Below are all the truths about our toxic relationship with our smartphone revealed: Why should we stop endless scrolling?
Let's be honest – many of us are not happy with the excessive time we spend on our smartphones.
See also: How smartphones can show how drunk you are?
A few months ago, the Guardian asked its readers a simple question: “Are you satisfied with the time you spend on your smartphone?” “We received hundreds of responses, and they made one thing clear.”
Many of us are deeply objective about the time we spend on our smartphones, but find it difficult to put them down.
"I'm unhappy, I feel addicted. My ability to concentrate seems to have disappeared."
"I can't just sit and 'be' anymore. I automatically reach for my smartphone if I feel a little restless. My brain has a hard time calming down and concentrating for any length of time."
"It's the first thing I look for in the morning and the last thing I use at night. I think it affects my ability to converse with people."
If you are having problems using your smartphone, you are of course not alone.
See also: Smartphones of 2024: From Zoom Cameras to Advanced Processors in the Mid-Range
You may have noticed it yourself: constant scrolling has become a norm, when perhaps it shouldn't be:
“I worry about the time I’ve already wasted scrolling aimlessly on TikTok, Instagram, and X, and the time I might still waste; hours that will eventually add up to days, months, and years.”
It could be someone who almost runs over you on the street because they're staring at their screen. Maybe it's your friend who can't stop checking Instagram while you're eating together at a restaurant. Or it's the fact that smartphones seem to outnumber people.
There are also the smaller, more bizarre snapshots:
- Checking your smartphone when notifications aren't even ringing.
- Feeling anxious when you don't know where they are.
- Closing an application with the intention of not using it immediately, only to open it again uncontrollably.
- Scrolling when you should be sleeping
While humans have always found ways to postpone events and situations, it's impressive how effectively smartphones have managed to consume more of our attention over the past ten years.
See also: Everyday Stories: How Apple Watch Detects and Prevents Heart Problems
A 2021 Pew Research Center survey reported that 31% of U.S. adults said they were online “almost constantly,” up from 21% in 2015. Half of those ages 18-29 said they were “constantly online.” Meanwhile, a recent review of 82 high-quality studies found that excessive smartphone use has worsened over time.
And one more thing worth emphasizing: we’re not here to create panic about what smartphones are doing to us, especially when scientists are still trying to figure out their various effects – and many disagree with each other. We’re also not claiming that all screen time is wasted time: smartphones allow us to read the news, stay in touch with our family and friends, learn new languages, and enrich our lives in many ways. They help us unwind when too much stress has taken us in the other direction.
Instead, the answers to the following questions should make you think: are you satisfied with the time you spend on your smartphone? Is it quality time or pointless scrolling when you would rather be doing something else?
The goal, then, is to find the right balance between physical and digital life.
Source: theguardian
