On overcoming smartphone addiction

By Fr Lazar Arasu

Can we be free of our cell phones for about two hours in a day? If so, you are a free person, I think so. You are not addicted yet. Can you shut social media such as Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook for a day? I you succeed, then you are not addicted and actually you are a sociable person, you are down to earth and you live a conscious life. This conclusion comes to me out of common sense and experience.

Technology has penetrated our personal lives. It has taken over our peace, silence, serenity, leisure and more so, our thinking capacity. It is a high time we take stock of our lives. It is our life and only we can control it. Consciously or unconsciously allowing anyone or anything to control our personal lives especially a right thinking adult person, it is tantamount to addiction or even worse slavery.

Let us honestly ask ourselves some retrospective questions: How many times do we check our phones? How much time do we spent on our screens? How many social media networks that we have subscribed to? Are we able to be still and control our anxiety sensation without being hooked to social networks?

If we allow ourselves to check our smartphones every few minutes irrespective of the place we are in and regardless of what we are doing and unmindful of people with whom we are, then surely we are addicted to our cell phones. Sooner we need to work on our addiction, our habits and maybe get some psychiatric/professional help.

Let us also ask ourselves more personal and soul-searching questions. Have I improved in my communication skills after acquiring smartphones? Have I improved in my relationship skills using the latest technology that I am in possession of? How is my anxiety level? Is my life happier a better communication facility? How is my mental and physical health? Has my time for family and loved ones improved and increased with the advent of smartphones and social media networks? If answers to the above questions are more on negative side, how can I plan to cut down my usage of smartphones? And plan to spend more quality time in my career and responsibility?

Various surveys and analysis mention different data and valuations on people's use of time on cell phones. Apple says most people unlock and check their phones at least 80 times a day. Whatever calculations they may be, surely we check our phones much more than that. Another source estimates that most people swipe their phones as many as 2,600 times a day.

Inappropriately majority of the people check the phones in front of the kids, family members, during meetings, while eating and while we should be sleeping. We even see people checking their phones in the church, when they have gone to communicate with God. No wonder martial relations are broken, performance at work has dropped and grades in schools have deteriorated due to this new form of addiction in the world.

Smartphones with its social media hookups, internet mania, and other digital entertainment are causing serious addiction on individuals. This is a serious addiction, we are almost universally addicted. Here there is no difference between a developed country and an underdeveloped country, between a technologically advanced country and an improvised country.

Smart phones are killing us. We addicted to our cell phones due to a Neurotransmitter in our brain called Dopamine which causes smart phone addiction. Dopamine—a "feel good chemical" is released when we receive something on phone. It could be a text from a loved one, a "like" on Facebook, or a bit of breaking news. This habit which initially looked harmless becomes an addition when it becomes highly frequent and compulsive. As an addictive habit it can be got ridden of only by a conscious effort to overcome this habit and perhaps with a struggle. Often times overcoming Addictions need efforts beyond ourselves; because addictions do not die easily. They are beyond normal human control.

Putting our phone away from our body, instead of our pocket can be of help. Turning off non-essential audio notification can also help to control the habit. It is important to make ‘digital safe zones', creating mental spaces. We need to make time for real conversation with real people around us rather than virtual people in the virtual world, who have no emotions or human touch.

To overcome addiction it is important to limit the usage of many apps that tie us down killing our creativity and moments of relaxation. We are not robots those do not need relaxation of mind and body, because they do not have them. Addiction is something that makes us to do something unconsciously but taking toll on our body, mind and soul. Before it is late, we take control of the technology that we have created, or they take control of us making us their slave.

The writer is a Priest and school administrator