8 different effective ways to get rid of smartphone addiction

The use of smartphones is a part of our life nowadays. We use our smartphone for literally everything these days. But there is no doubt, we all have the habit of scrolling across the unlimited news feed on Facebook and Instagram, without thinking of other avenues to spend our free time. This is indeed a kind of addiction we all need to cope with. Excessive use of smartphones has a long term impact on your mental health, and the same can also have a very negative impact on our productivity, which is something nobody wants. Fortunately, if you want to get rid of smartphone addiction, there are a number of ways you can do that.

Depending upon the type of addiction for your smartphone, there are a number of ways you can deal with it. Most people are basically addicted to scrolling the news feed, which I just said, playing some games, or simply doing nothing on the smartphone, just because they want to ignore socializing or do something useful. So, it is really useful to get rid of the addiction for smartphones, and today I will talk about some of the effective ways to cope with and get rid of addiction for smartphones. Addiction for smartphones is as bad as an addiction for anything else, and thus, it shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt.

So, without any further delay, let’s get started with the different ways to get rid of addiction for smartphones.

Turn off notifications

Most mobile apps these days continuously notify you about what’s new. These notifications come with catchy headlines so that you pick up the phone, unlock it, and have a look at the content of the notification. So, if you want to keep working with full concentration, frequent notifications will eventually distract you and you will always feel like opening the notification content and then keep using the smartphone for the next few minutes before you get back to work.

These unnecessary notifications keep you glued to your phone which eventually makes you addicted to your smartphone. I’m not saying that all notifications from all apps are useless, but the majority of notifications that you get on your smartphone are meant for promotional activities, which you can view later on. If you have certain apps, which give you both useful and unnecessary notifications, you can use the Notification Bundle feature available on Android, since Android 9.0 Pie. Enabling the ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode is also a great way to keep away notifications when you do not need them. You should also uninstall unnecessary apps as those apps keep notify you about things you will hardly need.

Uninstall social networking apps

If you have the habit of scrolling the news feed on Facebook or Instagram, uninstall all those social networking apps and messaging apps as well. I am not asking you to uninstall WhatsApp or other messaging apps, which are meant only for the mobile platform, and uninstalling them will render the services unusable, but, if you uninstall Facebook, Facebook Messenger you can still use the services. The experience is great if you are using the Facebook official apps and just because of that, you eventually end up using Facebook or other social networks more than usual.

We don’t want to leave our comfort zone and that’s why the use of social networking apps eventually makes us more attracted to our smartphones. Uninstall Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and other apps, as you can use Google Chrome or other web browsers to open the websites and the experience will not be that good. You will eventually end up using social networking websites less than usual which can also have a direct impact on your smartphone usage and smartphone addiction at the end of the day. Furthermore, if you do not have anything useful to do on Instagram or other popular mobile-only social networking websites, uninstall those apps as keeping the unnecessary apps eventually adds more fuel to your smartphone addiction.

Cut down on gaming time on your smartphone

There are a lot of people, who love playing games on their smartphone and there is no doubt, smartphone gaming is a real thing nowadays. There are a number of popular titles available on smartphones these days, and intensive smartphone gaming eventually makes you more addicted to your smartphone. If you start playing some addictive games on your smartphones like PUBG or other addictive titles, it is high time that you gave up smartphone gaming.

Giving up smartphone gaming isn’t very easy, and what you can do in order to reduce the number of hours to play smartphone games is to uninstall those games, after you play them. If you want to play a game, you can play that on your smartphone, and after you complete the game, just uninstall that game from your smartphone. So, if you want to play the game, you need to download it before you can start playing. This will eventually frustrate you for the first few days, and as the initial investment for playing your game has increased, you will start giving up smartphone gaming which will eventually make you use your smartphone less than normal. Smartphone gaming is real trouble for a number of users. I will also talk about ample ways to get rid of smartphone gaming addiction in a different story.

Limit your bedtime smartphone usage

Most of us have the habit of using the smartphone before going to sleep. Using a smartphone before going to bed is not at all recommended as it disrupts our sleeping cycle. Furthermore, studies have also shown, use of smartphones at night is one of the main culprits behind making us more addicted to our smartphones and insomnia. As it is the resting time for human beings while we go to bed, we consider using the smartphone to be a part of the comfort zone and eventually, we keep using the smartphone more than usual.

Giving up smartphone usage at night might not be that easy, but you can and take a number of steps to limit smartphone usage at night. You can enable the ‘Wind Down’ mode available on Android devices, which is a part of the ‘Digital Wellbeing’ by Google to limit smartphone usage. You can additionally disable Wi-Fi and mobile data at night so that you do not keep getting notifications and you need to stay up all night to keep replying to those notifications. Giving up smartphone usage at night might not be that easy, but once you can do that, you have come a long way in giving up smartphone addiction. You can also read a book, listen to a podcast, or play some soothing sounds to make yourself fall asleep quickly.

Use a digital wellbeing app

Google has its own Digital Wellbeing feature on stock Android devices. However, if you are using a different device, you can also download a more functional digital wellbeing app to keep track of the apps that you use the most. That way you can understand or find out the culprit app, and you can impose a limit on the use of that particular app to cut down on your smartphone usage. The Digital Wellbeing app by Google will automatically close the app once you exhaust the time assigned to that app.

You can also use this particular digital wellbeing app, which will show a small timer to help you get information about how long you have used that particular app. A digital wellbeing app of some sort is definitely going to give you more insights on which app used the most. That way, you can uninstall the app or keep a tab on the usage of the particular app and limit your smartphone usage. You should consider the insights seriously, to cut down on smartphone addiction. Also See: ActionDash: Best Digital Wellbeing or Screen Time 

Keep your smartphone away from the bed

Checking the smartphone for the latest notifications and messages is something that most of us do after we wake up. This is yet another evidence of smartphone addiction, and checking the smartphone as the first task of the day also makes us more lethargic for the rest of the day. If you keep your smartphone close to your bed or on your bed, there is no doubt, you will check the smartphone as soon as you wake up. The only way to prevent that is to keep your smartphone away from your bed, on the table or at a small distance from your bed.

This relates to my previous way of reducing smartphone usage. If you can stop using the smartphone at night, it is always possible to keep the smartphone at a different place and sleep peacefully. The smartphone kept at a little distance serves two different purposes. If you are addicted towards your smartphone at the first place, the urge to check your smartphone will help you get out of the bed quickly, and as soon as you get accustomed to not using the smartphone after you wake up, it will also be a panacea to your smartphone addiction in the long run. You should also use a run of the mill alarm clock, instead of using your smartphone as the alarm clock, and studies have shown, it can also help you cut down on smartphone usage and keep away smartphone addiction.

Get a hobby or develop some good interest

Most people have the habit of using their smartphones simply because they do not have anything to do. If you are one of them, who always keep using the smartphone when free, it is high time that you got a hobby. You can read a storybook, socialize with your friends in the real world, or do something productive instead of using the smartphone. I know, it can be really frustrating to get a hobby by giving up your smartphone usage, but this can be useful in the long run.

If you really want to keep using the smartphone, you can also develop some other interests, which are associated with a smartphone. For example, you can listen to podcasts, watch some informative documentaries, or do some similar kind of work on your smartphone and that can also give you some useful information without keeping your smartphone aside. Try to learn some new skills while using the smartphone and then find ways to implement them in your real life. That is also another way you can give up excessive use of smartphones for things that do not add any value to your life.

Do some household work

Do you have a lot of time in your hand on a holiday? If that is the case, you can use it for something useful instead of using your smartphone to keep scrolling on the social network news feed. Try to clean your home, reorganize the place where you live, or do some other household chores. Everything will involve a lot of time and you can keep yourself away from the smartphone by doing those activities.

What I want to say is, you should find some other ways and try to keep yourself engaged in some other kinds of activities, which is not associated with your digital world or your smartphone. You can also try preparing new recipes, play some outdoor or indoor games with your friends, and that will definitely help you keep your smartphone away and reduce smartphone addiction in the most effective way.

Furthermore, there are a number of other ways in order to reduce smartphone addiction. You should try not to use a smartphone while taking meals, and try not to use your smartphone at all at least once in every week. If you need to use your phone for making and receiving calls, try to keep your smartphone limited to only those emergency tasks. You can also find out a place close to you, where the internet connectivity is not that good so that you can enjoy the true essence of that place and do not use your smartphone at all in that location. However, depending upon the place where you live you might not find such a place nearby. Always try out the other methods that I have discussed here and that will definitely reduce your smartphone addiction in the most effective way.

So, those were different ways to reduce smartphone usage. Do you know any other great way to reduce smartphone addiction? Feel free to comment on the same below.

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