As the relationship between smartphones and their users has transformed into something resembling a complete "attachment" and even "addiction," experts have suggested making simple adjustments to device settings to weaken this effect on individuals and temporarily free themselves from their phone.
The first step to overcoming "phone addiction" is to know how much time you spend on your device, which you can discover by going to the settings menu and then selecting "Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls" for Android devices. For iPhone users, you should open the settings menu, then "Screen Time," and afterwards "See All Activity." A graph showing user activity on the phone will appear, along with the average daily time spent on apps and the number of times the phone was unlocked.
However, Apple has provided a feature on iPhones that allows users to impose restrictions on device usage except when absolutely necessary. You can activate this feature by following these steps:
- From the "Settings" menu, choose "Screen Time," and then "Turn On Screen Time."
- Select "Continue" and tap "This is My iPhone."
- Tap "Downtime," and then "Schedule" to select the desired time.
- You can choose "Every Day" or "Edit Days" and set the start and end times.
By enabling this feature, only calls, messages, and the apps you allow will be available during the downtime period.
Android users can do the same by following these steps:
- Go to the "Settings" menu, then "Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls," and tap the chart.
- Afterwards, choose "Set a Timer," select the desired time for any app, and then tap "Set."
Users can also limit "notifications" from apps by following these steps:
- Go to "Settings," then "Notifications," and afterwards "App Settings."
- Under the "Recent" list, the apps that have sent "Notifications" will appear.
- Tap "See All Apps" to view all programs.
- Select the apps from which you do not want to receive "Notifications" and set them to "Off."
