In todays blog I will discuss my own relationship with being "addicted" to my phone as well as what I have been doing to get out of it. I am going to structure this post into 3 sections, past, present and future for clarity as this is quite a large topic which has evolved a lot for me over time.
Where I was
Whilst I still had TikTok in 2020 I used to scroll endlessly and I could spend easily over 8 hours on that app so when I chose to delete it because it was so overwhelming, I thought my screen time would go down. However, my screen time stayed just as high but the main app I used instead was Youtube. Instead, I could spend 8 hours a day watching random Youtube videos and waste my days just as easily. I do think Youtube is better than Tiktok because at least you choose what videos you want to watch instead of being served by the algorithm and force fed videos to make you feel every emotion. But it seems like no matter what I will always find a way to be on my phone, even when I'm not enjoying the content and just consuming it for the sake of it.
Where I am now
For a multitude of reasons I have deleted most social medias (Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram) and now all I have consistently on my phone are Youtube and Pinterest. I started this post a while ago and since starting University I have redownloaded Instagram and Snapchat. I definitely watch a lot of Youtube still but I don't scroll endlessly on there looking for new videos like I used to and instead I do this on Reels. Honestly Reels have been the worst addition to my life as it is like TikTok in 2020 all over again, since I just deleted TikTok cold Turkey 3 years ago I feel extra addicted to Reels now.
I am not enjoying the content I'm consuming, the videos are of random people saying an opinion trying to make me care and the comments are always so negative. I know manufactured outrage is not a new concept but I feel like people must be forgetting when they're scrolling on social media how much they don't care, like genuinely. Maybe I'm cynical but I feel that nothing I'm watching matters, I see every video and think, why are you telling me this? I don't need to hear the thoughts of 500 random people on 500 random topics, get slightly annoyed, and then move on with my day, it is such a waste of energy. However it has not been all bad, every once in a while I get some good life advice and that helps ground me and makes me feel grateful, I wish social media was all sharing wisdom and showing off little outfits. Disclaimer: the only reason I haven't deleted Instagram and Snapchat is because it's got group chats for important things so I will just have to wait a while.
"Touch some grass" (Where I'm going)
It seems a bit absurd to tell people to "touch grass" because most people addicted to their phones probably are so because they don't have many friends in real life. So telling those people to touch grass and be off their phones is a bit of a mockery because I think they would if they could, it is honestly hard to not be on your phone because your phone is such a safe space to hide on. In summer I made a bucket list of things I wanted to do to become more independent. Some of the things were: going to the park alone, to get food alone, go on a long walk etc. I am really proud of myself for doing those things and I feel I made a good stride in overcoming social anxiety and the feeling of always needing to be with someone else or to have a distinct goal when I'm out.
My hot take on dopamine detoxes
I have seen a lot of people trying out dopamine detoxes online and I don't see much point in it. I understand that the purpose is to not spend time on anything dopamine releasing and try to find new hobbies or activities to do that may be more fulfilling. However, if you try that for a week then let yourself have your phone again, I feel that most people would just go back to being on their phones but instead now feel guilty about it seeing all the potential they are wasting. This was an old hot take and I would say I currently disagree, I think even if you go back to being on your phone, that's not a "fail" because you've learned more things that you enjoy and hopefully something about yourself. So even if after your detox, you only spend an hour less on your phone, a win is a win.
Thank you for reading, I had a fun time writing and it was a few hours that I didn't spend on my phone so I'm happy.