Am I Part of the 46% Who Can’t Live Without Their Phone?

Aug 11

FOMO and phone dependency.

FOMO stands for the ‘Fear of Missing Out,’ AKA the acronym used in this case to describe the need for people to consistently stay connected with others through social media. Think: I always have my phone close by because I experience FOMO. I want to know why my phone rang. Is it a work email, a text message from family or friends, or a notification from social media?

This curiosity is normal, but does it ever become too much?

What Are We Doing on Our Smartphones?

Finally, 46% of these adults reported that they cannot live without their phones. When their phones were not in proximity to them, they experienced anxiety and withdrawal-like symptoms. This can be traced back to the emotions you feel when receiving a notification, correlating to a type of mood enhancement which could evolve into compulsory behaviour, like checking your notifications.

Do you see the time you spend on your smartphone represented in these statistics? Try checking your settings and take a look at how and where you’re spending time on your phone. When you see these numbers, do you want to make a change?

A study conducted in 2015 found that out of 3,000 adult participants, two-thirds of them use a smartphone. This is how the two-thirds split up their phone usage:

97% text message
92% voice or video call
89% internet browsing
88% email
75% social media

When Does Phone Usage Become Harmful?

Phone dependency can become harmful to the user for many reasons. There are the more obvious physical dangers such as texting and driving or texting and walking. Then there are the less obvious concerns, including lack of physical activity and a decrease in mental health. Let's explore ways in which you could use your smartphone positively.

How Can I Avoid Harmful Scenarios?

Texting and driving or walking: Silence your notifications and instead listen to music or a podcast.
Physical activity: Find time throughout your day to move your body in a way that brings you joy. This can be a great opportunity to unplug too!
Struggling with focusing on your schoolwork? Set a timer on your phone while studying and reward yourself with a break if you don’t go on your phone during that time.
Mental health: Awareness and mindset shift are powerful tools! Reflecting on how and why you utilise your smartphone can help you with your mental well-being. Or, if it’s time to seek help, look into these helpful resources.

Maintaining a Healthy Smartphone Relationship

Don’t let this information scare you away from using your phone! This research is here to support you and provide transparent information that you can use in your daily life.

Is your phone helping or harming? Connecting you with loved ones or exposing you to FOMO? Giving you access to great information or acting as a wormhole of scrolling? If you can pinpoint how your smartphone is causing harm, you can begin to set personal boundaries with your usage.

We all need support in various aspects of our lives, and our blogs are a safe space to explore a collection of topics about social media, phone usage, and taking care of your mental health and well-being.

Study Objectives & Methods

Problematic Smartphone Use: A conceptual overview and systematic review of relations with anxiety and depression psychopathology
Jon D. Elhaia., Robert D. Dvorak,, Jason C. Levine & Brian J. Hall
Published in Journal of Affective Disorders in 2017

The researchers found a correlation between problematic smartphones and depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem. The correlation applies to people addicted to social media and/or use it for a long time. Although depression seems to be more prevalent with smartphone usage than any other psychopathology previously mentioned.