presentation on phone addiction

Social Media and Mental Health

• Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling

Dealing with Revenge Porn and “Sextortion”

Choosing an alcohol rehab treatment program, staying social when you quit drinking.

• Vaping: The Health Risks and How to Quit

Women and Alcohol

• Binge Drinking: What it is, the Effects, and How to Stop
• Online Therapy: Is it Right for You?
• Mental Health
• Health & Wellness
• Children & Family
• Relationships

Are you or someone you know in crisis?

• Bipolar Disorder
• Eating Disorders
• Grief & Loss
• Personality Disorders
• PTSD & Trauma
• Schizophrenia
• Suicide & Self-Harm
• Exercise & Fitness
• Well-being & Happiness
• Weight Management
• Work & Career
• Illness & Disability
• Heart Health
• Sexual Health
• Learning Disabilities
• Family Caregiving
• Teen Issues
• Communication
• Emotional Intelligence
• Love & Friendship
• Domestic Abuse
• Healthy Aging
• Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia
• End of Life
• Meet Our Team

What is smartphone addiction?

Causes of phone and internet addiction, effects of phone addiction, signs and symptoms of smartphone addiction, self-help tips for smartphone addiction, tip 1: recognize your triggers, tip 2: seek support offline.

• Tip 3: Modify your phone use
• Tip 4: Find treatment

Helping a child or teen with smartphone addiction

Smartphone and internet addiction help if you're addicted to your phone.

Worried about your phone or internet use? These tips can help you break free of cell phone addiction and better balance your life, online and off.

While a smartphone, tablet, or computer can be a hugely productive tool, compulsive use of these devices can interfere with work, school, and relationships. When you spend more time on social media or playing games than you do interacting with real people, or you can’t stop yourself from repeatedly checking texts, emails, or apps—even when it has negative consequences in your life—it may be time to reassess your technology use.

Phone addiction, sometimes colloquially known as “nomophobia” (fear of being without a mobile phone), is often fueled by an internet overuse problem or internet addiction disorder. After all, it’s rarely the phone or tablet itself that creates the compulsion, but rather the games, apps, and online worlds it connects us to.

Smartphone addiction can encompass a variety of impulse-control problems, including:

Virtual relationships. Addiction to social networking , dating apps, texting, and messaging can extend to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships. We’ve all seen the couples sitting together in a restaurant ignoring each other and engaging with their smartphones instead. While the internet can be a great place to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, or even start romantic relationships, online relationships are not a healthy substitute for real-life interactions. Online friendships can be appealing as they tend to exist in a bubble, not subject to the same demands or stresses as messy, real-world relationships. Compulsive use of dating apps can change your focus to short-term hookups instead of developing long-term relationships.

Information overload. Compulsive web surfing, watching videos, playing games, or checking news feeds can lead to lower productivity at work or school and isolate you for hours at a time. Compulsive use of the internet and smartphone apps can cause you to neglect other aspects of your life, from real-world relationships to hobbies and social pursuits.

Cybersex addiction. Compulsive use of internet pornography, sexting, nude-swapping, or adult messaging services can leave your more vulnerable to “ sextortion ” and impact negatively on your real-life intimate relationships and overall emotional health. While online pornography and cybersex addictions are types of sexual addiction, the internet makes it more accessible, relatively anonymous, and very convenient. It’s easy to spend hours engaging in fantasies impossible in real life. Excessive use of dating apps that facilitate casual sex can make it more difficult to develop long-term intimate relationships or damage an existing relationship.

Online compulsions, such as gaming, gambling, stock trading, online shopping, or bidding on auction sites like eBay can often lead to financial stress and job-related problems. While gambling addiction has been a well-documented problem for years, the availability of internet gambling has made gambling far more accessible. Compulsive stock trading or online shopping can be just as financially and socially damaging. eBay addicts may wake up at strange hours in order to be online for the last remaining minutes of an auction. You may purchase things you don’t need and can’t afford just to experience the excitement of placing the winning bid.

While you can experience impulse-control problems with a laptop or desktop computer, the size and convenience of smartphones and tablets means that we can take them just about anywhere and gratify our compulsions at any time. In fact, most of us are rarely ever more than five feet from our smartphones. Like the use of drugs and alcohol, they can trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine and alter your mood. You can also rapidly build up tolerance so that it takes more and more time in front of these screens to derive the same pleasurable reward.

Heavy smartphone use can often be symptomatic of other underlying problems, such as stress , anxiety, depression , or loneliness . At the same time, it can also exacerbate these problems. If you use your smartphone as a “security blanket” to relieve feelings of anxiety, loneliness, or awkwardness in social situations , for example, you’ll succeed only in cutting yourself off further from people around you. Staring at your phone will deny you the face-to-face interactions that can help to meaningfully connect you to others, alleviate anxiety, and boost your mood. In other words, the remedy you’re choosing for your anxiety (engaging with your smartphone), is actually making your anxiety worse.

Smartphone or internet addiction can also negatively impact your life by:

Increasing loneliness and depression. While it may seem that losing yourself online will temporarily make feelings such as loneliness , depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air, it can actually make you feel even worse. A 2014 study found a correlation between high social media usage and depression and anxiety. Users, especially teens, tend to compare themselves unfavorably with their peers on social media, promoting feelings of loneliness and depression.

Fueling anxiety. One researcher found that the mere presence of a phone in a work place tends to make people more anxious and perform poorly on given tasks. The heavier a person’s phone use, the greater the anxiety they experienced.

Increasing stress. Using a smartphone for work often means work bleeds into your home and personal life. You feel the pressure to always be on, never out of touch from work. This need to continually check and respond to email can contribute to higher stress levels and even burnout .

Exacerbating attention deficit disorders. The constant stream of messages and information from a mobile phone can overwhelm the brain and make it impossible to focus attention on any one thing for more than a few minutes without feeling compelled to move on to something else.

Diminishing your ability to concentrate and think deeply or creatively. The persistent buzz, ping or beep of your phone can distract you from important tasks, slow your work, and interrupt those quiet moments that are so crucial to creativity and problem solving. Instead of ever being alone with our thoughts, we’re now always online and connected.

Disturbing your sleep. Excessive smartphone use can disrupt your sleep , which can have a serious impact on your overall mental health. It can impact your memory, affect your ability to think clearly, and reduce your cognitive and learning skills.

Encouraging self-absorption. A UK study found that people who spend a lot of time on social media are more likely to display negative personality traits such as narcissism . Snapping endless selfies, posting all your thoughts or details about your life can create an unhealthy self-centeredness, distancing you from real-life relationships and making it harder to cope with stress .

There is no specific amount of time spent on your phone, or the frequency you check for updates, or the number of messages you send or receive that indicates an addiction or overuse problem.

Spending a lot of time connected to your phone only becomes a problem when it absorbs so much of your time it causes you to neglect your face-to-face relationships, your work, school, hobbies, or other important things in your life. If you find yourself ignoring friends over lunch to read Facebook updates or compulsively checking your phone in while driving or during school lectures, then it’s time to reassess your smartphone use and strike a healthier balance in your life.

Warning signs of smartphone or internet overuse include:

Trouble completing tasks at work or home . Do you find laundry piling up and little food in the house for dinner because you’ve been busy chatting online, texting, or playing video games? Perhaps you find yourself working late more often because you can’t complete your work on time.

Isolation from family and friends . Is your social life suffering because of all the time you spend on your phone or other device? If you’re in a meeting or chatting with friends, do you lose track of what’s being said because you’re checking your phone? Have friends and family expressed concern about the amount of time you spend on your phone? Do you feel like no one in your “real” life—even your spouse—understands you like your online friends?

Concealing your smartphone use . Do you sneak off to a quiet place to use your phone? Do you hide your smartphone use or lie to your boss and family about the amount of time you spend online? Do you get irritated or cranky if your online time is interrupted?

Having a “fear of missing out” (or FOMO) . Do you hate to feel out of the loop or think you’re missing out on important news or information if you don’t check you phone regularly? Do you need to compulsively check social media because you’re anxious that others are having a better time, or leading a more exciting life than you? Do you get up at night to check your phone?

Feeling of dread, anxiety, or panic if you leave your smartphone at home , the battery runs down or the operating system crashes. Or do you feel phantom vibrations—you think your phone has vibrated but when you check, there are no new messages or updates?

Withdrawal symptoms from smartphone addiction

A common warning sign of smartphone or internet addiction is experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you try to cut back on your smartphone use. These may include:

• Restlessness
• Anger or irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Sleep problems
• Craving access to your smartphone or other device

There are a number of steps you can take to get your phone and internet use under control. While you can initiate many of these measures yourself, an addiction is hard to beat on your own, especially when temptation is always within easy reach. It can be all too easy to slip back into old patterns of usage. Look for outside support, whether it’s from family, friends, or a professional therapist .

To help you identify your problem areas, keep a log of when and how much you use your smartphone for non-work or non-essential activities. There are specific apps that can help with this, enabling you to track the time you spend on your phone. Are there times of day that you use your phone more? Are there other things you could be doing instead?

The more you understand your smartphone use, the easier it will be to curb your habits and regain control of your time.

What makes you reach for your phone? Is it when you’re lonely or bored? If you are struggling with depression, stress, or anxiety, for example, your excessive smartphone use might be a way to self-soothe rocky moods . Instead, find healthier and more effective ways of managing your moods, such as practicing relaxation techniques .

Build your coping skills. Perhaps tweeting, texting or blogging is your way of coping with stress or managing anger . Or maybe you have trouble relating to others and find it easier to communicate with people online. Building skills in these areas will help you weather the stresses and strains of daily life without relying on your smartphone.

Recognize any underlying problems that may support your compulsive behavior. Have you had problems with alcohol or drugs in the past? Does anything about your smartphone use remind you of how you used to drink or use drugs to numb or distract yourself?

Human beings are social creatures. We’re not meant to be isolated or to rely on technology for human interaction. Socially interacting with another person face-to-face—making eye contact, responding to body language—can make you feel calm, safe, and understood, and quickly put the brakes on stress .

Interacting through text, email or messaging bypasses these nonverbal cues so won’t have the same effect on your emotional well-being. Besides, online friends can’t hug you when a crisis hits, visit you when you’re sick, or celebrate a happy occasion with you.

Strengthen your support network. Set aside dedicated time each week for friends and family. If you are shy, there are ways to overcome social awkwardness and make lasting friends without relying on social media or the internet.

Find people with similar interests by reaching out to colleagues at work, joining a sports team or book club, enrolling in an education class, or volunteering for a good cause. You’ll be able to interact with others like you, let relationships develop naturally, and form friendships that will enhance your life and strengthen your health.

Tip 3: Modify your phone use, step-by-step

For most people, getting control over their smartphone and internet use isn’t a case of quitting cold turkey. Think of it more like going on a diet. Just as you still need to eat, you probably still need to use your phone for work, school, or to stay in touch with friends. Your goal should be to cut back to more healthy levels of use.

• Set goals for when you can use your smartphone. For example, you might schedule use for certain times of day, or you could reward yourself with a certain amount of time on your phone once you’ve completed a homework assignment or finished a chore, for instance.
• Turn off your phone at certain times of the day, such as when you’re driving, in a meeting, at the gym, having dinner, or playing with your kids. Don’t take your phone with you to the bathroom.
• Don’t bring your phone or tablet to bed. The blue light emitted by the screens can disrupt your sleep if used within two hours of bedtime. Turn devices off and leave them in another room overnight to charge. Instead of reading eBooks on your phone or tablet at night, pick up a book. You’ll not only sleep better but research shows you’ll also remember more of what you’ve read.
• Replace your smartphone use with healthier activities. If you are bored and lonely, resisting the urge to use your smartphone can be very difficult. Have a plan for other ways to fill the time, such as meditating , reading a book, or chatting with friends in person.
• Play the “phone stack” game. Spending time with other smartphone addicts? Play the “phone stack” game. When you’re having lunch, dinner, or drinks together, have everyone place their smartphones face down on the table. Even as the phones buzz and beep, no one is allowed to grab their device. If someone can’t resist checking their phone, that person has to pick up the check for everyone.
• Remove social media apps from your phone so you can only check Facebook, Twitter and the like from your computer. And remember: what you see of others on social media is rarely an accurate reflection of their lives—people exaggerate the positive aspects of their lives, brushing over the doubts and disappointments that we all experience. Spending less time comparing yourself unfavorably to these stylized representations can help to boost your mood and sense of self-worth.
• Limit checks. If you compulsively check your phone every few minutes, wean yourself off by limiting your checks to once every 15 minutes. Then once every 30 minutes, then once an hour. If you need help, there are apps that can automatically limit when you’re able to access your phone.
• Curb your fear of missing out. Accept that by limiting your smartphone use, you’re likely going to miss out on certain invitations, breaking news, or new gossip. There is so much information available on the internet, it’s almost impossible to stay on top of everything, anyway. Accepting this can be liberating and help break your reliance on technology.

Tip 4: Find treatment for phone and internet addiction

If you need more help to curb your smartphone or internet use, there are now specialist treatment centers that offer digital detox programs to help you disconnect from digital media. Individual and group therapy can also give you a tremendous boost in controlling your technology use.

Therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can provide step-by-step ways to stop compulsive behaviors and change your perceptions about your phone. Therapy can also help you learn healthier ways of coping with uncomfortable emotions—such as stress, anxiety, or depression—that may be fueling your smartphone use.

Marriage or couples counseling. If excessive use of internet pornography or online affairs is affecting your relationship, counseling, either in-person or via an online therapy platform , can help you work through these challenging issues and reconnect with your partner.

Group support. Organizations such as Internet Tech Addiction Anonymous (ITAA) and On-Line Gamers Anonymous offer online support and face-to-face meetings to curb excessive technology use. Of course, you need real-life people to benefit fully from any addiction support group . Online support groups can be helpful in finding sources of assistance, but it’s easy to use them as an excuse to spend even more time on your smartphone. Sex Addicts Anonymous can be a place to try if you’re having trouble with cybersex addiction.

Speak to a Licensed Therapist

BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

Any parent who’s tried to drag a child or teen away from a smartphone or tablet knows how challenging it can be to separate kids from social media, messaging apps, or online games and videos. Youngsters lack the maturity to curb their smartphone use on their own, but simply confiscating the device can often backfire, creating anxiety and withdrawal symptoms in your child. Instead, there are plenty of other ways to help your child find a healthier balance:

Be a good role model. Children have a strong impulse to imitate, so it’s important you manage your own smartphone and internet use. It’s no good asking your child to unplug at the dinner table while you’re staring at your own phone or tablet. Don’t let your own smartphone use distract from parent-child interactions.

Use apps to monitor and limit your child’s phone use. There are a number of apps available that can limit your child’s data usage or restrict texting and web browsing to certain times of the day. Other apps can eliminate messaging capabilities while in motion, so you can prevent your teen using a smartphone while driving.

Create “phone-free” zones. Restrict the use of smartphones or tablets to a common area of the house where you can keep an eye on your child’s activity and limit time online. Ban phones from the dinner table and bedrooms and insist they’re turned off after a certain time at night.

Encourage other interests and social activities. Get your child away from screens by exposing them to other hobbies and activities, such as team sports, Scouts, and after-school clubs. Spend time as a family unplugged.

Talk to your child about underlying issues. Compulsive smartphone use can be the sign of deeper problems. Is your child having problems fitting in? Has there been a recent major change, like a move or divorce, which is causing stress? Is your child suffering with other issues at school or home?

Get help. Teenagers often rebel against their parents , but if they hear the same information from a different authority figure, they may be more inclined to listen. Try a sports coach, doctor, or respected family friend. Don’t be afraid to seek professional counseling if you are concerned about your child’s smartphone use.

Support groups

On-Line Gamers Anonymous  – Help and support for problems caused by excessive game playing. (OLGA)

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous  – 12-step programs for sexual addictions. (SLAA)

More Information

• Risky Business - Help for recognizing and dealing with smartphone and internet addiction. (Mental Health America)
• Internet Gaming - Symptoms of gaming disorder. (American Psychiatric Association)
• A battle for your time - How using a smartphone can deliver a release of dopamine, reinforcing your behavior. (Harvard University)
• Take Control - Things you can do right now to build a healthier relationship with your smartphone. (Center for Humane Technology)
• Yu, S., & Sussman, S. (2020). Does Smartphone Addiction Fall on a Continuum of Addictive Behaviors? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 422. Link
• Conditions for Further Study. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. Link
• Internet Gaming. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2021. Link
• Sohn, S. Y., Rees, P., Wildridge, B., Kalk, N. J., & Carter, B. (2019). Prevalence of problematic smartphone usage and associated mental health outcomes amongst children and young people: A systematic review, meta-analysis and GRADE of the evidence. BMC Psychiatry, 19(1), 356. Link
• Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A battle for your time. (2018, May 1). Science in the News. Link
• Canale, N., Vieno, A., Doro, M., Rosa Mineo, E., Marino, C., & Billieux, J. (2019). Emotion-related impulsivity moderates the cognitive interference effect of smartphone availability on working memory. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 18519. Link
• Twenge, Jean M., Thomas E. Joiner, Megan L. Rogers, and Gabrielle N. Martin. “Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time.” Clinical Psychological Science 6, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 3–17. Link
• Lin, L. yi, Sidani, J. E., Shensa, A., Radovic, A., Miller, E., Colditz, J. B., Hoffman, B. L., Giles, L. M., & Primack, B. A. (2016). Association between Social Media Use and Depression among U.S. Young Adults. Depression and Anxiety, 33(4), 323–331. Link
• Kross, Ethan, Philippe Verduyn, Emre Demiralp, Jiyoung Park, David Seungjae Lee, Natalie Lin, Holly Shablack, John Jonides, and Oscar Ybarra. “Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults.” PLOS ONE 8, no. 8 (August 14, 2013): e69841. Link

More in Addiction

Changing habits to avoid anxiety, depression, addiction, and FOMO

Gambling Problems and Addiction

How to stop gambling and regain control of your life

Coping with online abuse and practicing safe sexting

A guide to alcohol addiction treatment services

Cutting down on alcohol doesn’t have to mean losing your social life

The health risks in young people and how to quit

The hidden risks of drinking

Binge Drinking

Help if you have trouble stopping drinking once you start

Professional therapy, done online

BetterHelp makes starting therapy easy. Take the assessment and get matched with a professional, licensed therapist.

Help us help others

Millions of readers rely on HelpGuide.org for free, evidence-based resources to understand and navigate mental health challenges. Please donate today to help us save, support, and change lives.

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Digestive Health
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Diet & Nutrition
• Health Insurance
• Public Health
• Patient Rights
• Caregivers & Loved Ones
• End of Life Concerns
• Health News
• Thyroid Test Analyzer
• Doctor Discussion Guides
• Hemoglobin A1c Test Analyzer
• Lipid Test Analyzer
• Complete Blood Count (CBC) Analyzer
• What to Buy
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Medical Expert Board

What Are the Signs of Phone Addiction?

Warning Signs and How to Help

• Who Is at Risk
• Health Effects
• How to Break It
• When to Seek Help

While cell phones are integral to our daily lives and have numerous benefits, many people have developed what some researchers consider phone addiction symptoms that can have negative effects on well-being. According to some research, roughly 27.9% of young adults are addicted to their cell phones.

Read on to find out more about how cell phone addiction is defined, the risks involved, and how to identify and treat it.

Georgijevic / Getty Images

What Is Phone Addiction?

Cell phone addiction may be categorized as a type of behavioral addiction that presents when a person can't go without their cell phone, their excessive use causes adverse consequences, or they experience symptoms similar to withdrawal when they do.

While cell phone addiction is very real for the people experiencing it, it is not officially recognized as a mental health illness or an addiction in the fifth edition of the " Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders " (DSM-5). However, it does present with similar characteristics as other behavioral addictions, such as gambling.

What Is the DSM-5?

The DSM-5 is the American Psychiatric Association's official handbook that mental health professionals use to assess and diagnose a variety of mental health disorders.

There are reasons why smartphones are hard to put down. The sounds and vibrations catch our attention, and the games, notifications, social media, and messages provide instant gratification.

Smartphones offer a constant source of entertainment and distraction. Companies use persuasive design techniques with features like infinite scrolling, push notifications, and personalized content to keep us engaged and make it harder to disconnect.

Who Is at Risk of Phone Addiction?

The exact number of people addicted to their cell phones isn’t known. This is because it can be hard to quantify and many studies base their data on self-reporting methods.

Although anyone can be at risk for this type of addiction, it is most commonly found among adolescents. Some research indicates that about 20%–30% of adolescents and young adults have a phone addiction. Teens in particular use their phones with high frequency, while cell phone use tends to decrease gradually as a person gets older.

People who get phones at a younger age are also more likely to present with addictive behaviors than those who get them later in life.

Cell Phone Risk Between the Sexes

Both young boys and girls are at a higher risk of developing an addiction to their cell phones, but there may be somewhat different patterns of use. Girls typically use their phones for social interaction, while boys use phones for the same reason in addition to gaming applications. Males also show a higher tendency to use their phones in risky situations.

Social media addiction may go hand in hand with phone addiction. It is associated with poor sleep quality and depression. And, it is also correlated with body perception issues.

What Are the Symptoms of Phone Addiction?

Some new terms have emerged to describe the characteristics of phone addiction:  

• Nomophobia : Fear tied to going without one’s phone
• Textaphrenia : Fear of the inability to receive or send text messages
• Ringxiety : Feeling as though a notification has come through on your phone when it hasn’t
• Textiety : Feeling anxious about receiving and responding to text messages immediately

Some symptoms of phone addiction include:

• You are constantly reaching for your phone.
• You spend much of your time on your phone.
• You wake in the night to check if your phone has any notifications.
• You feel negative emotions such as anger, sadness, or anxiety when you don’t have your phone or can’t check it.
• Using your phone has led to an injury or accident, such as a car crash from texting while driving.
• The amount of time you spend on your phone affects your professional or personal life.
• When you try to limit your phone use, you end up relapsing in a short time.

Signs From Others

While it can be difficult to notice your own phone addiction, one telltale sign you are forming an addiction is if someone in your life mentions your phone overuse to you. They may express concern about how much you are on your phone or your behavior while you are not using it.

What Are the Effects of Phone Addiction?

Studies show that cell phone overuse can have a negative impact on your health in a variety of ways.

Excessive smartphone use has been associated with physical and mental health problems in adolescents and young adults, including:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Alcohol use disorder
• Difficulties in cognitive-emotion regulation
• Impulsivity
• Impaired cognitive function
• Addiction to social networking
• Low self-esteem

Some other effects of phone addiction include:

• Muscle pain and stiffness
• Blurry vision
• Red or irritated eyes
• Auditory illusions (hearing your phone ring or vibrate when it’s not)
• Thumb or wrist pain
• Loss of interest in other activities you once enjoyed
• Insomnia and sleep disturbances
• Worsened school or work performance
• Heightened conflicts with your social group or family
• Feelings of irritability or unease when you don’t have your phone
• An increased risk of developing depression or anxiety
• Putting yourself in dangerous situations by using your phone when you shouldn’t be
• Feelings of guilt, helplessness, or loneliness when you go without your phone

Cell Phone Addiction and Dopamine

Cell phone addiction is similar to other types of addiction because of its effect on dopamine , a chemical in the body that causes feelings of pleasure. Cell phone use has been shown to stimulate the production and release of dopamine, which drives the need to use it more and more.

How to Break the Addiction

Breaking any type of addiction isn’t easy, but it is possible.

First, you must acknowledge the issues it's causing in your life. Once you have determined that you need to break your addiction, you can:

• Identify the reasons : Research has found that people who are on their phones constantly may be trying to escape issues or problems in their lives. By determining if the root cause of your phone addiction is to escape problems, you can address and treat the underlying issues.
• Consider therapy : Certain types of therapy , such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) , have proven effective in helping people overcome addictions. Other types of effective therapies for addictions are contingency management, motivational interviewing , and couples counseling (if it is affecting your relationships).

Tips to Beat Phone Addiction on Your Own

While addictions often require professional help, not all people will want to go that route. If you want to try to get over phone addiction on your own you can:

• Buy a cellphone lockbox that only opens after a set amount of time. This will limit your use.
• Remove apps that take up the majority of your time.
• Eliminate notifications on your phone so you aren’t summoned to check it every time a notification appears.
• Charge your phone in an inaccessible place so it’s harder to get to.
• Try to replace phone use with other activities you enjoy.
• Switch to a non-smartphone.

How to Prevent Phone Addiction

The best prevention method for phone addiction is avoidance. If you have a phone, you can prevent becoming addicted by using it only when necessary. This means deleting any apps that don’t serve a purpose and using your time to connect with people in other ways.

For parents with young children, limit your child's phone use by only allowing them to use it on your terms, or avoid buying them a phone altogether until they are above a certain age. Since children in their teen years are most at risk, you could hold off on buying them a phone until it is absolutely necessary.

If your child must have a phone for safety reasons, consider buying a phone that doesn’t have the ability to download apps that may lead to addiction. This way they will still be able to contact you or their friends if they need to but will not have access to time-consuming apps.

When to Contact a Healthcare Provider

If you feel as though your phone use has begun to control your life, or your loved ones have mentioned their concerns to you, it may be time to seek out professional help.

You can do this by speaking to your healthcare provider for referrals to a therapist or by signing up for a digital detox—a time when you give up tech devices. 

While not formally recognized by the DSM-5, problematic cell phone use shares many similarities with behavioral addictions. A person with a phone addiction will have difficulty staying off their phone and could lose interest in things they once enjoyed because of excessive phone use. Teens and young adults are most at risk of developing a phone addiction.

Signs of phone addiction include feeling irritable or negative when going without a phone, being unable to go without a phone for long periods, or using a phone so much that it negatively affects physical health or mental health.

While phone addiction does come with negative consequences, there are ways to beat it. A person can seek out professional help through a therapist or practice control techniques that limit phone use.

De-Sola Gutiérrez J, Rodríguez de Fonseca F, Rubio G. Cell-phone addiction: A review . Front Psychiatry. 2016;24(7):175. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00175

American Psychiatric Association.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Association; 2013. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Lin YH, Chiang CL, Lin PH, Chang LR, Ko CH, Lee YH, Lin SH. Proposed diagnostic criteria for smartphone addiction . PLoS One. 2016;11(11):e0163010. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163010

Schulz van Endert T, Mohr PNC. Likes and impulsivity: Investigating the relationship between actual smartphone use and delay discounting . Xin B, ed. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(11):e0241383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241383

Chen X, Hedman A, Distler V, Koenig V. Do persuasive designs make smartphones more addictive? - A mixed-methods study on Chinese university students . Computers in Human Behavior Reports. 2023;10:100299. doi: 10.1016/j.chbr.2023.100299

Pew Research Center. Mobile Fact Sheet 2021 .

Shoukat S. Cell phone addiction and psychological and physiological health in adolescents . EXCLI J. 2019;18:47-50.

yi Lin L, Sidani JE, Shensa A, et al.  Association between social media use and depression among U.S. young adults: research article: social media and depression .  Depress Anxiety . 2016;33(4):323-331. doi:10.1002/da.22466

Çakmak S, Tanrıöver Ö. Is obesity and body perception disturbance related to social media addiction among university students? J Am Coll Health. 2022 Feb 14:1-8. doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2034832

Addiction Center. Phone addiction: warning signs and treatment .

Wacks Y, Weinstein AM. Excessive Smartphone Use Is Associated With Health Problems in Adolescents and Young Adults . Front Psychiatry. 2021 May 28;12:669042. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.669042

Chun JW, Choi J, Kim JY, Cho H, Ahn KJ, Nam JH, Choi JS, Kim DJ. Altered brain activity and the effect of personality traits in excessive smartphone use during facial emotion processing . Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):12156. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-08824-y

Roberts JA, Yaya LH, Manolis C. The invisible addiction: cell-phone activities and addiction among male and female college students . J Behav Addict. 2014;3(4):254-265. doi:10.1556/JBA.3.2014.015

Seo HS, Jeong EK, Choi S, Kwon Y, Park HJ, Kim I. Changes of neurotransmitters in youth with internet and smartphone addiction: A comparison with healthy controls and changes after cognitive behavioral therapy . AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2020;41(7):1293-1301. doi:10.3174/ajnr.A6632

By Angelica Bottaro Bottaro has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and an Advanced Diploma in Journalism. She is based in Canada.