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First of all, can you think back to a time in your life before your smartphone entered the picture? Did you feel, act, or think differently? We thought so. Just like anything addictive, smartphones have a powerful hold on us, even if we don’t realize it. Smartphones and social media activate the same reward centers in our brains as sex, gambling, eating, exercise, and other things that feel good to us. A considerable amount of dopamine is released every time you come back for another “hit,” which explains why smartphone addiction is so hard to break.
In fact, according to a study published, Behavior and Social Networking, “Sudden cessation of online social networking may, in some chronic users, cause signs and symptoms that at least partially resemble the ones seen during drug/alcohol/nicotine abstinence syndrome.”
With that alarming bit of information in mind, consider this small study done at Capital City Academy (CCA) in London. Called the Disconnect project, researchers took a group of 15-year-olds from the school and quizzed them about their gaming and social media habits. Then, they asked them to give up their precious smartphones for a week. Half the class volunteered to use a basic flip phone for a week (not sure about the other half). How did they react, you ask?
“Initially the students were dismissive,” says Sally Llewellyn, a teacher at CCA. “But the more they considered it, the more interesting the prospect of disconnecting became. Once we started looking at what they’d done the previous week, and how much time they’d spent on their smartphones and games, they were horrified.”
social media hidden dangers
Some students voiced concerns about how they would fill their time, since both gaming and smartphones were off-limits. However, most of them found other things to do, and actually got enjoyment out of doing them. One teen said he read a book, and couldn’t remember the last time he did that. He also turned in his homework on time and spent more time with friends and family. Most of the participants reported going to bed earlier, as well.
Another student, Jason Badu, who wasn’t part of the project, said he observed that the volunteers seemed “freer. It gave them a sense of getting to know their strengths and limitations. When you have your phones it’s easy to forget this. When it was taken away they had to be like modern-day explorers.”
In the end, the students said the challenge was hard, but not impossible. They realized that the relationship they have with their smartphone is more compulsive than addictive. So, by taking it away, they learned new habits and ways of interacting with the world around them.
Final thoughts
We realize that smartphones have their place in the world, but they shouldn’t become your whole world. As long as you can set limits on your usage and have a life outside your phone, a smartphone probably won’t hinder you much. However, if you find that you spend more time on your phone than in the real world, you might want to take a vacation from your phone or consider giving it up, at least for a little while. There’s simply too much you miss out on in life if you keep your head glued to your phone all the time.
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