My smartphone was once a useful tool that helped me connect with friends and family. Over time, it has become a source of disruption in my life. I have struggled with productivity, sleep, and relationships due to excessive phone use. After realizing the negative impact, I took practical steps to reduce my dependence on it and have succeeded in restoring balance to my life. Below, I discuss how my smartphone slowly took over my life and the steps I have taken to regain control. Check out healthier ways to spend time online instead of on social media.
1. It disrupted my sleep cycle.
My phone was robbing me of the luxury of a good night’s sleep. I was constantly checking notifications, texting, and scrolling through social media late at night, pushing my bedtime further and further behind. The blue light emitted from my phone screen disrupted my production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep cycles.
Overexposure to stimulating content made it difficult for me to calm my mind, and I would often wake up in the middle of the night to check notifications.
To combat this pattern, I set myself a digital curfew. I put my phone in a different room or away from my bed to resist the urge to constantly check it. I also use dark mode, which helps reduce the impact on melatonin production. These changes have helped me get the restful sleep I so desperately needed.
2. I have reduced my face-to-face interactions.
While messaging apps and social media have connected people across distances, they have also reduced face-to-face interactions. Whether at a family dinner, a social gathering, or a casual get-together with friends, our phones often draw our attention to the screen rather than the conversation going on around us.
I found myself physically present but mentally elsewhere, a habit that my friends and family often complained about. It strained my relationships with some of the people I care about. I now try to keep my phone in my pocket when I meet people. I even ask everyone to turn on silent, put their phones away, and take a break from screens.
3. My productivity has decreased.
You can’t be productive at work if your phone is always within reach — a lesson I learned the hard way. What used to start with a quick phone check often turned into a half-hour of mindless scrolling. This took a toll on my productivity. The single ping of a notification would distract me and send me back to check my messages.
The urge to respond immediately was disrupting my focus, pushing important tasks aside. Even after returning to work, I was still busy interacting.
But now I keep my phone away from me while I work and use app blockers to block social media distractions and mute notifications. I also use time tracking apps to schedule short breaks when I allow myself to check my phone. These changes have gradually helped me regain the productivity I was losing. Check out the best apps you can use to prioritize tasks at work.
4. My anxiety levels are high.
Whether it was upsetting news, online arguments, or sensitive content, I would stare at it for hours, making it clear that my smartphone was adding to my anxiety.
Despite my efforts, I failed to stop comparing myself to others. I was constantly worrying about how many likes my posts got and obsessing over how many people responded to my status updates. Every time I heard a notification, I would check my phone and stare at the screen, which only exacerbated the negative impact on my mental health.
To manage my anxiety, I now stop using social media, track my device usage to determine which apps are the most time-consuming, and mute my notifications. I now only check my phone once every hour or two and leave it alone when I go out. These changes have greatly reduced my anxiety. Check out some reasons to stay off social media altogether.
5. Neck strain, eye fatigue and other problems
In addition to affecting my mental health, excessive smartphone use also affected my physical health. Constantly looking at and using my phone while lying down was putting a lot of pressure on my neck and spine. This was causing severe discomfort, stiffness, and even chronic pain over time.
Staring at a screen for too long, especially with the blue light emitted from the device, was impairing my vision and often giving me headaches. I was also experiencing hand and wrist pain from holding my phone and typing on it for long periods. As things got worse, I took steps to manage these issues.
I set my screen time for the apps that most often kept me glued to my phone and set time limits to shut myself off after a certain period. Now, I always use the eye comfort feature to reduce my exposure to blue light. I also maintain proper posture when using my phone and avoid excessive typing. These changes have helped me manage my smartphone overuse. Check out how I tweaked my gaming setup to relieve chronic pain and make the experience more comfortable.
6. It made me spend more money unintentionally.
My phone was also a burden on my wallet. Since my credit card information was stored on my phone, I made impulse purchases. Constant notifications from shopping apps led me to spend on things I didn’t need. I often gave in to the urge to grab a deal on video games.
I also had a habit of starting a trial period for premium app subscriptions and forgetting to cancel, which led to unintended charges. It took me a while to realize that one-click purchases were causing me to go over my budget.
To curb my bad spending habits, I removed my credit card information from my phone, disabled one-click purchases, uninstalled shopping apps, canceled my subscription to unnecessary services, and started using expense tracking apps to monitor my monthly spending.
7. My privacy is still at his mercy.
The more attached I am to my smartphone, the more my privacy is at risk. Many of the apps we use frequently require access to personal information during installation. While some permissions such as location data, contacts, and browsing history can be managed to some extent, there is still information that apps and services track without our consent.
Some platforms sell this data to questionable parties. So, every time I downloaded a new app, I felt like I was giving another company a chance to invade my privacy.
While I can’t guarantee that my activity is completely private, I now take steps to protect it as much as possible. I carefully review privacy policies before installing new apps, stick to apps from official sources, and avoid third-party platforms. I don’t accept data-sharing agreements, use disposable email addresses to create accounts, and always keep my VPN turned on.
8. It has turned me into a social media addict.
Social media addiction was the worst thing that happened since I started using smartphones. With most social media apps just a tap away, hardly a day went by without using them. A single notification from these apps was enough to make me scroll aimlessly for hours. I used to post everything I did on social media to share with my friends. Check out these important steps before deleting your social media accounts: Tips to manage the process smartly.
Likewise, I always wanted to stay up to date with what all my friends were doing. This habit consumed a large part of my day. It also fostered an unhealthy tendency to compare myself to others, affected my mental health, made my life more open to my friends, and exposed me to the myriad harmful effects associated with social media.
I now use the time tracking tools built into my phone and social media apps to manage my usage, and I no longer share personal life updates on social media platforms.
These are some of the ways smartphones have negatively impacted my life and how I finally took control of them. If you too are struggling with smartphone overuse, the above tips might help you kick the habit. Remember, it took me a few months to cut down on my smartphone usage. It may seem difficult at first, but with time, I hope you can handle it too. Now, let’s take a look at the main scenarios where you should stop using your phone.
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