Adults and teens concerned about their screen time are turning in their smartphones for “dumber” models.
Buried in the settings of many smartphones is the option to look up how much on average you are staring at your phone per day.
It can bring an uncomfortable realisation, that what was supposed to be a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.
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According to a study by Harvard University, using social networking sites lights up the same part of the brain that is also triggered when taking an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about phone habits among youth.
In the UK, research by Ofcom estimates that around a quarter of children aged five to seven years old now have their own smartphone.
Links have been shown in some studies between use of social media and a negative effect on mental health - especially in children.
Just uninstall the apps you’re trying to avoid
Well yeah but then it’s back to the addictive aspect. That’s like telling a heroin addict to carry around all the supplies for heroin in his pocket but just don’t do heroin. People trying to recover from heroin probably shouldn’t keep heroin in their pockets.
It’s actually the opposite of that. It’s like telling a guy to not carry supplies around in his pocket. Sure, he can always buy more if he wants, but at least that’s an extra step.
If you want to reinstall the apps you can but at least they’re not readily available
But they are still readily available, despite the extra step. All it takes is one bored day to hit download in the app store and be doom scrolling again. It would be like if you didn’t have the supplies on you, but you drove by your dealer’s house every day on your commute (or had his number in your contacts). Every time you look at your phone, you know the option is right there and have to fight that temptation.
Another example would be having alcohol in a locked cabinet. Sure, it’s locked up, but if you have the key in your pocket, the people that it’s going to stop are the people with a strong will anyways.
The people who really need the help are just going to end up in a cycle of uninstalling and reinstalling Facebook over and over again because that option is right there in your hand every single day.