Have you checked your screen time lately?

Beth hadn’t.

But she knew something was off.

Her focus was slipping. She often felt anxious and irritable for no clear reason. And every time that uneasy feeling showed up, she reached for her phone.

She’d open a random app and mindlessly scroll for a few minutes.

Then she’d put the phone down and try to get back to work – only to grab it again five minutes later.

Unlock. Facebook. Instagram. Viber. TikTok. Reddit. Email. Don’t read it. Close it.

Repeat.

Touching her phone became almost like a reflex.

Beth started bringing it to bed, scrolling until her eyes hurt, leaving it right next to her pillow.

Soon she began waking up in the middle of the night just to check it. Her sleep fell apart. Before she even opened her eyes in the morning, she’d already open Facebook wondering:

“Did someone text me? Did I miss a notification?“

Whenever she tried to dive deep into work or get into a flow, her hand moved toward her phone.

It wasn’t even a conscious decision anymore.

She began tracking everything through apps – her meals, her workouts, her sleep, her moods, her meditation, even her period.

It was like her phone had started whispering:

“Hey, I’m here… Touch me… Give me some attention…”

When her family visited one weekend, they went for a walk in the park.

Instead of being fully present, Beth couldn’t stop checking her social media– three times in the first hour, four more in the second. She wasn’t really there with them.

Without realizing it, she became short-tempered and constantly frustrated. Her nervous system was fried. She was anxious but mentally drained, foggy, and unfocused.

Even small decisions were a drag.

What Beth eventually discovered was simple but sobering: she was exposing herself to thousands of interruptions a day. Her brain was overloaded. Concentration wasn’t just hard; it had become impossible.

How Do We Get Addicted To Our Phones?

Phone addiction is becoming more and more common nowadays, especially among kids, but many adults suffer from it too.

That’s because smartphones simply hack our biology.

The constant excitement of getting new messages, updates, deals, or calls multiple times per day literally fries our dopamine receptors – the exact same way binge smoking or taking drugs would.

On one hand, it triggers the reward center in the brain, just like a slot machine, making you want to check again and again:

what’s new,
do you have new messages, likes, comments,
how many people viewed your story?

On the other hand, the brain is simply not wired to process so much constant stimulation.

So, you get addicted.

You can’t stop checking your phone, even though all that nonstop info fries your brain. You can’t calm down, can’t focus, and your attention span shrinks to the size of a needle.

You tell yourself you’ll focus this time. No phone.

But five minutes later, there it is in your hand again, like your body moved on autopilot.

That’s how addiction works. You want to stop, but you can’t.

With endless apps, chats, news, and notifications, your brain never gets a break. The overload creeps in so slowly you barely notice.

One day, you just realize you’ve been touching your phone hundreds of times without thinking.

And even if you don’t fully notice it, your body does. You start feeling anxious when your phone’s not around. You get restless, stressed, and empty – like you’re missing something important. Eventually, it you stop feeling present.

You ultimately get depressed.

Some Signs You Might Be Addicted To Your Phone

Your screen time averages more than two hours a day.
You take your phone everywhere – to the bathroom, at the dinner table, even to bed.
You check it the moment you wake up.
You grab it whenever you’re bored, anxious, or have a free five seconds.
Waiting without your phone feels uncomfortable.
The idea of not checking it for half a day freaks you out.
A full day without it? Unthinkable.
When you try to stay away, you get anxious until you cave and check it.
You struggle to sleep without your phone nearby.
You feel drained and unproductive because you can’t stay focused without interrupting yourself to look at it.

If you catch yourself becoming dependent on your phone, it might be time to regain control over your phone and yourself.

As mentioned in this article, being glued to your phone isn’t just about wasting time.

Life is so much more than being productive and constantly checking off to-do items from your list.

It’s about having fun, enjoying it, learning, experiencing new things – basically, living it.

Every moment you spend distracting yourself by checking someone’s social media, browsing your newsfeed, or mindlessly scrolling through memes, videos, or celebrity gossip, you’re not actually living. You’re wasting your time and energy, and getting nothing in return.

It’s like feeding yourself junk food all the time.

Once you see that your phone might be holding you back, it’s time to take control. Start treating it like what it is, like a tool, not your best friend or therapist.

Like any addiction, phone dependency slowly chips away at your confidence and self-control. But that’s not who you are. You want to feel strong, focused, and in charge of your life.

And you can, as soon as you stop letting a habit run the show!

You can take your power back.

How to Break Your Phone Addiction and Free Your Mind Again

The first step is becoming aware that your phone use might have bacome a problem.

Start by monitoring your daily screen time. Notice if you constantly think about your phone or if you struggle with the discomfort of not having it nearby.

Especially when you’re in a social situation, bored, or upset.

Ideally, it shouldn’t matter whether your phone is within reach or not.

But if you catch yourself feeling uneasy or sad without it, that’s your sign to start working on tolerating time off.

In my experience, the best approach to any addiction is radical.

If you can’t bring yourself to delete social media from your phone, set all app time limits to zero minutes. Commit to checking them just once a day, and keep it short, no more than 5–10 minutes.

Here’s what worked for me:

No phone first thing in the morning. You can check it for 10–15 minutes, ideally once you’re already at work and sipping your morning coffee.
“Cheat” the fear of missing out. Schedule 10 minutes in the evening, after dinner, to check all your messages, updates, and news – like you would read the newspaper.
Leave your phone out of the bedroom when you go to sleep. If you can’t, turn on “Do Not Disturb” and allow only urgent calls from family. Still, keep the phone away from your bed.
Set a work profile that silences all notifications when you’re working or focusing on a project. Allow only incoming calls.
Replace bedtime scrolling with something that actually helps you relax like reading, journaling, or watching a movie.
Log out of social media on your laptop so you’re not tempted to doomscroll there. Set up two-factor authentication through your phone (which, ideally, is charging outside your bedroom). That little bit of friction,(having to log in), makes it harder to slip into mindless use.
Silence all notifications. You probably haven’t realized how many apps constantly bombard you with updates. You don’t need any of them besides DMs and calls. Nothing else is urgent or needs your immediate attention. Don’t let your phone hijack your focus every 10 minutes.

The Bad Consequences of Being Addicted to Your Phone on Your Focus and Attention

Unfortunately, phone addiction is becoming more and more linked to both depression and anxiety.

A friend of mine told me just yesterday:

“I can’t stop watching reels on Instagram before bed.

I just scroll and scroll and then feel like crap. Most of those reels, I’ve no idea why I even watch them.

Pamela Anderson’s new boyfriend, random news from the other side of the world…will this new comet hit the Earth? I open Instagram like a hundred times a day.

There’s so much information I really don’t need.

At the end of the day, I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. I honestly feel like a failure.”

And most of us have felt exactly like that.

But if you’re addicted to your phone, that doesn’t mean you’re weak or powerless.

The truth is, anything that gives quick dopamine hits is hard to resist.

Just like cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs, your brain gets those same “feel-good” surges when you see likes, DMs, new friend requests, or notifications.

Of course your smartphone has the power to hook you.

If you don’t take steps to break this addiction, it slowly chips away at your focus, productivity, and ability to be fully present. It even lowers your overall life satisfaction.

The first step to becoming genuinely confident and powerful is cutting out the habits and addictions that hold you back. That’s how you build an upward spiral toward achieving your goals and dreams.

So why not start by breaking your phone addiction right now?

If you want to quit smoking, here are some articles about people who successfully did it and how they managed to quit for good:

The most effective way to quit smoking permanently

10 things to do when you get smoke cravings

Sticky notes when you get smoke cravings

How to fix your lack of focus and concentration

How to make life interesting and exciting

Dealing with anxiety

The reason you may be constantly dissatisfied

TheThinkAbout is a website based on psychology in practice and experience.

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