"Smartphone Slave"?
We spend more than 40 percent of the waking phase online - how to become more independent
Created: 11/21/2022, 06:30
By: Juliane Gutmann
Are you also too attached to your smartphone?
Anyone who wants to do a digital detox often has a hard time with the project.
But there are ways out of the smartphone trap.
16 to 18 year olds spend an average of 70.4 hours online per week.
A number that no mother or father should be happy about.
It was published in 2021 as part of the Postbank youth digital study, as reported by
Zeit online
.
Not only many young people, but also some adults spend an enormous amount of time on the Internet.
Organizing online shopping, birthday parties and weddings via WhatsApp or checking the weather and news apps every day: the smartphone has become an indispensable companion.
If we lose it or if it is broken, we notice how many activities we use it for every day.
Calling up the ticket for public transport in the app, navigating with Google Maps or confirming the evening appointment in Messenger: none of this is possible without the small, powerful computer called a smartphone.
We use it accordingly often.
More often to the newspaper instead of the smartphone: Many would like to do that, but can't do it.
(Archive image) © Fabian Strauch/dpa
How often do we use our smartphones on average?
Six hours and 58 minutes: That's how long we use our smartphones every day on average.
Two hours and 27 minutes of this is spent on social media, according to further information from the Internet provider
Pyur
.
Given that the average sleep time is between six and eight hours, we spend more than 40 percent of our waking hours online, the
Pyur
report says.
But there is a counter-movement: If you want to cut the dependency on your smartphone, you opt for Digital Detox.
A project that can become a real challenge.
Internet survey
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"Smartphone slave": Addiction doctor warns of addiction
At the latest when the smartphone is broken, many people realize that they are actually making themselves “smartphone slaves”.
This term is now also used by medical professionals to make clear the danger behind smartphone use.
For example, Markus Salinger, Senior Physician in the Department of Clinical Addiction Medicine in the Bayreuth District Hospital, gave a lecture at the Bayreuth Media Talk 2019 on the topic "Am I a slave to my mobile phone?
behavioral addictions.
Trend diagnosis or reality?”.
Salinger warns: "It's not just drugs and alcohol that are addictive.
Smartphones can do that, too."
As he explains in a blog post on the website of the Bavarian State Center for New Media (blmplus.de), cell phone addiction is part of the broad field of behavioral addictions.
Shopping addiction, workaholism or sports addiction also fall into this category.
"People become dependent, the economy rejoices," says addiction expert Salinger.
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Hang on your cell phone less – with the following tips
In order not to slip into an addiction, Markus Salinger, Senior Physician in Clinical Addiction Medicine at the Bayreuth District Hospital, advises:
Make conscious decisions
, such as not taking your smartphone into the bedroom or not taking your laptop with you on vacation.
Make a conscious effort to include screen-free times
in your calendar.
For example, you can choose to skip gaming, Netflix, and your smartphone every Monday and Tuesday night.
Show children how to use their smartphones consciously.
Turn off
push-up notifications
.
Many smartphones can track your times.
The information about
cell phone usage data
can be a real eye opener for some.