Over 50% of us admit to being chemically addicted to our phones, and the rest just won't admit it!

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Our smartphones have become our constant companions. But for many of us, this relationship has turned into into dependency. Phone addiction is a growing epidemic — affecting our mental health, productivity, and even our relationships.

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What is Phone Addiction?

Phone addiction is the obsessive use of a smartphone. We become chemically addicted to the “cheap dopamine” we get from our phone when we interact with it thousands of times every day. On average, we:

• Spend 4+ hours scrolling mindlessly [source]
• Check our phones 300+ times [source]
• Touch, tap, and scroll 2,500+ of times [source]

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The Impact of Phone Addiction

Phone addiction can lead to short-term and long-term impacts on our physical and mental health, including:

• Reduced sleep quality
• Decreased attention span
• Impact on creative thinking
• Intensified symptoms of ADD and ADHD
• Increased stress and anxiety
• Lowered mental performance
• Feelings of solitude and insecurity
• Deterioration in personal relationships
• Declining academic performance
• Eye strain
• Back pain
• and more!

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Phone Addiction Can Shrink Our Brain

Grey matter in the brain is linked to controlling movement, memory, and emotions. A recent study found that people with phone addiction had less grey matter in key areas, similar to drug addicts. This means their brain structure changed, affecting vital functions.

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Signs and Symptoms of Phone Addiction:

• Being dishonest about or hiding phone use
• Concern from family or friends
• Skipping or struggling with daily tasks due to phone use
• Spending increasing amounts of time on the phone
• Regularly checking the phone due to the need to be constantly connected
• Experiencing accidents or neglecting safety because of phone distraction
• Poor social interactions and feeling isolated
• Frustration or irritation when unable to use the phone
• Difficulty reducing phone use or feeling a strong need to have the device

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Tips for Dealing With Phone Addiction

• Group support (i.e. Internet and Tech Addicts Anonymous)
• Turn your phone on airplane mode at night
• Keep your phone in a different room
• Put a hair tie around your phone to interrupt the mindless scroll
• Use an app like Roots to set boundaries

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How Roots Can Help:

The Roots app is designed to help reduce your phone screen time by 2+ hours every day, by:

• Setting better intentions
• Creating app limits you can't skip
• Scheduling digital downtime
• Tracking your daily balance score