Phone Addiction: How Smartphone Use Can Affect Your Brain?

Whether it’s about sending an email or buying something online, we use our smartphones almost regularly. In short, we have almost become reliant on the small device that we carry in our pockets every day.

Yes, we understand – it’s become almost impossible to live without a smartphone, especially in today’s world. However, if we are not too careful, excessive usage of our mobile can also lead to something known as screen addiction.

Just the way you need to choose the best rehabilitation center for substance abuse, such as Ocean Recovery ideas, for this particular issue, you need special care. You may take the help of a psychiatrist, but your recovery from the same will be upon you and you alone.

Does that sound too frightening?

Well, there’s no need to worry. As long as you know the adverse effects of smartphones and have control over yourself, you can surely get out of the addiction.

Table of Contents

What Is Smartphone Addiction?

Phone addiction, in essence, is the obsessive usage of a smartphone. If left untreated, it can lead to a condition known as “nomophobia.” It is about being in fear of not having a smartphone in your hands all the time.

However, there’s not much to complain about, as smartphones are designed to be addictive.

Whether it’s the colors, the features, or the vibration, the device will keep you engaged as long as possible. Alongside this, the inclusion of social media has, indeed, made an impact on the same as well.

For example, the “pull to refresh” feature was made to mimic the same of casino games or other slot machines.

Therefore, we cannot put all the blame on ourselves, at least not when it comes to smartphone addiction. But, what we can do is recognize this issue and try controlling the same ourselves.

What Are The Symptoms Of Smartphone Addiction?

In essence, there’s a fine line between compulsive and healthy usage of mobile phones.

While it’s okay to use the smartphone for all of your purposes, relying too much upon it can lead to addiction.

But, how are you going to distinguish between the two – normal usage and phone addiction? Let’s find out!

Lying regarding the usage of the smartphone.
Looking at the screen of your device even when you are not doing anything.
Checking someone else’s profile continuously due to anxiety.
Using a phone for a prolonged period, without stopping even once.
Prioritizing your mobile over everything else, even the office work or career.
Getting isolated from your family members or loved ones.
Having a non-existent or weak social life.
Getting up in the middle of the night to check up on your phone.
Feeling a lack of connection with everyone else.
Taking the phone in your hand whenever you are
Having trouble or neglecting duties in the office.
Finding it difficult to limit the usage of phones.
Experiencing phantom vibrations (hearing the buzzing of the phone even when it doesn’t buzz).
Having a fear of missing out.
Craving access to your phone or any other similar device.

Aside from this, you may also experience a sense of anxiety whenever you cannot find your mobile phone anymore. It’s pretty annoying, we know – but that’s what addiction does to you.

How Does Smartphone Affect Your Brain?

Using a smartphone for a prolonged period can affect your brain massively. Keep reading to learn more about this aspect.

Negative Impact – 1: Affects Your Cognitive Ability

According to a study, a smartphone can change your brain chemistry to some extent, as it saves you from thinking or analyzing too much. This, in turn, can affect your ability to memorize or focus on something positively.

Negative Impact – 2: Emotional-Social Skills

Talking through chat or texts can affect the social talking skills of an individual massively. Besides, due to their addiction, they tend to ignore real people and use their phones, even while walking outside.

Aside from this, people suffering from mobile addiction can also become emotionally blunt, to some extent. Usually, they tend to be anxious all the time, and their level of depression rises, even more, when their favorite person doesn’t text them back.

This, in turn, can lead to emotional imbalance and prompt them to lash out at someone at the slightest annoyance. People with severe addiction can also lose their problem-solving skills to some extent and stop interacting with everyone altogether.

Negative Impact – 3: Disrupted Sleep

Using your smartphone for a prolonged period before going to sleep can affect your health even more. Here’s how.

Experiencing screen time before sleeping will keep your brain awake for a prolonged period. It will affect your sleep cycle and make it impossible for you to rest properly.
If you keep your phone near your pillow, it might ring all of a sudden and wake you up in the middle of the night. It may disrupt your sleeping schedule as well.

Sometimes, you may simply stay up at night while aimlessly scrolling through your phone. It usually happens during the latter stage of your mobile addiction. If you don’t control the same as quickly as possible, it can lead to insomnia as well.

Wrapping It All Up!

Unlike drugs and alcohol, smartphone addiction may not seem something as life-threatening at first. However, like the other two, it can affect your life pretty negatively if you don’t control your behavior quickly.

In our opinion, an individual can treat the issue of mobile addiction all by themselves. Nonetheless, if your problem is too prominent and has become uncontrollable to some extent, you’ll have to visit a psychiatrist today.

However, if you are suffering from drug addiction, then trying anything by yourself isn’t going to be beneficial for you. For that, you will have to visit an addiction care center and follow some tips to stay sober as well.

Hopefully, it will all work out in the end for you!