Behavioral Psychology and the Fight Against Our Phones

“For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.” Romans 7:15

If you are anything like me, you know the feeling of self-loathing that comes at the very end of a particularly long scroll on your phone. Listing the myriad of healthy activities you could have done instead, vowing to do better next time, fighting the impulse to throw your phone into the Baltimore Harbor (maybe that one is more specific to me).

This inability to stop engaging in unhealthy, excessive behavior is not unique to the current age. Throughout human history, philosophers, theologians, and writers have sounded the alarm on cultures of excess. In The Brothers Karamazov, for example, Dostoevsky comments on the zeitgeist of his time:

The world says, “You have needs—satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and mighty…indeed, expand your needs and demand more.” This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.

The Brothers Karamazov, first edition (volume II)

Unlike in Dostoevsky’s time, our modern age must contend with excess in the form of handheld devices designed to cater to our inclination to “expand our needs and demand more.” Touted as timesavers and tools for connection, Dostoevsky’s warnings about “isolation and suicide” may be closer to the truth. In May 2023, surgeon general Vivek Murthy called our current state of increased anxiety, depression, and suicide nationwide an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” and advised a critical evaluation of our relationship with technology to ensure that how we interact on our smart phones does not “detract from meaningful and healing connection with others.”

As a behavioral psychologist, I share Dr. Murthy’s (and Dostoevsky’s) concerns about the impact of excess screen time on our abilities to live a good life in this modern age. Lest I come off as overly alarmist, I do think there are strategies that can be taken from behavioral psychology and learning theory that will help us curb and cultivate our phone usage before we resort to chucking them into the nearest body of water.  

First, why is it so challenging to use our phones without our phones using us?

Internal Factors

Taking a peek inside of ourselves, activities such as scrolling social media, receiving “likes” for posts, and seeing a notification for a message alters our brain chemistry a bit at a time by offering us tiny hits of key neurotransmitters. Dopamine, for example, is responsible for delivery of rewards from activities such as eating delicious food, drinking alcohol, or having a successful social interaction. Translating biological terms into behavioral terms, this is what is known as reinforcement—any time we reinforce a behavior, it makes it more likely to happen again in the future.

Environmental Factors

Learning a new behavior is all about contrast and repetition. A new behavior is going to “win out” over other behaviors when it is being reinforced more than the other behavior options (contrast) and when it is being reinforced consistently over time (repetition). We often use our phones in situations when there is less natural stimulation in the environment—waiting at a doctor’s office, for example. This is a perfect opportunity for the phone to win out and offer more immediate, stimulating reinforcement than a doctor’s waiting room ever could. Multiply that by the number of times you pick up your device—which, in many cases could be upwards of 33 times per day—and you’ve got a prime scenario for learning maladaptive phone behavior.

Taking Steps to Change Phone Behavior

Step 1: Determine Function

When developing strategies to change behaviors, many people mistakenly assume that “one size fits all.” In other words, a strategy that changed someone else’s behavior will change yours. This assumption misses the mark because we are not thinking about the function of our phone-grabbing. In simple terms, the function of a behavior describes what a person is getting or getting out of a behavior. When thinking about screen time, functions of behavior that frequently occur are obtaining attention (e.g. looking for connection to others with social media), escape (e.g. avoiding the pile of dishes in the sink; avoiding an uncomfortable feeling like boredom), and access (e.g. obtaining items or experiences).  

In some instances, the function of your phone-related behavior may be clear. In others, it may require some self-reflection. What is going on around me when I reach for my phone? What is going on internally? Am I feeling stressed, tired, bored, afraid of missing out? Who is around or not around when I use my phone? What happens after I put my phone down?

Step 2: Match the function to your strategy

Now that I know what I am getting or getting out of when I use my phone, how else can I meet this need in an adaptive way? Are there preventative strategies that will help address underlying feelings that might be influencing my phone usage?

Here is an example using an escape function of behavior:

Narcussis’ reflection in Roman de la Rose, 14th century, France

Maud is a graduate student who is working on her dissertation. She notices that she tends to reach for her phone more frequently when she is working on or thinking about her dissertation, particularly when having feelings of being overwhelmed with the work. From the information we have, the function of Maud’s behavior is probably to both avoid doing work and to avoid feelings of stress. How can Maud avoid excess and engage with challenging feelings in a healthy way?

• Because the function of Maud’s behavior is to get out of dissertation writing, she can reward herself with small doses of “escape” for staying on track with her work. Let’s say Maud wants to work on her dissertation for one hour. She might reward herself for successfully avoiding phone pick-ups for the first 50 minutes of work with escape from the last 10 minutes of work—in other words, she can stop working on her dissertation early as a reward for being successful with her phone goal.

• Another function of Maud’s behavior is to get out of experiencing an uncomfortable feeling. Maud can address that function by checking in with herself and naming her feeling before opening her phone, thereby not allowing herself to “escape” that discomfort. Apps such as “One Sec” can help with this—a prompt to name your feeling and purpose for opening your phone can help to serve in decreasing the likelihood that she will open her phone every time she is feeling stressed out by her dissertation. (Note: This is not a replacement for therapy, which may be appropriate to assist individuals in addressing strong, intense, and recurring feelings, particularly if these feelings are interfering with everyday functioning.)

The framework I suggest for mastering our impulses toward excessive phone usage requires more than a “quick fix” mentality.  While the inclination to excess has been present since Eden, the scope of the smart phone’s impact on our modern world is massive: one study found that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, young adults spent upwards of 8.8 hours on screens daily. Therefore, any attempts at changing our inclinations around screen time usage will similarly require time and dedication. As you take note of ideas for changing your phone-related behavior (see the book How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price, for example), remember to match the function of your behavior to the strategy and reinforce yourself along the way.

Helena Vaughan, PhD, NCSP, received her PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park in School Psychology. She currently works as a staff psychologist at the Behavior Management Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland where she provides behavioral therapy for young children and families.

________

Beatrice Institute, one of the sponsoring institutes of Genealogies of Modernity, is hosting a salon on smartphone use this Thursday, Dec 14 in Pittsburgh, PA.