10 warning signs you’re addicted to your phone

If you find yourself checking your phone first thing in the morning, before even getting out of bed, you may be addicted.

If you find you’re text-messaging while driving - despite the dangers, checking your phone instead of working on an important assignment, or checking Facebook, Instagram or Twitter during a romantic dinner, you are definitively an addicted. 

It's hard for most people to imagine life without constant access to the internet. But for some of us, living without the web is simply IMPOSSIBLE to imagine.The amount of time we engage in online activities, like updating statuses, posting photos, commenting, texting or checking work emails has been increasing in recent years. Given the accessibility and ease of use of internet whenever and wherever you are, it’s no wonder more and more people are addicted to their phones.

How do you know if you’re already addicted or rapidly tumbling toward trouble?

Now there's a smartphone app (ha!) that will answer that question as well as help smartphone addicts learn how to live a ‘healthy digital lifestyle.’ The app, called BreakFree, tracks the amount of time you spend looking at your phone, and gives you a heads-up when it might be time for a break. It will help users measure which apps they use the most and beat their possible smartphone addictions. 

Currently available only for Android phones, the new app operates in the background of a phone, keeping tabs on how long you spend using apps, how often you unlock your phone and how much time you spend making phone calls. It calculates an ‘addiction score’ based on these metrics, and will send reminders suggesting you slow down when your use is on the rise.

It’s like having a rehab coach who tells you when you've been making an excessive number of calls or have been spending too much time in a particular app. With these notifications you will know it's time to slow down. 

If you’re getting a little worried about how frequently your phone is in your hand, check out the free version app on Google Play.

Do you think that you’re addicted to the internet but overall you use it in moderation?

Have you had at least two conversations with actual human beings today without glancing at your phone?

Have you found yourself up late last night playing on your phone, whether it is video games, Facebook, or text messaging?

Here are ten warning signs that will tell you if you are a cell phone addict.

1. You maintain three to five text threads or WhatsApp chains going throughout most days.

2. You feel bummed when you forget to bring your phone into the bathroom.

3. You sleep with your phone on your nightstand, or worse, in your bed next to you.

4. A cracked screen would never stand in your way.

5. You feel a brief moment of panic when you touch your pocket (or grope to the bottom of your purse) and it’s gone.

6. You constantly catch yourself trying to open apps you’re already in. Not to mention, you have 50 different apps installed. And use them all.

7. You break it, and it feels like you lost a friend.

8. You sit on the ground of a germ-filled public space to charge your phone.

9. You justify being on your phone all the time because you might miss a work email.

10. You’re currently reading this on your cell phone.

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