Anne Smith: Hello. My name is Anne Smith, and on today’s programme Dr John Thomson is going to help us find out why smart phones are so addictive and how can we break our dependence on them. Can we learn how to renegotiate our relationship with our smart phone?
.Anne Smith : Throw your mobile phone hard against a brick wall. Just imagine it. How does it feel for you? What emotions come up in your mind and in your body? What about when you reali z e you've left your mobile device at home, or in a taxi? Dr Thomson, have we become addicted to our mobile phones?
.John Thomson : Well... to a certain extent we are. The well - known example of people sitting around the dinner table, each of them on their phones, is a terrible example of it. But we make a lot of assumptions about tec hnology that aren't quite right.
.Anne Smith : What do you mean by that?
. John Thomson : Well, one of the assumptions we are making is that this is an inevitable process. We assume that these technologies do a lot of wonderful things for us. For example, they allow us to be in touch with people and get information from all over the globe. But then we also have to become aware that they are related to problems of distraction and information overload . I think there are things that we can do about it.
. Anne Smith : Can you give us some examples?
. John Thomson : Well, we need to observe our behaviour when using technology. Almost everything that human beings do now uses digital technology, whether it's business, entertainment, or socialising. Smart phones have entered a ll those areas and have become essential. We need to learn to become aware of the effects that our devices are having on us as the basis for figuring out how to use them well.
.Anne Smith : So what do you suggest we do?
.John Thomson : So really what I'm sugg esting is that there is a lot of power in bringing mindfulness to our use of these devices to use them in more intentional ways. For example, take the time to observe what we are feeling when we get a text message. We need to learn to change our habits by conscious observation and reflection.
.Anne Smith : How can we use our digital devices in ways that are healthier?
.John Thomson : Our habits are based on a reward system. We humans have developed such a system as a way to help us find where food is. So on a very simple level, we have to remember where to get food, and before there were grocery stores, our brains had to have mechanisms to learn to remember where food was. From a neurobiological standpoint, reward comes in the form of dopamine . So if food is ri ch in calories, then our stomach sends a signal off to our brain through dopamine that says, hey, remember what you ate and where you found it. This is the way actions become habits.
.Anne Smith : And so this same reward mechanism applies to everything?
.John Thomson : That’s right. Let's take a simple example; stress may make us eat cupcakes or chocolate, and then we feel better, that's the reward, so that becomes a habit. Well, the same thing is true with technology. If we get stressed out and then we go and distract ourselves by surfing the internet on our phone, that temporary distraction gives that same type of temporary reward.
.Anne Smith : So we are still being rewarded by that dopamine hit.
.John Thomson : Yes, and some of the technologies, for example, email or texting, maximise that type of hit. If we knew that we were going to get an email every 30 seconds, then our brain would start expecting that and would not get the big dopamine hit that it gets wit h random emails. So this technology basically boosts our dopamine system and trains us to develop expectations.
.Anne Smith : What can mindfulness training, then, do for us? And how do we develop mindfulness?
.John Thomson : For example, I would just say to pe ople “Think about your phone. Don't even take it out yet. Just bring it to mind. What happens when you think about your phone, what happens to your breathing? Does your body posture change? What emotions come up when you think about your phone? And what do es it do to the quality of your attention?” So these are the first questions I ask.
.Anne Smith : Right, I see...
.John Thomson : Then I would say “Now I want you take your phone out, I want you to hold it in your hand. I don't want you to turn it on yet. Not ice what's going on with your emotions”. Then I ask people to turn on their phone and to open their email inbox, and I tell them to open a message and respond. But I want them to notice what's happening in their mind and body all the time. And finally, I t ell them to turn off their phone and put it away and ask them how they feel.
.Anne Smith : What are the responses that you usually get from the people who go through this exercise?
.John Thomson : Everybody has somewhat different reactions. Some people notice that as soon as they think about their phone, they start to get anxious and then they feel more relaxed when they put the phone away, whereas others feel bad when they have to put it away. By doing this exercise they begin to become aware of their own habi ts.
.Anne Smith : Dr Thomson, many thanks for being with us today and for explaining how mindfulness can help us have a healthier relationship with our mobile phones.
.Sources: Adapted from: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/biomechanics - of - movement - improves - animation - and - animal - rehabili/6805750 ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corpor ation)