A new study has suggested that smartphone addiction is unlikely to be caused by notifications.
The research, conducted by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), found that 89 percent of interactions with phones were unprompted, with just 11 percent of people reacting to an alert.
A number of the study's participants actually admitted that they barely remember using their phones.
One participant said: "I wouldn’t consider myself someone who isn’t attached to their phone much. But seeing this has made me realise that I don’t even remember picking it up.
"I think I use it a lot more than I let myself believe."
Professor Saadi Lahlou, the co-author of the study and chair of social psychology at LSE, thinks it's important to learn more about phone usage.
The expert told the BBC: "This is a serious issue, especially for children, and we are running into the dark without having fully understood how these devices are changing our way of living.
"We must learn tricks to avoid the temptation when we want to concentrate or have good social relations. To do like the cowboys did with their gun when they entered saloons: leave it outside! Or at least shut it down.
"Very important and urgent things are rare. Most things can wait a few hours - you are not going to miss out much anyway."
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