I'm entirely dependent on my phone.

• Navigation: I can't even get from my home to the grocery store without the GPS because I don't recognize locations and can't create a mental map.

• Hydration: I am likely to die of dehydration without my phone reminding me to drink water since I don't feel thirst.

• To do list: I never get anything done if it's not in my to do list because I keep forgetting otherwise.

Could I find low tech solutions to these problems? Sure, paper maps exist, alarm clocks aren't phone dependent, and I can write my to do tasks in a planner, but these aren't as efficient and I'm more likely to get lost, forget to drink, or forget to look at the planner.

I'm addicted to my laptop and basically any social media platform. Block one and I'll find plenty of others to waste my time on.

I'm addicted to the internet

The phone is just one of many ways to get to it.

It's like saying a drunkard is addicted to "the bottle". They aren't. They are addicted to alcohol.

I am addicted to dopamine.

My phone is one of the less harmful sources of a dopamine feedback loop.

Working with my therapist to get a hold on that.

No, I'm addicted to the apps in my phone. Without them (or internet to use them) I don give a damn about that thing.

Yep, and we’re surrounded by enablers, too. I left my phone at home accidentally when I went out with the fam. “Fuckit, I don’t need a phone. Let’s just go…”

And not only did it become quickly obvious how much I use my phone (NFC payment, looking up store hours, nearest grocery store, etc) but how much everyone expected me to have a phone and everything on it. Use my phone to pay. I don’t have it, I gotta use a card. Give my kid cash for when we drop her off to hang out with friends with apple pay. Can’t do it, no phone. Here’s $15 cash. (Eye roll, carrying change is a burden now) Use loyalty card at the store. Nope, it’s on the phone. Wife has to use hers. Can’t get my daughter’s text messages, and even though she knew I’d left my phone, she still texted me.

People expect you to have all the conveniences on a phone, including the ones that are convenient to them.

No. I could stop af any time. I just choose not to. Its totally voluntary.

(Just like smokers, they could stop at anytime, they just choose not to)

I'm addicted to having something to do, the phone is the most obvious thing to look at when I don't have anything else to do, but I never look at my phone when e.g. driving except for purposes of navigation or music control.

Not even a question

If I could get away with not having a cellphone, I would honestly much prefer to not have one. Unfortunately, the modern job market and my wife wanting to be able to reach me make it unlikely that I could do so without suffering some fairly major issues.

Initially, I quite liked the idea of being able to consolidate multiple devices, like an e-reader and music player into a single device, but I've really come to resent the expectation that I should always be available to contact at all times.

If I could ditch mine, I'd really rather just have some sort of portable device in a similar form-factor that could play connect to WiFi, play music and podcasts and work as an e-reader. Bonus points for some sort of offline map/navigational capacity. I don't want to get texts or phone calls, and only be able to access email and the broader internet when I'm somewhere with WiFi.

I like to think I'll eventually get to a point where I can do that without having to worry about being unable to get jobs for not responding quick enough. Unfortunately, it seems like more and more things are trying to make cell phones an unavoidable aspect of participating in society, whether it's banks only offering OTP texts for 2FA, or so many venues no longer even offering the option to print your tickets at home, but instead requiring you to display your ticket in an app on a device with an active data connection.

Input Input Input! I'm addicted to continuous inputs and reactions.
If i can keep my brain running I do not need a phone. I'm happy with a good book for hours.

Absolutely.

Going somewhere? Music and maybe a game!

At home with nothing to do? Music, videos, or maybe a game, even if doing other things!

Going to my different classes in the allotted 10 minutes? Music!

I'll gladly admit I'm addicted to not just my phone, but also some of my other electronics as well.

When I'm tired, I am, and I hate it. With more energy I do other things, but the phone is always that super-low effort thing to pick up.

I have a book to read, and paper and pencil for sketching next to me, and those are the things I want to do, but they feel like effort right now.

Yes. I recently took my son to an appointment where my phone died as we pulled up. My phone dying is incredibly rare. I proceeded to clean my car while I waited. I went through the center console, the glove box, the side door pockets, under the seats, behind the front seats, basically everywhere in the cabin of the car cleaning and organizing while I waited. If my phone had a charge, I wouldn't have done any of that. So yes, I'm addicted to my phone.

Addicted means it's a bad thing. Did people used to be addicted to A-Zs, reading, talking to friends, reading news, etc?

My phone just provides an easy way to do the things I already want to do.

Screen time says yes.

With the ADHD, I need my alarms, calendar, timers and reminders to be anywhere remotely productive, so if I'm not addicted to my phone, I absolutely am dependent on it. I probably am addicted to it though. Most of us are, IMHO....

Before there were smart phones, I was addicted to a PDA velcroed to a Ricochet modem.

That's a hard thing to say. I traveled in countries I couldn't speak the language of before smart phones existed and it was a struggle of paper maps and relying on hospitality workers, guides, and locals who I could speak with as well as phrase dictionaries. It was a struggle and you'd have to be very careful about going off the beaten path.

With a phone I can just walk in a direction I choose, ask locals questions in the local language, and feel confident that if I got myself in a shitty situation I'd be able to sort it out.

I'm here aren't I?

I'm pooping so it doesn't count. But I can't poop without it so maybe I am

No. But also. Yes. But also. No

Fine. Sometimes. 😆

No if I have my PC close.

Unlikely. I often forget it exists. If I didn't think about a friend or relative wanting to send a message, I'd probably leave it on a table or something until I need to take a picture or note or look something up. And then it would probably be out of battery.

Yep. Not even going to try and deny it. I know I am because sometimes I reach for it and start scrolling without even realizing that I’m doing it.

Yes. When I go off backpacking where it can't do anything, it takes 2-3 days for me to stop reaching for it or having any sort of brief anxiety reaction when it's not in my pocket.

No! :) In fact, I recently bought a Razr 2024 because I don't use my phone much and I would benefit from the tiny screen and form factor. I used to use a CAT S22 for the same reason. I still need android, but I don't need a huge screen for media.

No I am not. And I hate drivers who have their heads stuck in their phones causing accidents. Grow up

Maybe... I depend on it for a bunch of stuff: my calendar, my personal and work email, communication with friends and family, getting my news, taking pictures of fun stuff I'm doing with my kids, reading books, grocery shopping, etc. During a recent power outage, I ended up going to a bookstore for a paper book, since that seemed to be the thing I missed most.

No. I only use my phone to make calls or send texts.

no because I only have one for work or certain things so its the same way im not addicted to facebook or twitter as I don't use them. Now if I had a smartphone options as different from a smartphone as the federation is from reddit, well then I would be addicted.

No. I'm addicted to board games with friends. But here I am on my phone again.

Probably. I do try to limit my usage to like 5 hours a day and less since I need it for GPS and whatnot. I am planning to get a car dash tablet and a mp3 player so that should also help minimize my usage of my phone even more

Not really. I like to have it most of the times with me - even at home. I just like to feel its weight in my pocket.

But that doesn't mean I'm using it always, only if there's really nothing else, I check the few apps I use then read articles and shit or mess with Termux.

According to Samsung's weekly reports, I use it less and less each week.

Phone? Nah. It's only a tool, used for photography, maps/navigation, messaging while on the go, shopping lists and phone calls for that one time a month you need to make one. Maybe other stuff sometimes, like making a bank transfer when not at home or editing OSM.

I used to be indirectly addicted to it. It was actually doomscrolling Reddit, but now that I'm off it I don't get the urge anymore.

My desktop is a different story, I'm kind of addicted to it while I'm at home; when outside I don't really miss it.

Yup

Yes, for maps and speed traps, to reach my loved ones, for being reachable, to provide connection to my notebook so that I can work outside or not at home, and so on...
It's one of the main tech innovations of the last 30 years, I find it ok to be addicted to it, as we were addicted to electricity 50 years ago but we could still survive somehow without for a small time