To ask if I have a problem with my phone

[CreamLampshade]

I spend 4.5 - 6 hours on it a day, according to my phone.

I do wfh and often end up checking emails and teams etc and doing calls on it so that takes up a chunk. But it’s also a large part googling things, reading mumsnet, scrolling mindlessly on news sites, Instagram etc.

this number of hours seems alarming? I do find I very fatigued by it and drained. And I constantly feel like I don’t have time for my actual hobbies.

but also when I try to stop I feel kind of aimless and like I can’t stop picking it up to check things? I check my budgeting app every day several times a day (at least ten) to look at how much money I have, as if it’s going to change!

how the hell do I stop this? It’s depressing but so ingrained now :(

yabu - you are addicted
Yanbu - that amount is normal / I do the same

Oh and I also often can’t sleep because I’ve kept myself up reading mumsnet threads! But I really struggle to sleep without scrolling too as can’t settle down.

Discipline is required.

Find a really good book to read and only allow yourself to look at your phone after you’ve read a chapter, or a certain number of pages.

Leave your phone in another room.

Get a pastime like knitting or crochet, to keep your hands busy. Listen to the radio/a podcast/watch TV at the same time.

No phone in the bedroom. Or if it is there, it’s not within arm’s reach.

Read how to break up with your phone.

I'm the same and I've started trying to do things without checking my phone like watching tv or a film.
I've started reading a book
I've also switched all my notifications off.
Anyone who needs to contact me urgently will call.

Look at the app usage rather than the phone usage time then decide if its too long.

My phone usage is 10hrs+ everyday but 90% of that is playing music.

I got a fitbit so that I would know if someone called or messaged me and then I put the phone away for several hours at a time. Using a kindle or hard copy book for reading is also useful.
The problem is device convergence -- the phone performs so many useful and needed functions in our lives that you can't always ignore it. But perhaps you can check certain things once per day only?

If you’re fatigued and drained by it, the amount of hours doesn’t matter. You need to make a change.

Set aside times to put the phone away/upstairs and do your few house work bits or make dinner or whatever. Set a specific time 3 times a week to check your budget app. Put it across the room when you’re going to sleep. Do jigsaws or knitting or Rubik’s cube while watching tv, to keep your hands busy.

There are loads of screen time options on phones as well or apps you can download to limit time spent on certain websites.