Addiction to technology

I’m struggling with addition to my smartphone. When I come from work I tend to like to relax in my comfy chair and just shoot the breeze by texting friends. I take up lots of time by doing this and sometimes like to go to bed much earlier than my bedtime and text friends to give me some relaxation before I go to sleep.

I think I’m addicted to texting and more productive activities like playing the guitar or memorizing Bible verses are falling by the wayside.

I am thinking that I may want to come home from work and either turn my phone completely off or put it in the desk drawer and not touch it, and work on memorizing Bible verses or playing the guitar, and after some time of enjoyment, write a to do list with tasks I want to accomplish and try to work on those tasks. But after a long day at work I tend to just want to relax and not work on anything. I just tend to be glued to my phone not wanting to do much else.

Some tasks on my to do list are to post certain discussions in discussion forums or write certain emails to people on my phone with the bluetooth wireless keyboard I use, so I may want to use my phone some in the evening at some point.

When I am sitting there texting friends I could be more productive on my phone by watching Christian messages on YouTube or listening to Christian podcasts, but it seems like texting reigns supreme.

What are your thoughts on what I should do about this struggle and have any of you struggled with spending too much time with technology?

I have switched to a flip phone at times and found I have a craving for texting friends even with the flip phone. I don’t think I want to go to a therapist since I think I should be able to figure it out by myself and I’m not sure if it’s covered by my insurance.

Also I am not able to use screen time on my phone to set limits because one of my friends has the restrictions passcode and therefore I am not able to access the settings in iPhone that allow you to set limits for yourself.