You Control The Technology

One of the reasons why smartphones are so popular is that they do so much more than just act as a phone. You have access to a whole range of other tools such as a calculator, maps, your music collection and even a small features like flashlight.

However, as we become more reliant on technology, this also comes with drawbacks. Many people have legitimate concerns that every aspect of our lives is becoming reliant on technology.

You have probably been in a situation where you go to do one thing on your phone, but then find yourself checking multiple apps. Before you know it, a significant amount of time has passed. The issue is not always with the device itself, more often it is because of the apps we are using.

Most apps make their money through advertising. In order to convince companies to advertise with them, they need to be able to keep users engaged. This means that developers of the apps spend a lot of time and energy coming up with ways to entice you into using their apps, even if you do not really need to. This is particularly true of social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The question that many people are asking themselves is whether there is anything they can do to still enjoy the apps while not becoming controlled by them.

There are two main solutions and the one that will work best for you depends on your personality.

Solution 1:
The first solution is just delete all the apps that you are concerned about. These will generally be the ones where you find yourself spending a long time on without any sense that you have actually achieved anything.

Solution 2:
The other thing to consider is whether you will be able to use the app for the things that you need to and then be able to close it as soon as it is no longer. It can help if you tell yourself that the app is going to try to hold your attention after you have finished your task. If you are aware of this and have the strength to not let yourself be drawn into the rabbit hole, then you should be able to keep the apps on your phone. Turning off notifications can help as this means you will not be drawn in to looking at your phone when you really have no need to.

Conclusion
There is no doubt that technology has improved life in many ways, but there is a danger that it can become addictive. The key to not letting technology take over your life, is to understand that it does have the power to do so. Making the decision that you are in control of the technology, and not the other way around, means you can reap all of the benefits with none of the downsides.