Mental Health

New App Helps People Realize Their Cell-Phone Addiction

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Jun 30, 2014 10:05 PM EDT

Are you always getting criticized for being cell-phone absorbed? It's no secret that phones addiction is an increasingly growing problem. What's more, new research reveals that the average smartphone user looks at their device around 150 times a day.

Now there's an app that'll let you know just how OCD you are about checking your cell phone. The app, which is called Moment, tracks how much time you spend on your phone. Instead of fighting for your attention like most modern mobile apps, "Moment" notifies you when you should think about putting your phone away.

"I wrote Moment for myself," said Kevin Holesh, according to the Daily Mail. "I find myself ignoring my family and friends in favor of my iPhone."

"Sometimes that's okay, like when I'm looking up who starred in Men In Black with Will Smith on IMDB, but I really should be concentrating on the present moment and the people I love around me," he explained.

"I'm lucky enough to have a loving family and stellar friends, I should enjoy them every chance I get," he added. "Facebook, Pinterest, and texting can wait."

Moment is an iOS application that monitors how much you use your phone a day. If you believe you're on it too much, the app lets you set daily limits on yourself and notifies you when you go over your 'self-set' limit. The application also allows people to set up reminders for themselves when they reach 50 percent of their allotted time.

"When I first started using Moment, I was spending 75 minutes or more on my phone every single day," said Holesh.

"I currently have my daily limit set to 40 minutes, so after 40 minutes on my iPhone for the day, I get an annoying buzzer telling me to look away from the glowing box in my hands," he said.

"I had a lot of excuses when I first realized my problem," he confessed. "'I need my phone for work,' I'd tell myself, and now, I make due with only 40 minutes on my iPhone, and I basically work on my iPhone for a living," he said.

"My goal was to find a balance of connected and disconnected that was right for me. I hope Moment helps you find that balance too," he concluded.

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