that damn phone

it's time to refuse it to continue sucking you into a hole of sickness and destruction.

today the phone has become like a part of the hand - not just a "device," but a part of us. and it has a huge danger: it eats up the heart, time and life if you don't control it. it has become half of our lives - hell, if not our entire lives. it's gotten to the point we overreact and delve into depression because of how we have come to perceive what we see on it, pixels on a screen, as something that isn't just a gadget to use, but as reality. what we need to survive. what feels genuine, even though it isn't. a majority of time spent on it, it's not for nothing that many people talk about how they want to leave social networks, put away the phone and go back to physical life. how many times has it caused you to feel lonely, insecure, depraved, like you lost something you never had? and how many times have you noticed people around you constantly using it, unable to put it down, right next to you, almost ignoring you? why has everyone become so null and void that even when real people and experiences are in front of their eyes, the only thing they pay attention to is a stupid video of other humans living life?

how do you get rid of this addiction when nowadays everything, including work, studies and communication, is in it? 

1. admit the addiction

phone addiction is a real, serious problem, not something imaginary. you open it for "5 minutes," and wake up 2 hours later. in fact, you forget why you opened it at all, you just go with the flow. you "study", or "organize plans" - but in between the lines there are already posts, stories, reels, tiktok, shorts that are rotting your brain by the minute.

don't justify it: "i work here," "i need to be in touch," "i study through the phone." yes, it is all a part of it, unfortunately in today's world most of the time a required tool for access to progressing in studies and work. but scrolling, comparing, worrying, overthinking, sticking.. it's already poison.

2. determine where you are drawn the most

take a piece of paper and write it down. yes! write it down! where do you hang out the most? (instagram, tiktok, snapchat, twitter, etc) how much time a day do you spend there? how do you feel after that time has passed? can you list the benefits you get from spending time on your phone? it shows statistics. look and be horrified: 5, 6, 9, 12 hours. this is life leaving. 

3. understand: time = life.

you are not "wasting 20 minutes." you are wasting a piece of life that will not return. correct your intention, the phone must serve you, not you it. the machine will not put you under its' control and you will not calmly watch the rotting of your mental state, you will have internal inhibition. this is no longer something that is beneficial for me or anyone, not a quick scroll, this is me falling under my old habits and addictions. 

4. discipline, filter, struggle

without struggle, self control, persistence, patience and refusal, nothing will work. if you enjoy and justify yourself, your addiction will remain. 

• delete everything that is not needed, like applications that simply drag (feeds, messengers, social networks, unnecessary things).

• remove notifications that are not essential, since they destroy concentration and make you grab your phone 100 times a day.

• set limits on social networks, like 30 minutes a day on instagram, then block.

• separate hours for study, work, responses. (example: 10-12 study, 13:00 - responses to messages, 17:00 - 20 min feed

• don't take it to bed, bath, while you're eating. give it a place as a tool, not as an extension to your body.

replace the empty with life. instead of doomscrolling, find something else to do. even switching to another device that isn't so stimulating would be good, like just a regular desktop, and going on the web there. offline hobbies that could be better and great though would be general activities done with your hands. reading, cooking, creativity, real communication in the end, especially with loved ones.

6. set a goal: i want to return to a calm life without constantly being on my phone.

you are not just fighting with the phone, you are returning time, clarity, attention to family, studies, actual real life activities, a mental state that isn't dependent on a screen. just imagine how much you would do. how much useful and fun things you would start doing again, how you would look at that pathetic rectangular thing at last that was so useless most of the time. how much you would take your life back.

if you just put the phone aside.