Hey, it’s Benji 👋 

I always catch myself spending far too much time on it.

Even though I know it’s not good for me, it still takes real effort to stop.

This week’s menu is all about Phone Addiction.

Enjoy! 🍴

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Starter 🥗 

Endless Staring

Over 2.5 billion people have one and use it every single day.

For everything!

Texting, gaming, sharing, banking, self-care, music, even tracking our health.

And let’s be honest: if you can’t find it for more than five seconds... instant heart attack. 💥

Today, the average person spends 60–70 days a year glued to their phone.

That’s two entire months... just staring at a small screen. 📱

But why are we so hooked?

Let’s dive in. 🔍

Main 🥙 

The Digital Life

What is phone addiction?

Phone addiction happens when you feel an uncontrollable urge to use your phone even when you know you shouldn’t.

Signs you might be addicted include using your phone out of boredom, feeling anxious without it, or struggling to cut down your screen time. 🤳 

What causes it? 🤔 

Phones are designed to be addictive!

Apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Candy Crush have been meticulously engineered to trigger responses that keep us hooked with endless notifications, rewards, and dopamine hits. ✨ 

Why are we so addicted? 😍 

Most apps are built around positive social reinforcement: likes, messages, wins, and new content. 🎁 

Each tiny reward triggers a small dopamine release in your brain - the same brain chemical linked to pleasure and habit formation.

How does it affect us? 🛑 

Phone addiction doesn’t just steal your time; it messes with your body and mind, too. For example, it has been linked to

• anxiety and depression 😢 

• decreased work performance 📚️ 

• poor sleep quality and insomnia 💤 

• eye problems and tech neck 👀 

• phantom vibrations 📳 

👩‍🍳 tip: Staying present and self-aware can be enough to catch yourself.

Next time you reach for your phone, pause. Take a breath. You might not need it as much as you think. 💭 

Dessert 🍰 

Break the Phone Addiction

Let’s be real:

If you’re unlocking your phone, locking it… and then unlocking it five seconds later… it might be time for an intervention. 😉 

Here’s a checklist of intentional things you can do to spend less time glued to your phone (and more time living your actual life): 👇

• ✅ Remove time-consuming apps from your home screen

• ✅ Turn off push notifications (your brain doesn’t need 50 reminders a day)

• ✅ Switch into focus mode

• ✅ Create a phone-free morning and evening routine 🌅

• ✅ Set your screen to grayscale (it makes everything just boring)

• ✅ Keep your phone out of sight (out of sight, out of mind) 🧠 

• ✅ Try screen time apps like One Sec or Opal 📱 (they’ll gently shame you into using your phone less)

• ✅ Add a screen time widget on your home screen (so you can't not see how much you’ve been scrolling)

My tip: The thing that’s helped me the most was physically putting my phone in another room.

Out of reach = out of temptation 🙏