It is the most widespread and difficult-to-shake addiction of the 21st century – and it fits neatly in your palm. For many of us it is the first thing we reach for in the morning and the last thing we put down at night.

It carries your memories, connects you to the world, allows you to shop from anywhere, and helps you to work on the road.

We are, of course, talking about your smartphone.

Since its inception in the early 2000s, smartphones have become indispensable. They connect us to people, manage our finances, entertain us and provide instant access to almost anything we want to know.

According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, 97% of Australian adults used a mobile phone to access the internet in 2025, with 92% accessing the internet on their phones daily.

But somewhere along the way, the relationship changed. We no longer just use our phones when we need something. Now we reach for them because we’ve conditioned ourselves to.

Most habits begin with a purpose – either because they give us some sort of benefit, solve a problem or because they simply feel good. Add repetition, and then our brains start to associate certain situations with particular actions.

Psychologist Wendy Wood and colleagues explored this in a landmark 2002 study of everyday habits. Their research found that a substantial proportion of everyday actions were repeated in familiar contexts, often with little conscious thought.

This is normally helpful. Habits allow us to navigate daily life without having to think through every decision. Brushing our teeth, making coffee and following our usual route to work all become easier through repetition.

The problem emerges when a habit no longer requires the original motivation.

We might initially check our phone because we’re expecting an important message. Eventually, we start checking whenever we have a spare moment, whether or not we’re expecting anything at all.

Research published in Personal and Ubiquitous Computing by Oulasvirta and colleagues (2012) identified this behaviour exactly. They described smartphone checking as a distinctive habit involving brief, repetitive inspections of rapidly changing information. Their research found that these checking habits could lead to additional, unplanned phone use.

For example, a quick look at a message becomes a visit to social media, or a glance at the time tumbles into ten minutes of scrolling.

The original purpose disappears, but the behaviour continues.

So why are phones particularly effective at creating these habits?

Part of the answer lies in ‘unpredictable rewards’- a surprise message from a friend, a funny video, an interesting article or a notification/reaction on something we posted. Psychological research on reinforcement has long demonstrated that unpredictable rewards can encourage repeated behaviour. Smartphones present many different opportunities for uncertain but potentially rewarding discoveries.

Social media and the lure of social approval add another layer. Likes, comments and messages are not simply pieces of information; they also provide reassurance that we’re seen, valued and included.

The result is a powerful combination: an established routine, minimal effort and the possibility of an immediate reward.

Interestingly, research suggests the behaviour becomes increasingly independent of external prompts.

In a 2021 study published in Computers in Human Behaviour, researchers Maxi Heitmayer and Saadi Lahlou analysed 1,130 smartphone interactions captured through wearable cameras involving 37 participants. They found that 89% of smartphone interactions were initiated by users themselves, rather than triggered by notifications.

Participants interacted with their phones approximately every five minutes during the observed periods. Although the study was relatively small, its findings challenge a common assumption: that notifications are primarily responsible for our constant phone checking.

Often, we’re interrupting ourselves. The result of this? A culture shift in our tolerance of boredom.

In the past, in-between moments like waiting for a bus, sitting alone with a coffee or waiting in line once provided opportunities to think, observe, reflect or simply do nothing.

Now, boredom has become something we can escape almost instantly, with our phones training us to become less comfortable with the experience itself.

This matters because boredom isn’t necessarily a problem to be solved. It can prompt us to reflect, seek out new experiences, make plans or engage more deeply with our surroundings.

What are we missing out on by having our automatic response geared towards avoiding every unoccupied moment?

Our changing phone habits also raise questions about how we concentrate.

In a 2015 experiment, researchers at Florida State University found that receiving a phone notification could significantly disrupt performance on an attention-demanding task, even when participants didn’t touch their phones.

A separate 2017 study by Ward and colleagues found that participants performed better on certain cognitive tasks when their phones were in another room rather than nearby, even when they weren’t using them.

The wider issue is the increasing competition for our attention. We move between conversations, emails, work, messages, entertainment and breaking news, often within minutes.

Being connected allows us to do extraordinary things. But it also means that almost everything can compete for our attention, almost all the time.

Smartphones haven’t simply changed what we do. They’ve changed what we expect from one another.

We expect information immediately, communication quickly and entertainment whenever we want it. Because of this 0ur phones have blurred the boundaries between work and home, public and private, social time and personal time.

They have also created new pressures around participation. Social life increasingly takes place across both physical and digital spaces, making the decision to disconnect more complicated than simply putting a device away.

We have more opportunities than ever to communicate, but our attention is being divided across more places.

So how do we change things?

The usual advice for reducing phone use focuses on self-control: set a screen-time limit, turn off notifications, or leave your phone in another room.

Innovations have even been created, like the product Brick, which helps users to block certain apps while in certain rooms/at certain times, to address the issue of phone overuse.

However, research on habits suggests that willpower is only part of the solution.

In a 2010 study, Phillippa Lally and colleagues found that forming a new habit could take anywhere from 18 to 254 days, depending on the behaviour and individual.

The important factors are repetition and consistency.

Leaving a phone in another room, removing tempting apps from the home screen, switching off non-essential notifications or establishing phone-free blocks of time can help interrupt familiar patterns.

Most importantly, it’s vital to remember that our attachment to smartphones is not evidence of weak self-control.

Our brains are designed to recognise patterns, repeat rewarding behaviours, seek connection and respond to new information. Smartphones bring all these motivations together in one device that is always within reach.

The challenge isn’t necessarily learning to live without our phones. It’s learning to recognise when we’re choosing to use them, and when our habits are choosing for us.

Square Holes is a cultural insight studio.

We design mixed method explorations of people and culture beyond the category,  uncovering the patterns, tensions and shifts shaping behaviour to inform strategy, inspire innovation and enable confident decisions. Our studio model brings together the right mix of thinkers, researchers and specialists for each exploration. If you’re navigating change, entering a new market, or seeking deeper understanding of people and culture, let’s start a conversation >