Baskadia

Maybe you have successfully purged the obsessive impulse to

constantly be on your phone. Now you are looking around at

the people you are usually with, as you are not looking at your

phone anymore, and see that they might have a problem too!

Perhaps you have children or teenagers and see that they

spend nearly all their free time on a device instead of

developing themselves.

Do not blame your loved ones, because they are suffering just

as you have suffered too. It is important that to ensure a

healthy discussion about the phone and social media addiction,

you approach the conversation kindly and with compassion.

You want to encourage your loved ones to open up to you, not

to close them off further by blaming them.

Do no immediately approach your loved ones with advice and

recommendations before discussing possible underlying

problems they may have. Usually, addictions are due to

emotions that are difficult to endure and so a person turns to a

toxic behavior to distract themselves from those feelings. Make

time to sit with your loved ones and ask them how they are

feeling that day. This will be a lengthy process as they may not open up right away, or even know the cause for their negative

feelings.

Do speak to them with compassion and understanding. When

discussing the issue, use the collective first-person “we” and

refrain from phrasing things with the secondary-person, the

accusatory pronoun “you.” This makes the other person feel

included and not singled out for bad behavior. This lifts some of

the burdens of shame off of their backs and creates a

comfortable space where they can feel safe to share and be

honest about their addiction.

An example of how to start the dialogue could be “We have a

serious problem with making time for each other,” instead of

saying “You don’t make time for others.” Including yourself in

the conversation prevents someone from feeling like they are

being spoken down to or criticized. This also makes the issue

seem like a collective problem that you can all work together to

find solutions for as a team.

Do not demonize the devices you use, as they are simply tools

at the end of the day. t may seem tempting to look at it in this

way. But you cannot blame the phone for doing exactly what it

was designed to do. This will only shift all responsibility for their actions onto the phone itself and will prevent them from

accepting the truth of the situation.

Use facts to back your claims and speak honestly. You cannot

lie and make things up to convince someone to do something.

This will backfire in the future when they discover that you

were dishonest, and they will revert to their addictive habits

with a vengeance! Supplement your conversation with real

statistics and health facts. This will be the healthiest way to

have these tough discussions with your loved one.

Signs of Phone Addiction in Others

The signs and symptoms of phone addiction in others can

manifest in multiple different ways. The clearest and obvious

sign is the constant use of a device, but there are secondary

and tertiary effects that you might not have realized were signs

until now.

Some signs are headaches, blurry vision, sleep problems, an

unregulated nervous system resulting in frequent illness, and

loss of an accurate sense of time due to desensitization. Other

such symptoms of a phone addiction include restlessness, difficulty concentrating, anger or irritability, craving access to

devices when not available, anxiety, depression.

Ways to Help

You have to address the problem head-on. Utilize the

conversational strategies outlined above to ensure these

discussions happen, and continue after more than just one

brief admission. Discuss emotions and life events often to

foster a safe and trusting environment.

Provide your loved one with resources and a space to vent.

Give them this reading material so that they too can learn

about the negative influence of excessive device usage, as well

as the impact these obsessive behaviors have on the body and

the mind. Encourage them to do their part in educating

themselves so that they can help themselves. Active

engagement with creating a solution will yield the best results.

Encourage your loved ones that they can change their habits

for the better. No one wants to be told only what they are

doing wrong; this only fosters more anxiety and will not lead to

a desire to change. If you let someone know they are strong

and competent often enough, they will start to believe it. With increased self-esteem, your loved ones will find the inner

strength to commit to healing.

You can help your loved ones by implementing these

techniques illustrated throughout the text. What works for you

can work for others, but keep an open mind. Not every

technique will be successful, but as long as you can decrease

exposure to devices and encourage self-control, that is a good step.