Digital Addiction: Should You Be Worried?

Are you addicted to your phone? How about being on the internet or interacting on social media? Or what about online games? Digital Addiction: Should You Be Worried?Adobe Stock If

you believe you may be addicted to your digital devices, you’re not alone. Check out these sobering stats: ● Worldwide, an estimated 210 million people suffer from social media

addiction ● Americans check their phone an average of 344 times per day, which is approximately once every 5.5 minutes ● Nearly half of Americans believe they are addicted to

their cell phone ● The average American will spend the equivalent of 44 days on their phone in 2022 – that’s nearly a month and a half! Developing a compulsive need to use

your digital devices is a hallmark of an addiction, and it’s a rampant problem in our society today. And digital addiction doesn't just interfere with our relationships. It also

saps our concentration, so it takes longer to get into a creative flow. And the pandemic has only exacerbated our dependence on our digital devices. Designed to Be Addictive Social

media sites and apps like Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram are specifically designed to be addictive. Big tech giants have major incentives to keep you on their platforms

as long as possible. After all, the more time we spend on a site or app, the more advertising revenue they bring in. Tech companies use behavioral design to create highly addictive

apps that keep us coming back again and again. “Like” buttons and comments features hook us in and make us want to return to the apps to check our “scores,” and the endless

scroll of most social media platforms guarantees that there’s no stopping point to our consumption of updates, images, and ads. These features aren’t an accident. They’re

part of an overall plan to maximize the amount of time we spend on our digital devices, regardless of the potential negative impact on our mental and emotional health. How to Curb

Digital Addiction If you feel like digital addiction is significantly interfering with your life and your ability to function in a healthy way, you may want to take action to open

up a little more space in your brain. “It gets into philosophical questions: how is the time I’m spending on my phone in subtle ways affecting my ability to be a good parent,

spouse or friend?” says Dr. Anna Lembke, author of Dopamine Nation and a global leader in the treatment of addiction. “I do believe there is a cost – one that I don’t think

we fully recognize because it’s hard to [see] when you’re in it.” But living a truly smartphone or digital device-free life isn't practical these days, especially with remote