Are you addicted to your cellphone? Tips for breaking the habit

With the seemingly relentless and inescapable noise and demands of modern-day devices, getting a mere five minutes of distraction-free time, and dare I say peace and quiet, can seem near impossible.

We are living in a time when there is no distinction between “on” and “off” or public and private time. Whether we realize it or not, we no longer have space to ourselves.

Even at home, the world floods through our cellphones, laptops and tablets, and our attention remains on call— essentially, we are always in “on” mode. Consequently, our nervous system has become locked into a state of perpetual fight or flight, and we are “twired” all the time—tired and wired— with the prospect of relief nowhere in sight. Ironically, even computers need to be shut down every once in a while to reboot, but we humans somehow think we can do without recuperating.

Research suggests the average person checks his or her smartphone 190 times per day.  Today, we are bingeing on technology as if we were browsing a cruise ship buffet. What I mean is our devices enable us to live in a constant state of distraction and entertainment— and ultimately offer a means to escape the present moment and ourselves.

Despite being aware of the negative consequences this lifestyle can have, many of us continue to binge and increasingly use these devices. The only difference between technology addiction and other addictions is we are all in on this one.  In the pre-technology era, when people had an addiction, they would be excluded in their societies, but technology addiction is so common nowadays that we’re all part of the club, so the issue is less prevalent.

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