In a world where media culture is prevalent and wound into society it is the norm to carry a phone at all times. This makes it easy to become dependent on one for distractions such as social media, entertaining apps, and more. However, with phone addiction becoming a more and more prevalent phenomenon, studies on its links to adverse mental health effects are surfacing and proving its negative effect on society.

Studies have shown that there are significant correlations between negative mental health and phone addiction. It has been shown to be linked to higher anxiety, loneliness, and depression levels (“Smartphones, Social Media, and Their Impact on Mental Health”), making it an important thing to regulate and end if a person wants to improve their overall mental health. But how can you do this?

Some Steps You Can Take Are:

1. Utilizing the Screen Time features on your phone. Through doing this you can set time limits for certain apps that may be draining your mental health, and tie limits for overall phone usage during the day. These limits serve as a reminder of the goals you set to break your addiction, while also allowing you to build these habits at your own pace.
2. Turning off your notifications. Turning off notifications will allow you to complete more tasks uninterrupted. It will also prevent you utilizing your phone to respond to someone and then mindlessly switching through checking social media apps and feeding your addiction. This is especially helpful on busy days as it will allow you to focus on tasks and not procrastinate them through using a phone as a distraction.
3. Identifying Phone Use Triggers. Oftentimes using your phone is an escape from your thoughts or reality. Identifying what triggers your phone addiction/usage and feeling or taking it on in the moment can be helpful in decreasing phone usage levels as well as promoting a healthier way of coping with those feelings/problems (“How to Stop Being “Addicted” to Your Phone: 5 Tips”).Overall, there are many other ways a person can combat a phone addiction. These are just a few initial steps that can be taken when casual phone use turns into a maladaptive habit. Having a phone addiction can negatively impact a person’s mental health as well as interfere with their productivity and daily life, therefore again stressing the importance of regulating it.

References:
“How to Stop Being “Addicted” to Your Phone: 5 Tips.” Psych Central, 26 Apr. 2022,

psychcentral.com/addictions/coping-with-cell-phone-addiction#5-tips-to-manage-smartp

hone-use.
Becker, Joshua. “Cell Phone Addiction: 7 Proven Ways to Break Your Habit.”

Www.becomingminimalist.com, 2023, www.becomingminimalist.com/break-your-cell-phone-habit/.

“Smartphones, Social Media, and Their Impact on Mental Health.” Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, 17 Oct. 2023, www.columbiapsychiatry.org/research/research-areas/child-and-adolescent-psychiatry/sul tan-lab-mental-health-informatics/research-areas/smartphones-social-media-and-their-im pact-mental-health.

Written By: Carmela Gonzalez, Mental H2O Youth Resource writer