When people think about addiction, they tend to think about the need for a drug or alcohol addiction treatment center. What people don’t tend to think about are the dangers of smartphone addiction. Living in a technology-centric world means that we are glued to our phones. We do not want to miss any calls, texts, or app notifications from our social media accounts. We can manually do things like darken our phones or set our own alarms, but that requires willpower, which people with technology addiction struggle with. Google has created a new android that should help those with technology learn how often they are on their phone and when to take a healthy break.
How Android is Helping Battle Smartphone Addiction
The goal of the Android P operating system is to help consumers and parents help themselves from smartphone addiction. This idea was unveiled at Google’s I/O developer conference in Silicon Valley. There will be activations on no-distraction modes, and they will provide feedback on how to use your phone. There is “wind down” mode, which causes your phone to face gray to remind you that it is time to end the day by putting your phone away. This can be effective as you will not want to continue on your phone if the screen is too dark to see. You can also flip your phone on its face to turn on the “do not disturb” feature which silences your calls, buzzes, and other notifications. We may be able to do that ourselves, but it still requires willpower, which your smartphone will do for you.
How It Helps with Smartphone Addiction
The “time spent” dashboard will show you how many times you have unlocked your phone, how much time you have spent looking at it, and how much time you spend on each app. Time limits can also be set for apps where the icon will turn gray. Parents can also benefit from this android in controlling their child’s time spent on their phone.
The Family Link app can have parents control their child’s devices. This includes knowing how often a child uses certain apps, approving or blocking certain app downloads, setting screen time benefits, and remotely locking devices. This can mean great changes in the future for products owned by Google. For example, YouTube can remind you to take breaks. You can either wait months for the update on your phone, or you can download the beta version today on developer.android.com. This will be available on phones like Google Pixel, OnePlus6, Essential PH-1, etc. Hopefully, those with technology addiction will be able to truly know how long they are on their phone. It is important to limit usage.
Smartphone Addiction Treatment at Bayview Recovery
Located in Tacoma, Washington, Bayview Center’s mission is to offer clinically-driven programs and services to treat a number of substance abuse disorders along with mental health disorders. We use a variety of services and programs to help our clients recover from a number of addictions. Our programs include the following:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy program
- Dialectical-behavioral therapy program
- Trauma therapy program
- Yoga therapy program
- Art therapy program
If you wish to learn more about smartphone addiction, process addictions, or addiction treatment, contact Bayview Recovery today. Call now at 855.478.3650 to speak with a team member about treatment options for you or a loved one.
Dr. Dave Cundiff, MD, MPH (Medical Reviewer)
