💭Dear Curious Readers,

Have you ever picked up your phone to check one notification and somehow ended up watching videos, scrolling through social media, clicking on messages, and 45 minutes have passed? Where did the time go? 

The little tiny computers we carry with us everywhere, phones, drain our time so quickly. How did this happen? Why is it so difficult to put them down?

🔔The Notifications. 

Notifications are designed to grab our attention immediately because they signal that something is waiting for us. While the outcome of this “something” is uncertain, our brains are tempted to check it because of the possible rewarding sensation we could get. Our brain loves rewards, and checking the notification may lead to this happy feeling. These rewards can come in any form, including watching a funny video, a message from a friend, or a like on your post. The pleasurable feeling involves dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with motivation, learning, and reward prediction. Because checking our phones leads to a chance of something enjoyable, our brain learns which behaviors are worth repeating to continue this positive feeling. 

The cycle goes like this: 

🔔Notification → 👀Finds something interesting → 🧠”That was rewarding!” → ⌛ Continue time on phone → ‼️Cycle Continues‼️

Furthermore, research on phone design suggests that features such as notifications, infinite scrolling, social networking, and short-form videos can reinforce checking behaviors and prolong smartphone use (Chen et al., 2021). In other words, our phones aren’t simply sitting there waiting for us. Many apps are programmed to deliberately keep us engaged, and repeating this checking behavior can form into a habit.

📱Our Phones Become A Habit. 

Think about how often you automatically reach for your phone when you are: 

• Eating

• Lying in bed

• In the car

• Waiting for someone

• Studying

• Walking somewhere

• Feeling bored

Eventually, we may not even consciously decide to check our phones; it just happens. When our brain detects a similar situation, the situation becomes a cue to trigger ourselves to pick up our phones. The more this cycle happens, the more automatic it becomes without us intentionally knowing. Phones have made it so convenient to escape boredom, stress, loneliness, and uncomfortable emotions. When these emotions are felt, the next thing you know, the phone is already placed in your hand with a sense of familiarity. 

📚How Does This Influence Students?

Imagine being at your desk preparing to study for an upcoming major exam. Your phone is placed next to your notebook. As you are studying, your mind could be telling yourself:

I’ll only check it for a second. 

This thought could even occur before you even started to study. This tiny thought is already a tempting interruption that pulls you away from what is important. You become distracted and lose your focus. Even if you resisted, your study streak would still be lost. Your mind is battling the temptation of this distraction, and your focus would not be the same. You might even choose to stop studying or take shortcuts to conclude your study session earlier. This has happened to the best of students.  

Moreover, the phone can also interfere with something students desperately need: Sleep. 

Students are generally still growing both physically and mentally. With less and poorer quality of sleep, that growth is disrupted. Research has found associations between problematic or nighttime phone use and reduced sleep quality and duration. In turn, the lack of quality sleep can influence daytime attention, mood, and well-being. (Silva et al., 2022; Li et al., 2023).

With that in consideration, the cycle might look like this: 

📲Late-night scrolling → 😴Less sleep → 🧠More tired the next day → 📚 Harder to concentrate and study → 🤳More phone usage during breaks/study sessions → ‼️Cycle Continues‼️

Now, you may be wondering: 

🌱Are We “Addicted”?

Well…using our phones often does automatically mean we are addicted to them. Given that phones are highly integrated in our daily lives now, high usage is typical and necessary to function in society. People’s high usage may be from work, socializing, and learning. So, in my opinion, the more useful question to ask would be:

Do I feel in control of my phone use? 

While the screen time reports are high numbers, consider what we are using the phone for/where the time is allocated on the phone. One thing to take notice of would be if the majority of the time spent is for entertainment. In this case, are you aware of this? Are you able to stop the entertainment at any time without having major mood changes that could affect other people around you? 

In the end, the takeaway is to be in control of your phone, not the other way around. Don’t let the phone/devices dictate your life. So, here are some ways to reduce the temptation of our phones: 

1. 🔕Turn Off Unnecessary Notifications: not every app needs permission to interrupt your brain. 

1. 📵Create Phone-Free Time Blocks: put your phone somewhere physically inconvenient to reach. 

2. 🛌Set a Bedtime For Your Brain: keep your phone away from your bed to reduce the temptation to scroll when you should be sleeping.

3. 🦖Notice Your Triggers: Are you checking your phone because you are bored, stressed, lonely, or simply out of habit?

4. 🤓Create Intentional Checking Times: instead of responding to every notification immediately, decide when you actually want to check and respond to messages

5. 🚶Replace The Habit: If you normally scroll when you're bored, try reading physical books, stretching, walking, or drawing etc… Redirecting our attention to something else can help relieve the temptation. 

To end this off, I do want to acknowledge that our phones are incredibly useful tools. They help us communicate, learn, work, navigate, create, and stay connected. By understanding how our brain responds to rewards and habits, take note of when technology use is becoming less intentional. So, next time you reach for your phone without even thinking about it, pause and ask:

Did I choose to check my phone or did my habit choose for me?

Thanks for sticking to the end! Let’s continue to be kind to ourselves and stay curious!

Yours Truly,

✨Angelina C.✨

References

Chen, X., Hedman, A., Distler, V., & Koenig, V. (2023). Do persuasive designs make smartphones more addictive? - A mixed-methods study on Chinese university students. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 10, 100299–100299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2023.100299

Grace Olivia Dibben, Martin, A., Shore, C. B., Johnstone, A., McMellon, C., Palmer, V., Pugmire, J., Riddell, J., Skivington, K., Wells, V., McDaid, L., & Simpson, S. A. (2023). Adolescents’ interactive electronic device use, sleep and mental health: A systematic review of prospective studies. Journal of Sleep Research, 32(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13899

Octavio. (2025). The neuroscience of notifications: Why you can’t ignore them. In NetPsychology. https://netpsychology.org/the-neuroscience-of-notifications-why-you-cant-ignore-them/

Quinn, T. (2026). Americans are ‘doomscrolling’ at bedtime, prioritizing screen time over sleep - American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers. In American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers. https://aasm.org/americans-are-doomscrolling-at-bedtime-prioritizing-screen-time-over-sleep/

Silva, S. S. da, Silveira, M. A. C. da, Almeida, H. C. R. de, Nascimento, M. C. P., Santos, M. A. M. dos, & Heimer, M. V. (2022). Use of digital screens by adolescents and Association on sleep quality: A systematic review. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 38(10). https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311xen300721

The dopamine debate: Reclaiming focus in this era of notifications. (2026). In Doral Health & Wellness. https://doralhw.org/the-dopamine-debate-reclaiming-focus-in-this-era-of-notifications/