It Really Is Your Phone!
We at The Edge understand the importance of staying on top of trends, technology and media in general. The digital age demands the average person to interact with technology on a constant basis. But when is enough, enough? Read more to understand the true impact of phone usage and excessive media consumption.
The noise of daily media, whether social or news related, has begun to outshine the average sound of peace in boredom, stillness in slow pace and connection in true social interaction. The average American is said to consume 6-12 hours of media daily, either from television, news sources or social media apps. To understand the reason behind this statistic, we must first comprehend the addictive nature that technology thrives off of.
Just by the phone structure alone, our dopamine receptors are completely dependent on the hit of a notification, whether that be a message from a friend or a like on social media. On top of that, the blue light that radiates off the phone increases alertness and arousal, usually disrupting sleep patterns and providing a perfect environment for nightly doom scrolling.
Social media acts as the perfect catalyst for this (specifically apps like Instagram and TikTok), as they provide an endless opportunity to consume more content, leading the mind to wander into a thoughtless “doom.” This decreases our attention span, weakens our dopamine receptors and can even alter mood levels and symptoms of anxiety and depression. (Us humans were never meant to scroll once and see footage from a war-torn city, then swipe to a video of an upbeat and trending TikTok dance. It’s not natural for our primal instincts to handle this variety of feelings and events within mere seconds.)
The facts are the facts, but what can you do to make an actual difference in your phone's addictive tendencies? It’s easy to try to set a time limit on your apps, then override them when your willpower inevitably fades. Instead, try these more cold turkey strategies, even for a week, and determine whether or not you feel more mental clarity:
Make a list of apps you spend too much time on and delete them
It doesn’t matter if it's TikTok, Instagram, Twitter or even a game-oriented app; deleting the apps that eat up your time is the first step into gaining your power back. Look into your settings to see which apps have the highest screen times and delete from there.
Change your screen to black and white
Believe it or not, the bright colors on apps are designed to grab your attention and keep you scrolling. After switching your settings to grayscale, notice how your urge to scroll fades away, as your dopamine receptors aren’t as deeply hit with a colorless screen.
Establish phone free zones
Starting with the kitchen table or your bedroom, establishing places in your home where screens are banned is beneficial in curating a stress free space. Not only will this potentially improve your sleep (if you choose your bedroom), but it will increase your alertness in settings away from your phone, strengthening your time and connections with friends and loved ones.