Smartphones are a vital part of the daily routines we have. One may forget to carry their wallets, but never their phones! While this technology has drastically changed our lives for good, there are a few noticeable problems with obsessing about it. Keep track of your screen time, and you’ll realize how much time is spent staring at your phone. Here are some unhealthy smartphone habits that need to stop immediately!

Constantly checking the phone
Checking your phone every few minutes is almost an involuntary action. This reflex happens when we anticipate a call, text, or any other notification! Constantly needing to check your phone every few minutes can be extremely harmful. Such a habit keeps you occupied for no reason and takes away your attention from other present things happening around you. Ignoring your social setting and environment is one of the biggest cons to perpetually turning to your smartphone. Give yourself some break to finish tasks offline and reward yourself with smartphone time. Although this solution is basic, it works like a charm!

Obsessively using social media
Have you just uploaded a post and are now waiting to see how many people “like” it?! It’s very natural! But this obsession with social media can be quite daunting and cause mental health issues. Many kids in their teens are influenced by the false image of perfection that is omnipresent on such platforms, which gives rise to a sense of insecurity and other mental issues. A study done by Pew Research Center mentioned that about 81% of teens in the country use social media. Such a figure implies that a huge percentage of the population is at high risk of dealing with the repercussions of a digital age.

Scrolling for no reason
This habit is often a problem we face before going to bed. Night time or random scrolling throughout the day just because you are “bored” or “unable to sleep” is not helpful in any way but only acts as a catalyst to other issues. Try to find activities to do offline when you are feeling uninspired, and remove any digital objects like phones, laptops, and TVs when you prepare to go to bed.

Not cleaning the screen
This unhygienic habit needs to be fixed immediately. We usually have a sanitizer on us all the time, so let’s use it to clean a phone screen that’s constantly being touched and kept on unclean surfaces. The device becomes a hotbed of germs, which is something nobody wants.

Having bad postures while using the phone
We don’t even realize that our smartphone habits give us bad postures and a text neck. Most of us have bent our necks to check our phones and send text messages, leading to neck and shoulder pain. Prolonged use of hunching your back and bending your neck can put 35-50 pounds of pressure on your spine, as opposed to the regular 10 pounds.