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Why Should You Kick Your Digital Addiction?

Millennials interact more with their smartphones than they do with actual humans. According to research, 39% interact more with smartphones than partners, parents, friends, children or co-worker.

digital addiction
Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash

Digital Addiction – When was the last time you spent a day without your smartphone? When was the last time you spoke to your friend without checking your message? What is the first thing you do in the morning when you get up? You reach out to your smartphone. Carrying a phone to the bathroom is a habit for many of us. Are you frequently checking your phone or spending most of the time online? Well, you are having digital addiction. When we say screen time is addicting, we mean it. Millennials interact more with their smartphones than they do with actual humans. According to research, 39% interact more with smartphones than partners, parents, friends, children or co-worker.

This article will help you out with all the required information you need to know about this disorder.

What is digital addiction?

The disorder, that insists an individual use mobile devices, the Internet, or playing video games frequently. It results in an adverse impact on the user. This disorder is also known as internet addiction or technology addiction.

Types of digital addictions:

Phone Addiction

It is a dependence syndrome, where users overuse their phones for which they negatively get affected in their everyday life. This disorder can result in behavioural issues and underlying personality issues as well. The person suffers from anxiety, depression for which they opt to use his/her device to receive some sort of comfort.

Social Media Addiction

If the person spends maximum time on social media sites obsessively then they are completely suffering from this particular addiction. There is no diagnosed medication for this addiction, but the overuse of a particular social media platform shows the deterioration in gratification and happiness levels sighted in these users.

Internet Addiction

This addiction seems like an impulse control disorder. The user suffers from a turmoil between reality and virtuality. These users spend most of their time online excessively and involve a higher risk of overspending over games and gambling.

Nowadays, folks like to keep in contact with friends and family via a variety of digital platforms. They avoid connecting in person and may also lose the ability of verbal communication. These users tend to feel chatting or texting is much better than connecting offline. This practice leads to the incapability of making real-life connections, and these people depend more on having a cyber relationship. Clinical therapy is needed to deal with this addiction.

Signs and symptoms of digital addiction:

1. You will notice that you are mostly distracted by the digital world.
2. You strive hard to be connected online to achieve satisfaction.
3. Efforts you have given to stop using digital services are mostly futile.
4. You like to stay online without any important factor.
5. It feels restless, depressing, and moody when asked to stay away from digital life.
6. Has risked the loss of a crucial connection, employment, academic or career opportunity because of the internet.
7. Severely lying to your family and counsellor to extend the involvement of the internet in your life.
8. You want to escape from the real issues or get relief from the dysphoric mood by keeping yourself online.

How to treat digital addiction:

  1. The first step of this treatment is to plan an inversion. Medications are also used in some cases to treat symptoms of underlining psychological issues and control thoughts of going online.
  2. Awareness – It is important to know that you are having an addiction and confront it. If you do not admit you have this addiction, you are not going to work on it. Be aware of this problem, and start noticing how much time you spend on that app that doesn’t add value to your life. Make a note of your screen time in your journal.
  3. Choose an alternative activity – Once you admit your addiction, you need to make a list of chores you want to get done instead of spending time on screen. It may be a book you always wanted to read, cookies you wanted to bake or that morning yoga routine. Plan your daily activities when you get up in the morning.  
  4. Keep your phone away – Always keep your smartphone out of your reach and promise yourself that you are not going to check that notification until you cook that dinner or after spending your time with your loved ones.
  5. Spend time in nature – Try to take this as a challenge and keep your phone away when you are on vacation or while spending time in nature.

What do you think?

Written by TEAM WSL

At Whatshelikes, we keep the millennial woman updated with everything that’s happening around her be it fashion & lifestyle, health, events, movie reviews to name a few. We consistently strive to bring a gamut of authentic content from all across the country at just a click.

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