Mobile phone addiction has been on the rise around the world for over a decade. A research article on this has recently been published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. In it, researchers say, combining different behavioral strategies could be a viable and effective way to reduce smartphone use. Let’s take a look at the 10 strategies that researchers have come up with.
- Notification control: Remove all unnecessary notifications (sound, banner, vibration) from mobile phone.
- Scheduling: You need to decide in advance how long you will use an app. If you want, you can set the time to turn on the screen of the smart phone.
- Keep smart phones away while sleeping: Many people keep their mobile phones near them while sleeping. This habit must be eliminated. For this you have to turn off the mobile phone silently or vibration and keep it away from the sleeping place.
- Smart phone screen grayscale: iPhone or Android operating system must be switched on Grayscale mode. If the screen is black and white, the attraction of the mobile phone decreases, resulting in less usage.
- Hiding social networking apps: For those who can’t keep themselves from using apps like e-mail, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, they can hide the apps if they want. For this, the apps have to be removed from the home screen of the mobile phone and kept in a separate folder.
- Keeping distance from the smartphone: If you do not need too much, the mobile phone should be kept out of sight. If necessary, you have to work by keeping the mobile phone silent and down the side of the screen.
- Tough Unlock Method: The unlock method of mobile phone needs to be made difficult. If necessary, the Touch ID or Face ID facility of the smart phone should be turned off. If the opening method is difficult, you will not want to use the mobile phone by unlocking it again and again.
- Reduce brightness: The brightness of the smartphone should be kept as low as possible from the display settings of the phone. This will reduce the blue light of the phone and will be beneficial for the eyes.
- Doing the work of the smartphone on the computer: Do not do the work that you can do on the computer on the mobile phone. It will reduce use and addiction.
- Leaving your smartphone outside: Don’t take your smartphone with you when you need to go out. For example, when shopping or exercising, you should make it a habit to leave your mobile phone at home as much as possible. This will gradually reduce the attraction.
Researchers at McGill University in Canada say that this small but effective change can eliminate smartphone addiction as well as mental health problems such as depression. In addition, it eliminates loneliness and sleep problems. If you follow this simple strategy, you can easily stay away from mobile phone addiction.