How to finally end your phone addiction

Ali Abdaal
19 Jul 202415:56

Summary

TLDRThis video discusses the alarming statistics of screen time, particularly on phones, and its addictive nature. It delves into the psychology behind phone addiction, the negative impacts on mental health, and offers seven actionable tips to help viewers break free from their phone addiction, improve productivity, and lead a healthier lifestyle.

Takeaways

  • πŸ“± The average person spends 6 hours and 40 minutes in front of screens daily, mainly on their phone, which is 40% of our waking hours.
  • πŸ“… Over the next 50 years, this equates to spending 20 years looking at screens.
  • πŸ” Phone addiction is a significant issue, and understanding why it happens can help address it.
  • 🧠 Technology is purposefully designed to change our habits and brain functions, contributing to phone addiction.
  • πŸ“Š Research by Dr. Larry Rosen shows that students unlock their phones over 60 times a day and spend over 3.5 hours on them.
  • βš™οΈ The attention economy means tech companies profit from keeping us glued to our screens.
  • 🚫 Phone addiction is linked to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and increased stress levels.
  • πŸ“‰ Limiting phone and social media use can improve mental well-being and reduce feelings of loneliness.
  • πŸ›  Practical tips to combat phone addiction include using app blockers, setting focus modes, charging phones away from the bedside, and rearranging app layouts.
  • 🌈 Switching phones to grayscale mode and handling messages on a computer instead of a phone can significantly reduce screen time.

Q & A

  • What is the average daily screen time for a person according to worldwide statistics?

    -The average person spends 6 hours and 40 minutes in front of screens, mostly their phone, every single day.

  • Who is the author of 'Feelgood Productivity' and what is the book about?

    -The author of 'Feelgood Productivity' is Ali, a doctor turned entrepreneur. The book is about how to do more of what matters to you in a way that is enjoyable, meaningful, and sustainable.

  • What did Dr. Larry Rosen's study on phone usage find about students' phone habits?

    -Dr. Larry Rosen's study found that students unlocked their phones over 60 times a day and spent over 3.5 hours (220 minutes) on their phones daily.

  • What is 'brain hacking' and how does it relate to phone addiction?

    -Brain hacking refers to technology being purposefully designed to change the way we think and control the habits we form, effectively making our phones more addictive. This is part of the attention economy where companies compete for our limited attention.

  • What is nomophobia?

    -Nomophobia is the fear of not being able to use your smartphone. It can cause significant anxiety, as shown in studies where people experienced increased anxiety when they couldn't access their phones.

  • How does phone addiction impact mental health according to the transcript?

    -Phone addiction is correlated with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and paranoia. It can also lead to procrastination, reduced self-control, and increased stress levels.

  • What are some of the negative effects of phone addiction mentioned in the transcript?

    -Negative effects of phone addiction include increased anxiety, depression, procrastination, loneliness, reduced sleep, reduced cognitive performance, and decreased ability to learn.

  • What is the 'attention economy' and how does it affect phone users?

    -The attention economy is the concept that our attention is a limited resource that companies compete for. This competition leads to technology and apps being designed to keep us engaged for longer periods, making us the product rather than the customer.

  • What strategies does the transcript suggest for reducing phone addiction?

    -Strategies for reducing phone addiction include using apps to block other apps, setting automatic focus modes, charging your phone away from your bedside, rearranging apps to make them less accessible, turning your phone to grayscale mode, and replying to messages from your computer instead of your phone.

  • How can setting automatic focus modes on your phone help reduce phone addiction?

    -Setting automatic focus modes on your phone can help reduce phone addiction by blocking notifications during specific times or events, allowing only important contacts to reach you. This reduces distractions and helps you focus on tasks or social interactions.

Outlines

00:00

πŸ“± Understanding Phone Addiction

The video begins by highlighting the significant amount of time people spend on screens, particularly their phones, which averages 6 hours and 40 minutes daily. This equates to 40% of our waking hours, and over a 50-year lifespan, it amounts to 20 years spent staring at screens. The speaker, Ali, introduces himself as a doctor turned entrepreneur and author, and discusses the psychological and behavioral aspects of phone addiction. He mentions Dr. Larry Rosen's study, which tracked phone usage among students, revealing that they unlocked their phones over 60 times a day and spent over 3 hours on them. Ali also delves into the concept of 'brain hacking,' where technology is designed to manipulate our thoughts and habits, contributing to the 'attention economy.' Tech companies are portrayed as competing for our limited attention, turning us into products rather than customers. The video sets the stage for discussing the reasons behind phone addiction and its negative impacts on our lives.

05:01

😨 The Impact of Phone Addiction

This paragraph delves into the negative consequences of phone addiction. It starts by discussing 'nomophobia,' the fear of not being able to use one's smartphone, and how it can lead to acute anxiety. Studies are cited that show increased heart rate and skin conductance (a measure of anxiety) in individuals deprived of their phones. The speaker also mentions the rise in cortisol levels among young people who overuse their phones, indicating a stress response akin to a fight or flight reaction. Other terms like 'ringxiety' and 'texti' are introduced to describe the anxiety related to phone notifications and the pressure to respond immediately. The paragraph further explores the correlation between phone addiction and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and paranoia. The speaker also connects the rise in mental health problems among Gen Z to the surge in smartphone and social media use during their formative years. The discussion concludes with the impact of phone addiction on procrastination and self-control, suggesting that excessive phone use can lead to prioritizing short-term gratification over long-term goals.

10:02

πŸ›‘ Strategies to Combat Phone Addiction

The speaker presents various strategies to help viewers take control of their phone usage. The first strategy involves using apps like Opal to block other apps, setting screen time limits, and blocking social media apps during certain hours. The speaker also recommends setting automatic Focus modes based on calendar events to limit distractions. Another suggestion is to keep the phone away from the bedside table to improve sleep quality, using a Kindle instead for nighttime reading. Rearranging app icons on the phone's home screen to make accessing social media apps more cumbersome is another tactic. The speaker also mentions using an app like One Sec to create a delay before opening social media apps, encouraging mindful use. Turning the phone to grayscale mode is suggested to reduce the appeal of social media browsing. Lastly, the speaker advises using a computer for messaging apps like WhatsApp and iMessage to batch message replies and reduce the constant need to check the phone. These strategies aim to help viewers regain control over their phone usage and improve their overall productivity and well-being.

15:03

🌟 Alternatives to Phone Scrolling

In the final paragraph, the speaker encourages viewers to consider alternative activities to phone scrolling. The speaker suggests that viewers might enjoy a video on five productive things to do in spare time instead of mindlessly scrolling on their phones. The speaker emphasizes that engaging in these activities will not only be a better use of time but also more enjoyable than endless scrolling. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to share their strategies for combating phone addiction in the comments and to explore other content that can enrich their lives beyond their screens.

Mindmap

Keywords

πŸ’‘Screen Time

Screen time refers to the amount of time an individual spends looking at or interacting with screens, particularly mobile devices like smartphones. In the video, it is mentioned that the average person spends 6 hours and 40 minutes daily on screens, which is a significant portion of their waking hours. This concept is central to the video's theme of phone addiction and its impact on daily life.

πŸ’‘Phone Addiction

Phone addiction is the compulsive and excessive use of a smartphone, often leading to negative consequences in various aspects of life. The video discusses how phone addiction is a widespread issue, affecting mental health and productivity. It is highlighted as a primary concern that the video aims to address with actionable tips.

πŸ’‘Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with reward and pleasure. The video explains that phone addiction is linked to the release of dopamine when users receive unexpected rewards, such as likes on social media, which encourages continued phone use. This concept is crucial in understanding how technology can be designed to be addictive.

πŸ’‘Attention Economy

The attention economy is a concept where attention is a scarce resource that can be traded, similar to traditional economic goods. Tech companies compete for users' attention, making users the product rather than the customer. The video uses this term to describe how companies design their apps to keep users engaged and generate revenue through advertising.

πŸ’‘Brain Hacking

Brain hacking refers to the deliberate design of technology to influence human behavior and thought patterns. The video script mentions that technology companies use brain hacking to change how our brains function, making us more susceptible to forming habits that keep us glued to our phones.

πŸ’‘Nomophobia

Nomophobia is the fear of being without a mobile phone or unable to use it. The video cites studies that show the physical effects of this fear, such as increased anxiety and stress responses, when individuals are unable to check their phones.

πŸ’‘Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone associated with the body's stress response. The video explains that overuse of phones and withdrawal symptoms can lead to increased cortisol levels, indicating that phone addiction can have physiological impacts similar to those experienced during a fight-or-flight response.

πŸ’‘Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions. The video discusses how phone addiction can lead to reduced self-control and increased procrastination, as individuals prioritize short-term gratification from their phones over long-term goals.

πŸ’‘Grayscale Mode

Grayscale mode is a setting on smartphones that removes color from the display, making the screen appear in shades of gray. The video suggests using grayscale mode as a strategy to reduce phone addiction by making the phone less visually appealing and thus less addictive.

πŸ’‘Focus Mode

Focus mode is a feature on smartphones that allows users to limit distractions during certain periods. The video recommends setting automatic focus modes based on calendar events to prevent notifications from non-essential apps and contacts, helping users stay focused on their current activities.

πŸ’‘App Blocking

App blocking involves using apps or settings to restrict access to certain applications on a smartphone. The video suggests app blocking as a strategy to combat phone addiction by setting limits on time spent on specific apps or blocking them entirely during certain hours.

Highlights

The average person spends 6 hours and 40 minutes in front of screens, mostly phones, every day.

This screen time equates to 40% of our waking hours.

Over 50 years, this amounts to 20 years spent looking at screens.

Phone addiction is a widespread issue and most people don't want to be addicted to their phones.

Understanding why phone addiction happens and its negative effects is crucial.

Dr. Larry Rosen's study found that students unlocked their phones over 60 times a day and spent over 3 hours on them.

Technology is designed to change our thinking and control our habits, a phenomenon known as 'brain hacking'.

The 'attention economy' sees tech companies competing for our limited attention, making us the product.

Social media companies employ engineers to keep users engaged, exploiting our brain's dopamine responses.

Nomophobia, the fear of not being able to use a smartphone, can cause acute anxiety.

Studies show that phone withdrawal can increase cortisol levels, indicating stress.

Phone addiction is linked to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and paranoia.

Jonathan Haidt argues that the rise in mental health issues in Gen Z coincides with the surge in smartphone use.

Reducing phone use can lead to improvements in well-being and reductions in loneliness and depression.

Using apps to block other apps can be an effective strategy to reduce screen time.

Setting automatic focus modes on your phone can help minimize distractions.

Placing your phone away from your bedside table can improve sleep quality.

Rearrange your phone's apps to make accessing social media less convenient.

Using an app like OneSec can create a delay before opening apps, encouraging mindful use.

Turning your phone to grayscale mode can reduce its addictive appeal.

Replying to messages from a computer rather than a phone can make communication more efficient and less distracting.

Transcripts

play00:00

okay so according to worldwide screen

play00:01

time statistics the average person

play00:03

spends 6 hours and 40 minutes in front

play00:06

of screens which is mostly their phone

play00:08

every single day that is 40% of our

play00:11

waking hours and so if you imagine

play00:13

yourself being alive for at least the

play00:14

next 50 years of the next 50 years you

play00:16

are spending 20 years looking at screens

play00:19

which is probably your phone I think it

play00:20

is fair to say that a lot of us are

play00:21

addicted to our phones and generally

play00:24

most of us probably don't want to be

play00:25

addicted to our phones so if you feel

play00:27

like your screen time is a little bit

play00:28

high and I'm hoping by watching this

play00:29

video you'll understand why phone

play00:31

addiction happens in the first place and

play00:32

why it's hard to deal with secondly why

play00:34

it's bad and why we should try to deal

play00:36

with it and thirdly I'm going to share

play00:38

seven actionable tips that I've

play00:39

personally found really helpful for

play00:41

breaking my own phone addiction and

play00:42

reducing my screen time so that I can

play00:44

use my time in a way that's generally

play00:46

healthier and happier and more

play00:47

productive and if you're new to the

play00:48

channel then hello my name is Ali I'm a

play00:50

doctor turned entrepreneur and I'm also

play00:52

the author of Feelgood productivity

play00:54

which is a book about how to do more of

play00:55

what matters to you in a way that's

play00:57

actually enjoyable and meaningful and

play00:58

sustainable and I have done a a lot of

play01:00

digging into the signs of dopamine and

play01:02

how this phone addiction thing works

play01:03

because it is just such a Scourge in the

play01:05

modern world and I'm always interested

play01:07

in how do we find ways to combat this

play01:08

phone addiction that is so common

play01:10

amongst basically everyone part one why

play01:12

is your phone so addictive now I'm

play01:14

pretty sure we can all think of a time

play01:15

when we've unlocked our phones to

play01:16

quickly check something like Instagram

play01:18

or emails or whatever and then you end

play01:19

up spending 2 hours just absolutely glue

play01:21

to the screen now there is a guy called

play01:23

Dr Larry Rosen who wanted to find out

play01:25

exactly how many times we fall into this

play01:27

trap now according to his website Dr

play01:28

Larry Rosen is an expert expert in the

play01:30

psychology of technology and he's

play01:32

published a lot of studies on phone

play01:33

addiction now back in 2016 he got a

play01:35

bunch of students to download an app

play01:37

onto their phone for 8 weeks and that

play01:39

tracked two things firstly it tracked

play01:41

how many times they unlocked their phone

play01:42

and secondly how many minutes it stayed

play01:44

unlocked and what he found that these

play01:45

students unlocked their phone a lot more

play01:47

than you might think they unlocked their

play01:48

phone over 60 times a day and they were

play01:51

on their phones for over 3 and 1 half

play01:53

hours or 220 minutes specifically and

play01:55

yes of course our phones are useful and

play01:57

blah blah blah but the problem is that

play01:58

we are becoming more and more addicted

play02:00

to our phones and what's even scarier is

play02:01

that this is not entirely under our

play02:03

control there is this phenomenon that's

play02:04

often called brain hacking which is

play02:06

where technology is being purposefully

play02:08

designed to change the way that we think

play02:09

and to control the habits that we form

play02:11

which literally ends up changing how our

play02:12

brain functions and this is all part of

play02:14

what we call the attention economy now

play02:16

the economy part like economics is about

play02:18

how finite resources like food and money

play02:20

are made and shared and consumed but

play02:22

then the attention part comes in because

play02:24

our attention can be traded in exactly

play02:25

the same way because it is a limited

play02:27

resource in that when we pay attention

play02:29

to something we have to ignore something

play02:30

else and so in this attention economy

play02:32

that we've been in for many years now

play02:34

tech companies are all competing for our

play02:36

limited attention and this makes us the

play02:37

product rather than the customer so it's

play02:39

like this is you you pour soul and

play02:41

you've got your device or whatever the

play02:43

thing might be let's actually put this

play02:44

over here this is the device and you

play02:46

have all these different companies that

play02:48

are trying to advertise to you and the

play02:50

way they advertise to you is through the

play02:51

social media apps on your device and so

play02:53

the more time you spend on your phone

play02:56

essentially the more these companies can

play02:58

advertise to you and the more Revenue

play03:00

these different companies make because

play03:01

they make all this money from the

play03:02

advertising dollars and so the way that

play03:04

these incentives are structured these

play03:05

social media companies have armies of

play03:07

thousands of ridiculously smart

play03:08

Engineers who are all trying to work

play03:10

really hard to keep you on your phone

play03:12

and your brain your poor brain has

play03:13

evolved over hundreds of thousands of

play03:15

years for an environment that is not the

play03:17

environment that we are in today and

play03:18

these companies do really clever things

play03:19

like for example if you're on any of

play03:21

these scrolling apps there's in infinite

play03:22

scroll like you can literally never run

play03:24

out of things to scroll and something

play03:25

that apps like Instagram even do is that

play03:26

they hold back the likes so that you get

play03:28

them when you're least exp in it and

play03:30

this is an idea called random

play03:31

intermittent reward which spikes our

play03:33

dopamine levels and I've actually got a

play03:34

video all about the sence of dopamine

play03:36

which you are very welcome to watch

play03:37

after this one that'll be link down

play03:38

below but essentially we release

play03:39

dopamine when we get some sort of

play03:40

unexpected reward and so if you want to

play03:42

design something to be very addictive

play03:43

you would try and add as many dopamine

play03:45

triggers as possible and that is exactly

play03:46

what's being done with your phone and

play03:47

with social media and then what is even

play03:49

worse is that literally everything we do

play03:51

is being tracked by these various

play03:52

companies so that they can then Target

play03:54

us with even more targeted ads with even

play03:56

more targeted content that releases even

play03:57

more dopamine and so the big takeaway

play03:59

from this is that if you feel like you

play04:00

are addicted to your phone don't worry

play04:01

it's not your fault uh you are fighting

play04:04

a losing battle in this attention

play04:05

economy because we literally cannot

play04:06

compete against the armies of Engineers

play04:08

who these companies have hired to take

play04:10

control of our attention but having said

play04:11

that even though it's not our fault that

play04:12

we're in the situation it is our

play04:14

responsibility to take control of the

play04:16

situation and to do the things that are

play04:17

under our control to help cure our phone

play04:19

addiction and if you want to become even

play04:20

more productive and waste even less time

play04:22

then you might like to check out

play04:24

grammarly who are the sponsor of today's

play04:26

video now me and my team members spend a

play04:27

lot of time writing and typing across

play04:29

dozens of different platforms like slack

play04:31

and Google Docs and email and notion and

play04:33

stuff and we like using grammarly to

play04:34

make sure that our writing is as

play04:35

effective and efficient as possible and

play04:37

we' really found that better writing in

play04:39

these messages leads to fewer meetings

play04:40

Gramm is an AI writing partner that

play04:42

helps professionals like you and me

play04:44

write better and faster and you can

play04:45

always use it in line within your apps

play04:47

so you can use the suggestions and make

play04:49

changes quickly also their AI features

play04:51

are completely free to use and one thing

play04:52

that sets grammarly apart from other AI

play04:54

tools is that it works seamlessly across

play04:56

over 500,000 apps and websites so you

play04:59

can use it at all times on basically any

play05:00

software that you're using and plus it

play05:02

can adapt to my audience and to my tone

play05:04

to make sure that I don't sound like a

play05:06

robot or sound too professional

play05:07

depending on what you're trying to go

play05:08

for grammarly has 14 years of

play05:10

best-in-class communication Ai and it's

play05:12

used and trusted by tens of millions of

play05:14

professionals so it's a bit of a

play05:15

no-brainer for your writing needs if any

play05:17

of that sounds good you can sign up and

play05:18

download grammarly for free using the

play05:20

link grammarly.com Al abdal which is

play05:22

also in the video description so thank

play05:24

you so much gramly for sponsoring this

play05:25

video and let's get back to it part two

play05:27

what is the problem with phone addiction

play05:29

okay so one of the big problems with

play05:30

phone addiction is that we often don't

play05:32

realize that we are addicted until we

play05:33

lose our phones or we don't have our

play05:35

phones like you've probably been in that

play05:36

situation where you think oh crap I

play05:37

haven't got my phone you check your

play05:38

pockets you check your bags it's not

play05:40

there and you feel this like acute

play05:41

anxiety response at the thought that you

play05:43

don't have your phone with you now this

play05:44

is actually a phenomenon called

play05:46

nomophobia which is the fear of not

play05:48

being able to use your smartphone and

play05:50

there are actually some interesting

play05:51

research studies that look at what

play05:52

happens to our bodies when we can't

play05:54

check our phones so firstly there was

play05:55

this really cool paper published in 2021

play05:57

that randomly split a bunch of people

play05:59

into two groups groups one group called

play06:00

The text group had their phones taken

play06:02

away from them and they were told to

play06:03

leave their notifications on so they

play06:05

could hear their phone but they couldn't

play06:06

see their phone and then in the other

play06:07

group The no text group the phones were

play06:09

kept on them but they were turned on

play06:10

silent the researchers then hooked up

play06:11

everyone in both groups to monitors on

play06:13

their fingers that measured firstly

play06:15

their heart rate and secondly changes in

play06:16

their skin conductance like sweating

play06:19

which tells us about anxiety and they

play06:20

monitored these metrics as the students

play06:22

were watching a 10-minute lecture that

play06:23

they were going to be tested on

play06:24

afterwards now the really sneaky thing

play06:25

was that during this 10-minute video

play06:27

they sent four texts to each of the

play06:29

people in the groups and what the

play06:30

results found was that for people in the

play06:32

text group I for the people that did not

play06:33

have their phones with them but could

play06:35

hear the phones buzzing there was

play06:37

actually a significant increase in their

play06:38

skin activity which tells us that the

play06:40

nomophobia increased their levels of

play06:43

anxiety and then another really

play06:44

interesting study found that young

play06:45

people who overuse their phone and

play06:47

experien a lot of withdrawal symptoms

play06:49

have increased cortisol levels and

play06:50

cortisol is your body's main stress

play06:52

hormone and we basically become so

play06:54

addicted to checking our phones that

play06:55

when we can't access them our bodies

play06:57

respond in the same way as if we were

play06:58

being chased by animal in the wild the

play07:00

fight or flight response and when we

play07:02

experience this nomophobia the only way

play07:04

to feel less anxious is to check our

play07:05

phone and so we get trapped in this

play07:07

addictive cycle now alongside nomophobia

play07:09

there are a few other interesting

play07:10

phrases that people have come up with

play07:11

there is ring xiety when you always

play07:13

check your phone because you have a

play07:15

feeling that you've got a text or I had

play07:16

to call and texti which is that anxious

play07:18

feeling that you get when you feel like

play07:19

you always have to reply to messages as

play07:21

soon as you get them and basically more

play07:22

and more research points to this

play07:23

correlation between phone addiction and

play07:25

mental health outcomes like anxiety and

play07:27

depression and paranoia oh and by the

play07:29

way if if you're enjoying this video and

play07:30

you find yourself a little bit addicted

play07:31

to your phone you might like to check

play07:33

out my completely free 7-Day Focus crash

play07:35

course this is a 7-Day email course

play07:37

where I'll send you an email every day

play07:38

that sort of breaks down some principles

play07:40

strategies and tools you can use to

play07:41

improve your ability to focus it's

play07:43

completely free you can unsubscribe

play07:44

whenever you want and you can go to

play07:45

focus crashcourse tocom or click the

play07:47

link down below and you can check that

play07:48

out if you like now there's this guy

play07:50

called Jonathan height who is a

play07:51

psychologist and the author of a really

play07:53

good book called The anxious generation

play07:55

and his whole case in the book and he

play07:56

argues this quite commin I think is that

play07:58

the reason why J Z have way higher

play08:00

incidence of mental health problems like

play08:02

depression and anxiety and other other

play08:04

things is that between 2010 to 2015 when

play08:07

genz people were sort of going through

play08:09

puberty which is a sensitive area for

play08:11

human development that was when we had

play08:12

this massive surge in the use of

play08:13

smartphones and social media we're not

play08:15

talking 10 or 20% increases here for

play08:17

most things we're talking close to a

play08:19

doubling especially for the younger

play08:20

girls now at this point you might be

play08:22

thinking yeah but that's just because

play08:23

jenz are more open about talking about

play08:25

mental health and this is what Jonathan

play08:26

hey says in response a lot of people say

play08:28

oh you know it's just self or um you

play08:30

know just genz they're really they're

play08:32

really um positive about mental health

play08:35

and they're willing to talk about it's a

play08:36

good thing but the fact that we see the

play08:39

exact same curves the very sharp uptick

play08:41

for girls um in Hospital admissions for

play08:44

self harm psychiatric emergency

play08:46

department visits and we see this in the

play08:48

US Canada Australia New Zealand uh the

play08:52

UK um the Scandinavian countries so

play08:54

something happened across the developed

play08:57

World um around 20 2012 and so how do we

play09:00

explain this pattern that we're seeing

play09:02

here well here is Jonathan height again

play09:03

from his interview with Andrew hubman if

play09:05

you want to understand why one person is

play09:06

depressed there are going to be many

play09:08

stories but if you want to understand

play09:10

why depression rates Rose for girls

play09:12

faster than boys all over the developed

play09:14

World unless someone confined like some

play09:16

hormone disrupting chemical that was

play09:18

suddenly sprayed over northern Europe

play09:21

and and the South Pacific and the US and

play09:23

Canada around 2012 there is no there is

play09:27

no alternative explanation so we've

play09:29

tolded about how your phone addiction is

play09:30

potentially increasing your anxiety and

play09:32

your depression but it's also

play09:33

contributing to procrastination so

play09:35

there's research for example that's

play09:36

found that the more you use your

play09:37

smartphone the less self-control you

play09:40

have through a mechanism called delay

play09:41

discounting so for example you've got

play09:43

this sort of instant gratification thing

play09:45

where playing on your PlayStation right

play09:47

now feels better than doing that work

play09:50

thing that work assignment or that

play09:51

school assignment or whatever the thing

play09:52

might be and so you're always going to

play09:53

prioritize the short-term thing which

play09:55

leads to procrastination which generally

play09:57

leads you to feel worse about your life

play09:58

and then perhaps I Al Point number four

play10:00

is that phone addiction can actually

play10:01

contribute to things like loneliness as

play10:03

well so for example this study from 2018

play10:05

found that limiting social media use to

play10:07

approximately 30 minutes per day may

play10:09

lead to significant Improvement in

play10:11

well-being and in the study they

play10:12

essentially found that students who were

play10:14

limiting the smartphone use to just 30

play10:15

minutes had decreases in loneliness and

play10:17

also depression compared to a group of

play10:19

students who was just using their

play10:20

smartphones as normal now so far we've

play10:22

only touched on a handful of the

play10:23

negative impacts of phone addiction

play10:24

there's loads of other stuff like

play10:25

reduced sleep and reduced cognitive

play10:27

performance and reduced ability to learn

play10:29

and so much more but now let's move on

play10:30

to part three which is that okay cool we

play10:32

know that phones are addictive we know

play10:34

that we probably struggle with that what

play10:37

can we actually do about it okay so

play10:38

there's a bunch of strategies that we

play10:39

can use to help take control of our

play10:41

phone addiction so that we're in control

play10:42

of it rather than it being in control of

play10:44

us my personal favorite is using apps to

play10:46

block other apps so there is a really

play10:48

good app called opal I have no

play10:50

affiliation with them it is a paid app

play10:52

it's very good I use that but also you

play10:53

can set screen time limits on your

play10:55

phones and what this does is that it

play10:57

either enforces an upper limit on how

play10:58

much time you you can spend on a

play10:59

particular app which is a good thing or

play11:01

it blocks those apps completely between

play11:03

certain times so in my case for example

play11:04

I have opal set to block all social

play11:06

media apps from 9:00 p.m. through to

play11:08

9:00 a.m. in the morning which means I'm

play11:10

never scrolling at night and I'm also

play11:12

never scrolling first thing in the

play11:13

morning cuz I literally can't because

play11:14

the app is just blocking me from doing

play11:15

that this is often the first thing I

play11:17

prescribe uh when I speak to friends and

play11:19

team members and when people ask me

play11:20

questions and stuff related to phone

play11:21

addiction it's like do you have a app

play11:24

blocking app downloaded on your phone if

play11:25

not do it it's free or cheap and it's

play11:28

really easy to do and immediately frees

play11:30

up way more time and it's just a very

play11:33

Roi positive way to buy back more of

play11:34

your time secondly the thing that I find

play11:36

really useful is to set automatic Focus

play11:38

modes on my phone so essentially I live

play11:40

my entire life through my calendar I

play11:41

have all my work stuff in my calendar I

play11:43

also have social events in my calendar

play11:45

and so when my phone detects that there

play11:46

is an event in my calendar it

play11:48

automatically turns on Focus mode which

play11:49

means I never see notifications and

play11:51

there's only a handful of contacts like

play11:53

my girlfriend and my brother and my mom

play11:55

and grandma and stuff whose calls and

play11:57

texts can actually come through so I

play11:58

still see important notifications but I

play12:00

don't see all of the random group chats

play12:02

and all the slack messages and the

play12:03

emails and all of the other stuff that

play12:05

will take me away from the thing that

play12:07

I'm actually trying to do which might be

play12:08

work but it might just also be having

play12:10

dinner with friends for example thirdly

play12:12

as a really simple hack to improve your

play12:13

sleep try having your phone not on your

play12:15

bedside table but either have it on

play12:17

charge across the room from you so you

play12:19

have to get out of bed to access your

play12:20

phone or in an absolutely Ideal World

play12:22

have your phone charging overnight in a

play12:24

different room and the thing I recommend

play12:25

is that you have a Kindle on your

play12:26

bedside table because it's light is very

play12:28

Dam and it means you can read bed and it

play12:29

means if you wake wake up in the middle

play12:31

of the night and you find yourself

play12:32

unable to sleep you can just read a book

play12:34

which will then hopefully put you to

play12:35

sleep rather than scrolling on your

play12:36

phone tip number four is to rearrange

play12:38

the apps on your phone something that I

play12:40

do is that I don't have any social media

play12:41

apps actually on any of my home screens

play12:43

if I want to access into to Instagram I

play12:45

have to swipe down I have to type in

play12:46

Instagram and I have to click on it and

play12:47

only then can I open Instagram that's

play12:49

kind of nice it works a lot of the time

play12:51

but another thing you can do is you can

play12:52

install an app called one sec I used to

play12:54

use one sec quite a lot I've now

play12:55

replaced it with opal because I just

play12:56

prefer the way opal does it but what one

play12:58

sec does is that you download the app

play13:00

and then every time you open Instagram

play13:01

or YouTube or Tik Tok or whatever the

play13:03

thing might be it creates this

play13:05

artificial loading screen that says you

play13:07

know you've got to wait 5 seconds before

play13:09

opening the app it encourages you to

play13:10

take a breath it puts links to other

play13:12

apps like Kindle and audible which you

play13:14

might want to access instead and then if

play13:16

you decide after those 5 Seconds that

play13:17

you want to access Instagram you can

play13:19

access Instagram it's not a problem but

play13:21

usually in those 5 Seconds when you've

play13:22

taken that breath it allows us to have

play13:25

that gap between stimulus and response

play13:27

it allows us to choose our response and

play13:29

to decide do I really want to go on

play13:31

Instagram right now or am I just going

play13:32

on it because it just you know my muscle

play13:34

memory just happens to press on it tip

play13:36

number six is to turn your phone to

play13:37

grayscale mode this is not something

play13:39

that I've tried personally but about

play13:40

half of my team seems to have their

play13:42

phone on grayscale all the time and I

play13:44

was speaking to Angus my general manager

play13:45

about this earlier and he absolutely

play13:46

swears by this he said that his screen

play13:48

time dropped by 50% because it just

play13:50

makes your phone way less addictive and

play13:51

way less interesting to use which means

play13:53

you would still use it for like messages

play13:55

and important stuff and phone calls dare

play13:56

I say but suddenly browsing Instagram or

play13:59

Tik Tok or YouTube becomes a lot less

play14:01

appetizing when you know that it's in

play14:02

grayscale mode rather than in full color

play14:04

mode and then tip number seven and this

play14:05

is something I find really really

play14:06

helpful is that where possible I try not

play14:08

to reply to messages from my phone I

play14:10

have all of my messaging apps on my

play14:11

computer I use an app called texts.com

play14:13

which sort of brings together WhatsApp

play14:15

and iMessage and Instagram and Twitter

play14:17

DMS and stuff and so whenever I need to

play14:19

respond to people I do it from my

play14:20

computer or my laptop rather than from

play14:22

my phone now this is good because I can

play14:24

type faster on my computer and therefore

play14:26

I can get back to people in a way more

play14:28

efficient fashion but it also means that

play14:29

I'm not spending all day just trying to

play14:31

reply to whatsapps and keeping on top of

play14:32

things cuz when you reply to something

play14:34

you just get another response instead

play14:35

and then it sort of it it can become a

play14:38

full-time job just keeping on top of

play14:40

replying to friends and family and work

play14:42

colleagues and all that kind of stuff I

play14:44

much prefer to batch my time for

play14:46

replying to people you know I'll do it

play14:47

for a few minutes in the morning after

play14:49

I've done some deep work I'll do it for

play14:50

a few minutes after lunch I'll do it for

play14:51

a few minutes after work and that means

play14:53

that I can be way more efficient in my

play14:55

replies to people and I'm not spending

play14:57

all day sort of you know with this texti

play14:59

where I'm like oh my God I have to reply

play15:00

to people in such a timely fashion you

play15:01

know people are always worried about

play15:02

like oh what if there's an emergency

play15:03

what if someone needs a response

play15:04

straight away and it's like usually

play15:06

there aren't that many emergencies and

play15:07

if you have certain contact like your

play15:09

kids or your parents or whatever who

play15:11

might genuinely reach out to you in the

play15:12

event of an emergency you can always add

play15:14

them to your focus group exceptions

play15:16

which means that for example with my mom

play15:17

whenever she texts me or calls me I

play15:19

always see the notification on my

play15:21

computer and on my phone even when I've

play15:23

got a focus mode active those were just

play15:24

a few of the different strategies that

play15:25

you can use to take control of your

play15:27

phone rather than have your phone

play15:28

addiction controll you and I'd love to

play15:30

hear in the comments if you've gotten to

play15:31

this point in the video what is one

play15:32

strategy that you found helpful to help

play15:34

combat this addiction inertia that we

play15:37

all have towards our phones and if

play15:38

you're looking for something to do

play15:39

instead of scrolling on your phone you

play15:40

might like to check out this video over

play15:41

here which is five productive things to

play15:43

do in your spare time instead of

play15:45

mindless scrolling and I guarantee if

play15:46

you do any of these things it will be a

play15:48

way better use of your time and you'll

play15:50

enjoy yourself way more than if you just

play15:51

continued scrolling on your phone so

play15:53

thank you so much for watching and I'll

play15:54

see you hopefully in the next video

play15:55

bye-bye

Rate This
β˜…
β˜…
β˜…
β˜…
β˜…

5.0 / 5 (0 votes)

Related Tags
Phone AddictionMental HealthScreen TimeDigital WellbeingProductivity TipsDopamine TriggersAttention EconomyTech AddictionFocus ModesGrayscale Mode