Our Phone Addiction Isn’t a Hobby, But It Might support One

• New research reveals that 1/4 of people consider scrolling a hobby.
• This perception certainly accords with the trend:

• An Independent article, echoing this statistic, argues that scrolling isn’t a hobby:

• Indeed, research indicates that passive social media use is linked to higher levels of loneliness and psychological distress.
• The Independent article, and most other resources about smartphone and internet addiction, consider smartphone avoidance as the solution.
• Accordingly, when asked to draw a solution to their compulsive smartphone habits as a part of research, many sketched a “lockout” mechanism.

Should we quit our phones?

• An attempt to quit technology might be fruitless.
• First, trying to quit our phone addiction cold turkey might prove too hard.
• Second, technology itself isn’t the core of the issue:

• Maybe, in fact, we aren’t really addicted to our phones, after all:

Screen time suffers from a bad reputation

• We are conditioned to consider screen time as bad:

• As we consider screen time inherently bad, we only assess it by duration.
• In reality, the effect screen time has on us is more complex and nuanced:

• The real issue is that we mindlessly scroll through content we don’t really take in or don’t actually want to see. Our scrolling lacks intention.

Our screen time can be meaningful

• While we probably should reduce our smartphone consumption, another option is channeling it to complement and enhance our interests.
• This way, instead of competing with our hobbies, our smartphones can support them.
• That is, we might still compulsively and unintentionally reach out to our phones. But once we do, we can choose to engage in intentional, meaningful, and purposeful activities.
• For example:
  • Subscribing to, and reading, newsletters that relate to our interests and passions.
  • Following inspiring creators in specific fields.
  • Joining online communities focused on our passions.
  • Engaging with our hobbies: Whether it’s playing chess online, learning a new language with an app, exploring creative pursuits with photography apps, or continuing reading our book.
  • Any other sort of activities that might support our hobbies and interests, such as rating films on a movie recommendation app, for enhancing our cinematic journey.

It isn’t about how much we use our screens, it’s about what we use them for

• It isn’t only about how much time we spend on our phones; it is also about how we spend this time:

• It’s up to us to better channel our screen time, and we’re up to it:

• Similarly to the consumption of junk food, mindless phone use can provide us with temporary relief, but this relief isn’t sustainable and we are likely to be left malnourished in the long run.
• Mindful phone use, on the other hand, can support our well-being.

Mindful screen time is likely to be shorter

• Curating our phone usage can, in turn, help reduce our compulsive phone use.
• Most simply, a curated experience will probably increase the chance that we’ll come across content we have already seen, and that’s a common trigger for ending compulsive phone use.
• Essentially, developing our interests, passions, and hobbies, with the support of curated phone usage, can help enhance our overall well-being, which, in turn, could make us less susceptible to compulsive behavior.

Phone-Reaching Moments Are an Opportunity to Practice Niksen

• Life’s natural pauses – such as waiting for our microwaved launch – are usually triggers for compulsive phone reaching.
• Instead, we can utilize these pauses to practice Niksen – the Dutch art of doing nothing – which we believe is a hobby, perhaps even the best example of one.