Millennials and addiction to Phones

More than half of the Millennials are serious “Phone Addicts”.   Are you among them…

My name is Puneet, and I am an addict.

Not of drugs. Not of smoking. Not of alcohol. But of my phone.

I self-diagnosed from a great YouTube video by Simon Sinek – a regular TED speaker – in which he discusses his musings on Millennials. Click at below link to access the video. 

https://youtu.be/R0xYCy2eft8

The talk is certainly worth a watch as it gives a lot of pause for thought. But the point to ponder is how many people nowadays, (Millennials and non) are addicted to their phone.

According to Sinek, when you receive a message or like or email or any other kind of alert on your phone, your brain gets a hit of dopamine – a powerful hormone that drives the pleasure centres in the brain. Alcohol, drugs, smoking and gambling all also release dopamine. All also are highly addictive. 

Sinek’s three fold test for phone addiction :

• Have you been sat at dinner with friends and messaged someone who wasn’t there? – guilty
• Have you been sat at a work meeting with your phone on the table? – guilty
• When you wake up, is checking your phone the first thing you do? – guilty

After watching the video, it hit me that I’m addicted.

I don’t need to check my phone every 10 minutes, or even lesser, I don’t need to bring it to the meetings, I certainly don’t need to check it first thing when I wake up. But I do all of it. It’s not that I’m going to stop using my phone. I don’t actually think I could function as a person in society nowadays without one.

But I must moderate the use, keep a balanced relationship with it. Because being on your phone means you’re not in the moment, you’re somewhere else and – not wanting to go too deep – letting the life in front of you go by.

All the while edging slightly closer to the higher rates of depression that Sinek suggests phone and social media addicts are more prone to.

So, since watching the video I’ve made some changes in my life:

At dinners and nights out, I keep my phone silent, in my pocket.

If I need to check it (OK, if I want to check it) I’ll do so as a discrete act. I won’t pull it out mid-conversation or whilst I’m sat at the table. My friends have chosen to spend time with me, and I should respect that, and just enjoy the moment.

In meetings, my phone stays at my desk.

Though, I still take my phone to client meetings, but it stays in my pocket. All of us work hard to ensure all our internal and external meetings are pointed, efficient and end with action. And I don’t want to sabotage that by not properly paying attention.

I’m invited to a meeting because someone wants my input – just as when I call a meeting it’s because I want others’. And if they’re going to ensure the meeting is efficient and productive, it’s only fair that I reciprocate by giving them my undivided attention.

I no longer take my phone to bed.

Now, this one was the most difficult. Literally, like I was breaking up with my phone.

But when I go to bed, my phone now goes in the study, on silent. Any messages and alerts can wait until I’m properly up and awake. Instead, taking a cue from a friend who’s done the same, an old mini-tablet I was given as part of a home hub bundle is now my alarm clock (yes, I’m a Millennial, I don’t trust things that don’t have a lithium-ion battery). But I’ve disabled all apps and shut off connectivity. When I choose to go to bed, I leave social media outside the door.

I’ve only just started this new regimen, so I don’t know if it will work, or how long I will last.

But I already feel a sense of balance, and less pressure to immediately respond and engage with my phone. It’s a fantastic, smart and brilliant device, but like everything else in life, it should only be used in moderation.