “Use time” function—, deleting all types of notifications —or only those that come from the closest core—as well as coping with withdrawal, becoming aware of it, and exercising control over it. For example, every time we pick up the phone, ask yourself, “Do I really need to see the phone right now?” Can I do it longer?”

For Soledad Garcés, it is important to set “short goals” and “encourage rewards that help us encourage healthy digital habits”. Simple things like turning off the phone at night provide benefits like getting better rest, waking up in a good mood, and “having the reward of a more productive day the next day.”

Other tips given by respondents include:

You can set specific times or times when you leave your mobile elsewhere to be, for example, with more people during meals, playing with your children or in a simple meeting. If you keep the smartphone away from you during these times is very complex, an alternative is to turn it off or turn it off.

According to the interviewees, having too many chat groups is a bad practice or a “digital vice”, as Soledad Garcés calls it, which encourages phone addiction. It is best in these cases to keep the number of groups to a minimum and to keep only the most relevant ones. And if it is functional groups, such as lawyers, fear that it will be used for the purpose for which it was created.

José Pinedo says that a good way to get rid of the smart phones it is by eradicating them from certain activities or hobbies that we do with a certain frequency, such as reading, watering the plants, cooking, exercising or whatever. Devote this time and all our attention to the activity and do not worry about the mobile phone.

It’s a classic to leave the mobile phone on the bedside table, right next to the bed. It’s like I don’t care about him, but he stays by my side all night, just in case. Trap, ladies and gentlemen. And to avoid it, the best thing is to lay a trap for the future self: no more smartphone plugged in next, but far. At least this way it won’t be the last thing you see before you fall asleep or the first thing you see when you wake up. This, says Jaime Silva, will also improve your sleep hygiene.

There are people who are in a toxic relationship or overly dependent on their smartphone, but that from time to time they immerse themselves in a detox or a rehab. For example, spending a weekend without checking your cell phone. According to the interviewees, this can be positive, but for it to be really sustained over time, it is necessary to realize that there is a problem of dependency. And then make a decision on what to do about it. Without it, says Pinedo, spending a few days in detox is “like drawing a line in water.”