Ping!

*Checks phone

The Esthen Exchangecommon practice can be deemed as an addiction that has captured many Americans. With a 4-to-5-inch screen many smartphone devices hold most of our daily life activities. From apps like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to help us stay connected, to work-related apps like Slack, Google, Microsoft and Zoom that keep us tethered.

As a society we have ditched alarm clocks to wake us up or a notebook to write things down. When we get a new smartphone, those apps are already embedded within its interface. The dependence we have on a smartphone has grown exponentially over the past decade, too.

In 2023, research showed that Americans checked their phones 144 times a day.

• Nearly 90% of those respondents check their phone within the first 10 minutes of waking up.
• About 75% of the population said that they checked their phone when they're in the restroom.
• At least 60% of the people in the study admitted that they sleep with their phone at night.
• About 57% of the respondents acknowledged they were addicted to the devices, according to results from Reviews.org.

Can you relate?

If so, here are some ways you can break up with your cell phone.

Advice from an expert:Eye strain in a digital age

USA TODAY Tech columnist Kim Komando shares ways to detach from your devices

Kim Komando wrote in a column for USA TODAY that people who are attached to their smartphones need to cut the screen time in half.

Here are some of her suggestions:

Notifications

Instead of running to pick up your phone every time it pings, Komando suggests that smartphone users should put their phone on "Do Not Disturb" on weekends, vacations and holidays in order to spend time with the people you care about.

Limit your screen times for Android and iPhone users

If Do Not Disturb doesn't help, you can have your phone monitor your usage for you.

With the Screen Time function in the iPhone settings and the Digital Well-Being app in Android, smartphone users can set time limits for apps they use often to lower the amount of time spent on it per day. These features will create a lock-out function that will prohibit you from using the app until the following day.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X @forbesfineest.