My Name Is Manj, And I’m Addicted To Notifications (2024)

I finally have the strength and courage to admit it — I am addicted to notifications. I can’t pinpoint precisely when the addiction crystallized — if anything it’s been a gradual process that has steadily crept up on me. What I do know is that my penny dropping moment occurred last week.

I was sitting watching The Godfather, and I was engrossed in the transformation of Michael Corleone unfolding elegantly on the screen. Despite my absorption in the film, I get kept getting an itch — some internal feeling that I needed to check my phone. It irritated me, so I switched to airplane mode and moved the device away from me. I was horrified to find my level of discomfort grow stronger, to the point where I became distracted by the distance between me and my phone. Why? I asked myself. I know better than this, and yet here I am fawning for my iPhone when I do not need to text or call. I felt like my child had gone missing.

The irony is I’m against our societal obsession with smartphones and social media. I barely use Facebook or Instagram. I’ve muted everyone on WhatsApp because I hate the incessant buzzing and expectation of a reply. Last year, I went as far as ditching the iPhone altogether. Seemingly, none of that matters, because I am still picking up my phone every minute, unlocking the screen and hunting for those bubbles that indicate some form of an update.

The truth is this has spread way beyond social media. It doesn’t matter that I’m not active on these apps because I have found other ways to get my hit. The fact is the platform or content of the update doesn’t matter, I’m looking for anything.

Like many other addictions, it’s not hard to hide. If anyone questions me, I can say I’m expecting an e-mail. Heck, most of the people I know will be doing the same thing anyway. There are very few people in my life who are going to call me out on this behavior, so I have to take responsibility for my change.

My quest for change started with a simple question — “Why am I addicted and what can I do about it?”

This has led me to some fascinating research, that although I was somewhat aware of, I had not fully explored. Everything we need to know about notification addiction revolves around one key player — Dopamine.