No if I have my PC close.
Yes. When I go off backpacking where it can’t do anything, it takes 2-3 days for me to stop reaching for it or having any sort of brief anxiety reaction when it’s not in my pocket.
I have the exact opposite experience. As soon as I hit the trailhead my phone gets turned off and put in a waterproof bag. I almost never take it back out until the trip is over.
Though my wife keeps hers on hand for taking pictures so I guess I benefit from her phone being handy.
If I could get away with not having a cellphone, I would honestly much prefer to not have one. Unfortunately, the modern job market and my wife wanting to be able to reach me make it unlikely that I could do so without suffering some fairly major issues.
Initially, I quite liked the idea of being able to consolidate multiple devices, like an e-reader and music player into a single device, but I’ve really come to resent the expectation that I should always be available to contact at all times.
If I could ditch mine, I’d really rather just have some sort of portable device in a similar form-factor that could play connect to WiFi, play music and podcasts and work as an e-reader. Bonus points for some sort of offline map/navigational capacity. I don’t want to get texts or phone calls, and only be able to access email and the broader internet when I’m somewhere with WiFi.
I like to think I’ll eventually get to a point where I can do that without having to worry about being unable to get jobs for not responding quick enough. Unfortunately, it seems like more and more things are trying to make cell phones an unavoidable aspect of participating in society, whether it’s banks only offering OTP texts for 2FA, or so many venues no longer even offering the option to print your tickets at home, but instead requiring you to display your ticket in an app on a device with an active data connection.
Absolutely.
Going somewhere? Music and maybe a game!
At home with nothing to do? Music, videos, or maybe a game, even if doing other things!
Going to my different classes in the allotted 10 minutes? Music!
I’ll gladly admit I’m addicted to not just my phone, but also some of my other electronics as well.
Yes, for maps and speed traps, to reach my loved ones, for being reachable, to provide connection to my notebook so that I can work outside or not at home, and so on…
It’s one of the main tech innovations of the last 30 years, I find it ok to be addicted to it, as we were addicted to electricity 50 years ago but we could still survive somehow without for a small timeI’m addicted to having something to do, the phone is the most obvious thing to look at when I don’t have anything else to do, but I never look at my phone when e.g. driving except for purposes of navigation or music control.
I’m addicted to my laptop and basically any social media platform. Block one and I’ll find plenty of others to waste my time on.
Addicted means it’s a bad thing. Did people used to be addicted to A-Zs, reading, talking to friends, reading news, etc?
My phone just provides an easy way to do the things I already want to do.
“Addicted” means: exhibiting a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity.
If something is chronically prohibiting you from living a normal healthy life, that would be considered an addiction. If you have set times or you have the ability to responsibly engage with something without it interfering with other tasks or obligations, it likely is not an addiction. If you continue to do something which is more often detrimental to your well being yet you feel you’re getting a rush by doing it, that is likely an addiction.
No. No one is asking if talking to friends or reading the news is an addiction. However, if you find that you are engaging in these activities as a way to absolve or distract yourself from other obligations, you may fit the definition of being addicted.
This really raises the moral question of what are people supposed to do with their time. If you have the means to care for yourself, who’s to judge you for what you do with your time? If you choose to not have a family or not participate in your community or give back to the world in any way, is an addiction really a problem? If you’re choosing to not have a healthy productive life, is an addiction to drugs or gambling or sex or social media detrimental to anything?
This really raises the moral question of what are people supposed to do with their time. If you have the means to care for yourself, who’s to judge you for what you do with your time? If you choose to not have a family or not participate in your community or give back to the world in any way, is an addiction really a problem? If you’re choosing to not have a healthy productive life, is an addiction to drugs or gambling or sex or social media detrimental to anything?
I’ve never met anyone with an apparent addiction - and I’ve met quite a few in my day - that were completely happy with the life they were leading. Probably because real addiction entails a loss of control that would be detrimental to your life and self-esteem. Even if you have no one around you, if you want to do anything else with your day besides drink and you constantly fail, it’s not a good thing for your mental health. You’d continuously find yourself in degrading situations.
Coming to terms with “choice” in the context of addiction is a difficult thing to me. I’m really not sure where I stand on it. It’s definitely not the same as making decisions when completely sober, you’re not completely helpless or without personal responsibility either.
And then some people seem to be able to consume copious amounts of drugs or alcohol at some time in their life and then just walk away from it without issues. Perhaps it’s genetics, or a personality thing, who knows.
I can imagine people being so distraught and apathetic that their addiction feels like the only thing that gives them purpose in life. I think that’s why a lot of people find addiction - to make up for what they don’t have. Or, in the context of younger people with phones, they just don’t know a world without it.
If you live alone, have no kids or pets, and all you do after work is play video games or doom scroll or watch porn; as long as your bills are being paid, is this an “addiction”? Are these the kinds of people you’ve met?
I think we’re only just beginning to see the ramifications of phone / social media addiction and our disinterest or fear in engaging with others in real life. Our devices are giving us all this unnatural dopamine drip we otherwise can’t find in the wild. Is this an addiction and if so, is their reliance on screens going to become a problem as these young people face adulthood? Or is adulthood going to change for them? Not to mention how my 70+ year old mother is 100% addicted to the dings from her phone.
I think that’s why a lot of people find addiction - to make up for what they don’t have.
You’re probably correct, although I also think once an addictive pattern is established there’s often a kind of feedback loop where the pattern interferes with your ability and options to have a better life.
If you live alone, have no kids or pets, and all you do after work is play video games or doom scroll or watch porn; as long as your bills are being paid, is this an “addiction”?
I guess there’s a few ways to answer that question. In an extremely literal sense, no one is ever going to be diagnosed with anything if their behavior doesn’t affect themselves or others around them negatively. But if we define addiction as a certain behavioral pattern, this person would still be addicted to their phone given that this behavioral pattern is present. Do they “play video games or doom scroll or watch porn” every day simply because they’re bored, or because they can’t help themselves? And if an opportunity arose and this person’s life had a chance to turn significantly better somehow, would this behavior stand in their way?
I’m not saying I know the answer, by the way, and I’m certainly not judging anyone in this kind of situation.
What you’re describing doesn’t sound like an addiction, no, but does that mean no one is or could be addicted to their phone?
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Screen time says yes.
Nope, I have a lot better things to do than look at a tiny handheld screen.
Let me guess, looking at a large screen on a desk?
I am addicted to dopamine.
My phone is one of the less harmful sources of a dopamine feedback loop.
Working with my therapist to get a hold on that.
Ugh same. I’ve tried to reduce screen time a few times but it inevitably leads to more skin picking/nail biting.
I’ve always been shit at being idle. There’s so many other activities I’ve been suggested to try instead but none have worked (usually either because of adhd or the chronic tendinitis in my wrist).
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Dependant is not the same thing as addicted.
Do you feel an uncontrollable urge to look at your phone, even when you do something else or when it isn’t appropriate? That would be addiction.
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No, I’m addicted to the apps in my phone. Without them (or internet to use them) I don give a damn about that thing.
Phone no as i leave it off for days at a time but computer yes
