Our smartphone addiction really seems to exacerbate attention span issues and fucks with our reward systems.
Go for a few weeks or a month without using a smartphone to see the difference, or get an e-ink android phone to try and break the reward loop and see how you feel.
Like, start by outlining the effects of smartphone use and addiction, then lay those effects next to the symptoms of ADHD, and notice the significant overlap.
There are definitely a lot of undiagnosed parents who were forced to develop coping strategies and think their kids need to too in unhealthy ways, but there are also a lot of undiagnosed parents whose symptoms have gotten worse with smartphone use.
It’s probably a bit of both. You likely will get downvoted heavily though and to explain: the rule in this community is that whenever something is both normal and yet exaggerated in the case of someone with actual (whether diagnosed or not) ADHD, the latter is presumed.
People get just SO TIRED of neurotypicals taking over EVERY conversation and need a safe space to talk and maybe even vent, yeah?
But in this case it really is worth noting, as you did, that even so, smartphone usage can be a contributing factor in making other/existing things worse off, setting aside things like medication status and whatnot.
I say this as someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD and who has a dad who says exactly the above, and who everyone in the family agrees almost certainly has undiagnosed ADHD.
I just think it’s important to not dismiss the very real effects of smartphone usage and addiction. If you struggle with ADHD symptoms, then it’s important to not dismiss and justify other factors that exacerbate them and make them even harder to deal with (especially when those factors are changeable, like reducing our social media and smartphone usage).
Honestly have to disagree pretty hard.
Our smartphone addiction really seems to exacerbate attention span issues and fucks with our reward systems.
Go for a few weeks or a month without using a smartphone to see the difference, or get an e-ink android phone to try and break the reward loop and see how you feel.
Like, start by outlining the effects of smartphone use and addiction, then lay those effects next to the symptoms of ADHD, and notice the significant overlap.
There are definitely a lot of undiagnosed parents who were forced to develop coping strategies and think their kids need to too in unhealthy ways, but there are also a lot of undiagnosed parents whose symptoms have gotten worse with smartphone use.
It’s probably a bit of both. You likely will get downvoted heavily though and to explain: the rule in this community is that whenever something is both normal and yet exaggerated in the case of someone with actual (whether diagnosed or not) ADHD, the latter is presumed.
People get just SO TIRED of neurotypicals taking over EVERY conversation and need a safe space to talk and maybe even vent, yeah?
But in this case it really is worth noting, as you did, that even so, smartphone usage can be a contributing factor in making other/existing things worse off, setting aside things like medication status and whatnot.
I say this as someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD and who has a dad who says exactly the above, and who everyone in the family agrees almost certainly has undiagnosed ADHD.
I just think it’s important to not dismiss the very real effects of smartphone usage and addiction. If you struggle with ADHD symptoms, then it’s important to not dismiss and justify other factors that exacerbate them and make them even harder to deal with (especially when those factors are changeable, like reducing our social media and smartphone usage).
Well said 😁