Smartphone addiction has such a hold on our society that—hey! We see you eyeing that back button. Your attention span may be as short as a golden retriever’s, but you’ll want to stick around, because today we explore the psychology of smartphone addiction.
We’ll also provide some tips and resources to help you break away from your phone—at least long enough to accomplish the goals most important to you.
Smartphone addiction is a pattern of compulsive phone use that feels difficult to control, even when it interferes with sleep, work, school, relationships, or mental health. Psychologically, it’s often tied to reward-seeking behavior. Small cues like notifications, likes, videos, games, and messages can activate dopamine-driven feedback loops that keep people reaching for their phones again and again.
Your smartphone is often the first thing you see after lifting your head from your pillow and the last thing you see before drifting off to sleep. It’s your constant companion, a magical gateway granting access to near-infinite distractions, opportunities for engagement, and stores of information.
Yet when you’re out to dinner, you haven’t checked your notifications in ages, and the compulsion builds until you just have to peek, your phone can be your greatest adversary.
If you can’t put down your phone even when it has a severe negative impact on your life, you may be addicted to your phone—and you aren’t alone.
How Common Is Smartphone Use in the U.S.?
Virtually every American owns a cellphone, and the vast majority (90%) own a smartphone. There’s no escape from their familiar glow. Google Trends reveals that searches for “phone addiction” and “social media addiction” have been on the rise for years.
“[Technology] interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful because we’re too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.”
—Steven Spielberg
Teens, whose brains have yet to fully develop, are especially susceptible to the algorithms tech companies use to keep them clicking and scrolling. According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, about 35% of teens say they are on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook “almost constantly,” with about half of teens saying it would be hard to give up social media.
The problem is dopamine. Commonly referred to as the “feel-good” hormone, dopamine is the brain’s major reward and pleasure neurotransmitter. Anything that causes pleasure triggers a dopamine release. While it’s a common misconception that dopamine makes you happy, the hormone actually reinforces behaviors that make you happy.
Smartphones are so addictive because every time we use them—to like an Instagram post, watch a YouTube video, or play Wordle—it triggers a surge of dopamine. After an initial rush of dopamine, there’s a dip like a craving: What goes up must come down. If a person isn’t addicted, the craving passes, but if they continue binging, the brain compensates with lower and lower dips.
“Mommy let you use your iPad; you were barely two. And it did all the
—Bo Burnham in “Welcome to the Internet”
things we designed it to do.”
By then, the brain is hooked. It needs more dopamine. It needs to feel like it felt the first time it engaged with the stimulus. Over time, the brain may start chasing the same reward response, making it harder to stop checking, scrolling, or tapping even when the experience feels less satisfying than it used to.
To better understand the relationship between dopamine and addiction, watch this heartbreaking (and we mean heartbreaking) cartoon kiwi’s desperate search for golden nuggets.
Not every long scroll session means you’re addicted to your phone. But smartphone use can become a problem when it feels compulsive, interferes with daily responsibilities, or starts replacing sleep, relationships, hobbies, or focus time.
Common signs of smartphone addiction include:
If you think you’re addicted to your smartphone, don’t be too hard on yourself. Many smartphones, apps, and platforms are designed to keep you engaged for as long as possible. Teams at billion-dollar companies are constantly testing ways to keep users engaged longer.
As with any addiction, there’s no shame in reaching out. Doctors and therapists can help address the underlying causes of smartphone addiction. However, making a few changes in your routine can make a world of difference in how you interact with your devices.
Here are some steps you can take to develop a healthier relationship with your smartphone:
Smartphones are addictive precisely because they are incredible tools, but that’s all they are: tools. At the end of the day, you’re the one in control.
If topics like dopamine, addiction, and behavior keep pulling you in, UTPB’s online psychology program can help you take that curiosity further.
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychiatrys-think-tank/202302/youre-addicted-to-your-phone
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201709/why-is-my-phone-so-addictive
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/aug/22/how-digital-media-turned-us-all-into-dopamine-addicts-and-what-we-can-do-to-break-the-cycle
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/cell-phone-addiction#when-to-get-help
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