ATLANTA — We have them by our sides night and day. On average, we check our phones 205 times each day. That is once every five minutes.
But should we be worried about being addicted? There are questions you can ask yourself to find out.
“I couldn’t tell you, man. I’m on the phone all day for my job. So, yeah, it’s an enormous amount, I’m sure,” one man told Channel 2 Action News.
Like it or not, phones are a constant part of everyday life for some of us.
“I’ll start going to social media like Instagram or TikTok and just start scrolling, scrolling, scrolling,” another woman said.
“I definitely put like time limits on my apps and stuff for like social media and stuff,” another woman said.
A study from Reviews.org says 81% of people check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up, 66% use their phones on the toilet and 43% consider themselves addicted to their phones.
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“You could wake up and say, ‘I feel depressed today,’ doesn’t mean that you’re clinically depressed. And it’s the same kind of thing here, where you have a very controlled behavior, but it doesn’t mean you need abstinence,” said Dr. Michael Tsappis, psychiatrist and co-director of the clinic for interactive media and internet disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital. “But in the reality of what we do, you’re human, that comes in and says I’m feeling pain or not functioning or both because of this thing and say, ‘Well you know, technology evolves. We’ve got to adapt to it. Let’s figure out a way to make it work for you.’”
Tsappis said we should take two things into consideration before using the word addiction.
“The basic answer is do I feel like I’m suffering in relation to this or am I not doing something functional that I think I should be doing, that I prefer to do,” Tsappis said.
That suffering can look different depending on the person.
“Pain metaphorically is just, you know, suffering, and so suffering could be like impaired relationships, arguing with parents, sleep impairment and fatigue,” Tsappis said.
As for functioning…
“Functioning would be like, I’m up until 2 a.m. when I wake up at 6 a.m. to get ready to go to school, I can’t wake up well enough. And so, I just stay home,” Tsappis said.
Tsappis said turning away from the phone is less about the device itself and more about embracing your life and surroundings.
“There’s a world outside the door, you know, outside of that look up you go. Touch the grass. And there’s a world outside of your little phone,” Tsappis said.
Another piece of advice from the doctor for parents — and this could be for children or adults —write down a list of things you want to do and plan to do. Writing them down serves as a road map for your day, your time, and even your phone.
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