We live in a super-connected world where we have become glued to our devices, being highly dependent on them for almost everything we do on a daily basis. Apart from using them for various tasks related to our work, we depend on them to tell us where the nearest restaurant is, what the weather will be like, what events are happening nearby, and we use them to order food, book tickets, check into a hotel – the list goes on and on.
The biggest culprits for our devices enslaving us are definitely social media, as I’m sure you are fully aware of. What about you? Do you check your phone immediately upon waking up? Are you so easily distracted by notifications (social media, text messages, email) that you cannot even have a normal conversation with a person sitting next to you? Do you feel unable to resist checking your phone every few minutes?
If that is the case, then you are certainly addicted to technology, whether you want to admit it or not. As a matter of fact, the sooner you accept the fact, the sooner you will actually snap out of it and regain full control of your life.
You may not think that technology addiction is bad, but it is actually hurting both yourself, as you are missing out on all the wonderful things happening around you by constantly staring at your phone, and your friends and loved ones, who certainly feel that you value your Facebook feed and what-not more than you value them. Don’t be that person. Take the following steps and deal with your technology addiction.
Realize That This Truly Is a Form of Addiction
Excessive use of technology creates almost the same chemical reactions in the brain as addictions to various drugs. Therefore, this really is a form of addiction, especially because you generally experience a “high” when you’re online and have typical withdrawal symptoms when you’re offline. This form of addiction can also lead to depression, ADD and OCD.
When you are so used to your smartphone, being without it for even the shortest amount of time significantly changes your mood, making you irritable, restless and anxious, especially because you find it extremely difficult to pass the time. As a result, your health and your social life are negatively affected.
Hence, if you want to turn your life around and not risk hurting your health and losing people who care about you, you must realize that you have a real addiction that should be dealt with.
Go Cold Turkey for a Part of the Day
Unplugging from your devices for a part of the day can bring you incredible benefits and help you gradually get rid of your addiction. You can go offline for an entire day or a weekend, but it’s probably best to start small, so as not to start detesting the whole idea and go back to your old ways.
This will help you reconnect with your friends and family and feel much better about yourself. Also, when you’re at work, refrain from using your smartphone until the break, which can be an incentive to be more productive. When you start doing this daily, you will eventually stop going online even during your breaks, and you will instead engage in conversations with your colleagues.
Find a Hobby to Occupy Your Mind and Your Hands
Finding a hobby that doesn’t include technology will make you forget about your devices for a while and enable you to spend some quality time either with your loved ones or on your own. Doing something you love will enrich your life, so pick up a good book, go for a walk with friends, exercise, go hiking, camping, swimming – do anything that pleases and relaxes you and have some real fun for once.
Identify the Worst Triggers and Restrict Them
It’s important to pinpoint exactly what triggers your technology addiction so that you can successfully set limits and change your habits. If you want to break free from your social media addiction, make a commitment to check the feed only a few times a day and disable your notifications.
If you’re a passionate gamer, push the pause button for a day or two. If you’re used to binge-watching TV shows, try calling a friend instead to hang out. After restricting your triggers that way and changing your routine, you will eventually beat the addiction.
Get Your Friends and Family Involved
Your friends and family are people who love you unconditionally and want only the best for you. Therefore, involving them in the venture of beating your technology addiction will definitely lead to positive outcomes.
Talk to them openly about your excessive technology usage and ask them to help you out. This is quite similar to engaging in a hobby, as you can engage in numerous fun activities with your loved ones and spend more quality time with them. Even if you decide to simply spend time at home together, do so without technology – talk to each other and reconnect.
Don’t Replace One Addiction with Another
This is never a smart choice because you would quickly be back at square one, being addicted to something new that gives you the “high” that technology is giving you now. Not a single form of addiction is healthy for you, so try and not succumb to another one in order to successfully beat your technology addiction, of after you’ve done so.
Dealing with a technology addiction is definitely challenging but, if you truly decide to live free of it and take back control of your life, start following these steps right now. As soon as you start unplugging and changing your daily routine, you will find that life has so much more to offer. You deserve to live your life to the fullest, so peel your eyes off the screen and look up – the world around you is fantastic and you definitely wouldn’t want to miss a single thing!
