Please put your phone away

Who else has dreamed about getting one of these again?

Looking back, these dumb little phones were a joy to have. They did what we needed them to do – nothing more, nothing less.

Plus, they were absolute UNITS. I left mine on top of my car once and started driving. Heard it slide off in the middle of the road – and when I rescued it, there was barely a scratch.

Ah, those were the days…

I just can’t quit you 🫴📱

If you find yourself craving the simplicity of a Nokia 3310 brick phone, you’re not alone. 

The dominance of smartphones has made our lives a lot more convenient…but a lot more connected, too. And that’s done a number on our mental health. 

I can say with confidence that I have become more attached and dependent on my phone in the past few years (especially after becoming a social media manager for a startup). 

Not only do I grab my phone and unlock it mindlessly just because, I also carry it around the house with me like it’s a fragile newborn that needs my constant attention. 

Honestly, I hate that I do it – but I just can’t quit that thing. 

I’m going to be fully transparent with y’all right now…these are my usage stats as of 9pm the night of writing this:

• 23 unlocks

• 137 notifications

• 4hrs, 33min of phone time

I’m not super proud of those stats. And that’s WITH focus mode on for the majority of the day 😶‍🌫️

A lot of the use is work related, too. In what universe do I need to be checking work emails at 9pm? Or midnight? Or right when I wake up?

Are you in a toxic relationship with your phone?

Nearly 60% of smartphone owners in the US think they use their phones too much – and I’m one of them. This percentage is up from 39% in 2015 (a.k.a. the year “Uptown Funk” topped charts).

This number went up for smartphone users across all age groups, and reached an especially high 81% for respondents aged 18-29.

And as you might have already guessed, excessive smartphone use has been associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality. 

Yikes! A lot of us are feeling the effects of being extremely connected to these little handheld computers. 

The restorative powers of airplane mode 

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that you can take some control back! 

The bad news is that you have to practice self control.

A new study just found evidence that blocking the internet from your smartphone for 2 weeks can significantly improve your well-being, mental health, and attention span.

Say what?!

To top it off, researchers concluded that even those participants who didn’t fully follow the study requirements still experienced improvements in all three areas.

This implies that even if you don’t have the desire (or self control) to turn off the internet on your phone for 2 weeks straight, even small adjustments to your phone usage could help you feel better. 

These findings don’t surprise me at all, but they do light a fire under my ass to try harder to detach from my 

So, my fellow smartphone addicts…what will you do next?

Here are some ideas:

• Make a cute little cardboard box to store your phone when you don’t need it

• Put your phone on airplane mode during times when you’re most tempted to doomscroll

• Get a device to brick your phone so you can’t use it when you need to concentrate

Recommended reading: A break from your smartphone can reboot your mood. Here's how long you need 

🙂 🙃 🙂 🙂 🙃