We hear it almost every day. Social media addiction, smartphones blamed for disconnecting people from the real world and living in a make-believe society with thousands of friends but no real connection. Are smartphones really that addictive? However there’s no denying that the increased access to technology and the internet does affect the way we interact, it can’t be all negative. In this article, we’re going to explore the subject of smartphone addiction and also look into some activities that smartphone made a lot more pleasant and facile.
Getting more knowledge
Sure, it’s easy to blame smartphone addiction when you didn’t finish your homework or didn’t write the article you were supposed to have ready yesterday. However, is there another side of the story? What about all the knowledge we can easily access in just a few taps? How many times did you just pull out the phone to resolve a contradictory talk via Hey Google? Or, how much easier it is to keep track of your daily schedule and actually be a better person thanks to your virtual assistant?
Just like with anything else out there, too much can hurt. However, it’s always up to us to determine the way we use technology if it’s going to be for our benefit or the other way around. Like parents that are denying kids a smartphone because they may become addicted. Of course, you may protect them from starring too much into a screen, however, you’re also denying a part of access to information.
It’s all about habits
With all the bad publicity smartphones get nowadays, it’s very hard to see beyond this smokescreen. After all, you could just use the phone for calling people or sending SMS messages. There’s nobody forcing you to scroll infinitely on Facebook or lose countless hours on 9GAG. And if you would take the smartphone out of the equation, would you spend that time more wisely or you would simply find another distraction?
The so-called smartphone addiction is actually a bad habit that we learned. Yes, learned because not all of us had smartphones around when we were born. Elderly people report the same issue too even though they only got into smartphones 10 years ago. So, just like with any other habit, we can also unlearn it. It’s all about taking small steps into not repeating the same behaviour that leaves you waste hours on a row with your phone in hand. And while we’re not going to turn this article into a psychology lesson, there are countless materials out there on how tiny habits can lead to mind-blowing changes in our behaviour no matter if we want to start a healthy habit or stop a bad one.
What’s easier since smartphones are around?
Well, a lot of things. We already spoke about access to information and planning your day. And even though this is dangerously close to the theme of smartphone addiction we are discussing, smartphones are actually great when you do get bored. Say you’re on a plane trip and forgot to take a book to read, you could easily find a game on your smartphone to make the trip more pleasant. Smartphones also allow us to perform a lot of tasks that until some years back could only be done by being stationary at a desk. Enjoying Canadian online casinos, for example. Even though not everyone has this pastime activity, it’s extremely pleasant for those that enjoy casino games to be able to play their games on the way to work or even during a lunch break. And if online casinos are a step too far for you, Candy Crush is exactly the same thing if you stop to think of it.
Bottom line is that the smartphone itself isn’t addictive. It’s what you do with it that makes it useful or not. We shouldn’t blast a device just because we can’t control the way we are using it.
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