Nik knew he had a problem. His phone time had steadily increased over the past year. “At first, I was spending an hour a day on my phone,” Nik remembers. “Before I knew it, my phone—and the stuff I did on it—was my life. Every moment that I spent apart from it was empty.”
Nik isn’t the only one with a phone addiction. According to addictioncenter.com, 16 percent of young people have a smartphone addiction. Symptoms of clinical addiction include:
• Lying about how much you’re on your phone
• Ignoring things that you know you need to get done
• Compulsively refreshing your feed so you don’t miss something (fear of missing out)
• Few, if any, in-real-life friends
• Getting angry when someone interrupts your phone time
• Checking your phone in the middle of the night
• Pulling out your phone the instant you are alone or bored
• Thinking your phone buzzed when it didn’t
• Trying but failing to stop using your phone so much
Does any of that sound familiar? Smartphone lights, colors, sounds, and vibrations are designed to give our brains a dose of dopamine—the neurotransmitter that helps us feel pleasure—to keep us engaged. Advertisers and phone makers want you to be fanatical about your phone.
Each day, the average teenager spends more than seven hours connected to the internet through their phone. The result is higher rates of mental distress, self-harming behaviors, and even suicide attempts. Studies show that the more you use your phone, the worse your mental health will be.
More than Just an Addiction
Even if you’re not clinically addicted to your phone, when was the last time you took stock of your phone usage and its effect on your spiritual life? Is there a possibility that you are spending more time in virtual reality than in the real world—where God placed you? Has the stuff you do on your phone become more important to you than God?
“I realized my phone had become a god to me,” says Nik. “I knew I needed to change but couldn’t do it alone.”
Nik’s parents recognized his challenge and sent him to a boarding school in Canada that did not allow students to have any technology. “It was a breath of fresh air,” reflects Nik. “I was able to reconnect with God and learn to enjoy outdoor activities.”
Several years later, Nik became president of the student association at a small college dedicated to preparing young people for a life of service to Christ and others. “I realized that technology was absorbing a lot of people’s time, and they weren’t connecting with one another the way they used to. Our team invited everyone in the school to join a 90-day media fast.”
Several students joined the challenge, committing to using technology only for school and work purposes. Many also blocked certain phone apps that they knew were problematic for them.
“It wasn’t an easy challenge for most of us,” says Nik, “but it was a blessing on campus. It allowed people to disconnect from their phones and reconnect with God and each other. We’re still seeing the benefits on campus.”
It’s Time for Real Life Again
Is it time for you to take a break from your phone? Perhaps you need a total disconnect like Nik had in high school. Or maybe it is time to step back for a while to reflect on your relationship with God and those around you. Either way, God is calling you to pay attention to what you are doing with your phone—and to keep Him your first priority.
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established” (Proverbs 4:23–26).
If you or a loved one is having a mental health emergency and/or contemplating suicide, please get help now:
• Contact your pastor or a Christian counselor.
• Call or text 9-8-8, available 24/7. To start a chat, go to 988lifeline.org.