I’m sick to death of my phone and I definitely display problematic behaviours toward it. I couldn’t find it the other night and spent 20 panicked minutes turning the house upside down.

I think technology, and especially social media use, are the recreational drugs of the modern era. Everyone seems addicted.

We can’t go anywhere without our phone, we become worried if we don’t have it and we can’t stop using it. If you applied those behaviours to grog or illicit substances you’d be off to rehab, but not so with our phones.

I asked Dani Matthews, founder of LaunchPad Media about how to better manage our digital devices.

“Anxiety is on the rise in relation to digital devices. Nomophobia, an irrational fear of being without your mobile phone is now a recognised medical condition,” says Matthews.

“Another problem is lack of productivity. Every time we’re distracted by our digital devices we lose focus, which has to be re-established. This has a big financial impact for businesses,” she warns.

As Matthews explains, when we constantly repeat a behaviour, like checking our mobile phones, it forms a habit and the brain adapts and carves new neural pathways supporting this behaviour.

– Alexandra Cain

Read more: From Distraction to Addiction

Image by Marvin Meyer from Unsplash