At Let’s D-Stress, experts break down phone addiction beyond screen time

Bengaluru: What does it really mean to be "addicted" to your phone? At an interactive session hosted at Vidyashilp University as part of The Times of India's Let's D-Stress initiative Tuesday, experts unpacked the idea, moving beyond screen-time numbers to focus on control, compulsion, and behaviour.Students interacting with RJ Shaayan admitted to spending several hours a day on their phones, with some reporting usage of over 10 hours. However, experts cautioned against viewing addiction purely through the lens of time. "There is no magic number that says that at this point it is safe and beyond that it becomes harmful or addictive," said Ashwini Tadpatrikar, assistant professor at Vidyashilp University and former clinical psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans)."The indicators that can tell you that you are using your phone excessively are when you begin to lose control over your use, feel a compulsive need to keep checking your phone all the time, and start facing consequences. For example, you may be working on an assignment but get distracted and switch to something else. Time passes, you postpone the task to the next day, and that next day never comes until the last minute," she added. Dr Jayant Mahadevan, assistant professor of psychiatry at centre for addiction medicine, Nimhans, pointed to the role of platform design. "It is a characteristic of most social media apps. A variable schedule of reinforcement, where you do not know when you are going to get a reward, makes it more reinforcing and leads to the release of dopamine, which keeps you coming back repeatedly," he said.Instead of complete abstinence, experts recommended gradual regulation. "I think the only answer is digital detox and intermittent digital fasting, but not cutting down on it completely, because that does not work. Instead, you need to gradually reduce usage and use regulatory mechanisms associated with technology. At the same time, you need to build other non-digital activities," Ashwini said."Self-control can be built in two ways, internally by creating motivation and setting times where you do not use technology, and externally by making access more difficult, such as disengaging features like infinite scroll or simply keeping your phone away to limit overuse," added Dr Mahadevan.
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