Did you know that more than two-thirds of young Britons feel stressed from phones, 35% of 16-24-year-olds check their phones every 5 minutes and 57% of 25-34-year-olds would find life harder if they didn’t have access to What’s App? Stress Awareness Month, coordinated by the Stress Management Society (SMS), is held every April to increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic.

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Is life better without a phone?

71% of Brits feel phones are more helpful than a hindrance. The over-55s fall above the national average with 78% stating their phones are more helpful than a hindrance. Only 56% of 16-24-year-olds feel that their phone is more helpful than a hindrance. The most helpful components of our phones, according to the survey, are making important calls (88%), checking emails (84%), and receiving alerts and updates (75%).

We recently conducted an independent survey to closely examine our phone use, and to see how much stress our phones cause and what the biggest stressors of our phones are. So let's look at the results and see if our reliance on tech needs to be halted. Unsurprisingly, the survey revealed that more than two-thirds of young Britons (67%) feel their phones make them feel stressed. The perfect storm of high amounts of social media use and frequent checking for notifications, combined with a lack of sustained uninterrupted sleep seems to be playing a part in causing young people to be heading towards a stress epidemic.

How do mobile phones affect our health?

From personal experience, smartphones can be very damaging to our health due to an increase of anxiety. I'm sure all of us have some form of social media page, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook? Have you ever 'stalked' someones profile to check out their life? To see the incredible trips they've been on, the clothes they've been buying? Social media is the best way to compare lives, and this isn't a good thing. Comparison on social media can lead to individuals feeling self-conscious about themselves, and with this being all online, these comparisons can be accessed with the simple click of a button.

We guarantee you've stressed about your phone having enough battery before you leave the house. What if your phone dies when you're out and you can't take any cute photos, ring your friends when they're lost, order an uber. It's all the little things within our devices that cause unneccessary worry. 

How do you take time away from your phone?

• Cultivate healthy boundaries with your phone.
• Set timers.
• Become mindful.
• Morning and night phone tactics.
• Be intentional with social media.

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Conclusion:

As you can see, everyone’s mobile experience is completely different depending on how you use your tech. Mobile phones are great for connecting with others, learning new things and being able to capture memories forever. But of course, all this comes with negatives. It's impossible in our current world to avoid smart tech, but we can always reduce our intake.