Loss of control
Finding it hard to cut back or control your own phone use
Salience
The phone has become the most important activity in your day
Harmful consequences
Phone use is now damaging your health, relationships or work
Never
1 point
Disagree
2 points
Agree
3 points
Very much like me
4 points
Every time I try to cut down my screen time, I fail.
I find it hard to control how long I spend on my phone.
I find it hard to keep my phone use to a reasonable amount.
When my phone is nearby, I struggle to concentrate on anything else.
I can’t get my phone off my mind.
I feel a strong urge to use my phone.
My phone use has caused me health problems.
My phone use has caused a serious argument with family.
My phone use has caused serious conflict with friends, coworkers or others.
My phone makes it hard to get my work or schoolwork done.
Daily-life disturbance
Phone use is disrupting work or study and causing physical problems — neck and wrist pain, blurred vision, lost sleep
Positive anticipation
How much calm, enjoyment and confidence the phone gives you — and how empty things feel without it
Withdrawal
Restlessness when you’re without your phone, and irritation when someone interrupts you while you’re on it
Cyberspace-oriented relationships
Feeling closer to online friends than to people in person, and compulsively checking social media
Overuse
Sessions running longer than you meant, and the urge to pick the phone straight back up
Tolerance
Trying and failing to cut back, while people around you say you’re on it too much
Strongly disagree
1 point
Disagree
2 points
Slightly disagree
3 points
Somewhat like me
4 points
Agree
5 points
Very much like me
6 points
I’ve missed planned work because I was on my phone.
My phone makes it hard to concentrate in class, on assignments, or at work.
I’ve felt dizzy or had blurred vision from using my phone too much.
My wrist or the back of my neck hurts when I use my phone.
I’m tired and short on sleep because of my phone.
Using my phone makes me feel calm or comfortable.
Using my phone makes me feel good or excited.
I feel confident when I’m using my phone.
My phone is how I relieve stress.
Nothing is more fun than being on my phone.
My life would feel empty without my phone.
I feel most free when I’m using my phone.
Using my phone is the most enjoyable thing I do.
I don’t think I could stand being without my phone.
I get impatient and restless when I’m not holding my phone.
I think about my phone even when I’m not using it.
I would never give up my phone, even if it seriously disrupted my life.
I get annoyed when someone interrupts me while I’m on my phone.
I take my phone with me even when I’m rushing to the bathroom.
I love that my phone lets me meet more people.
My online friendships feel closer than my in-person ones.
Losing access to my phone would hurt as much as losing a friend.
I feel my online friends understand me better than the people around me.
I check my phone constantly so I don’t miss what people are saying on social media.
I check social media the moment I wake up.
I’d rather talk with my online friends than spend time with family or friends in person.
I’d rather look something up on my phone than ask a person.
A full charge doesn’t last me a day.
I stay on my phone longer than I intended.
The moment I put my phone down, I want to pick it back up.
I’ve tried to cut down my phone use many times and failed every time.
I’m always thinking I should be on my phone less.
People around me tell me I’m on my phone too much.
Health problems caused by phone use
Family conflict caused by phone use
Conflict with friends or coworkers caused by phone use
Work or study problems caused by phone use
None of the warning signs came up. Your usage pattern looks healthy.
🚨
High-risk user
Intensive support recommended
You’ve lost control over your phone use
You’ve lost control over your phone use, and it’s causing serious problems in your relationships, daily responsibilities and health. Getting professional help is strongly recommended — a mental health clinician, or the SAMHSA National Helpline for a referral.
This puts you in the top 7% for risk
⚠️
At-risk user
Worth talking to someone
Your control is starting to slip
Your control over phone use is weakening, and it’s starting to affect relationships and daily responsibilities. Review your patterns and cut back deliberately. If this persists, talk to a professional.
You’ve crossed into the at-risk range
✅
Typical user
Keep an eye on it
You’re using your phone in a healthy way
Your phone use is reasonably controlled. That said, it can tip into the at-risk range as screen time grows, so check in with yourself periodically.
You’re maintaining a healthy pattern
Talk to a professional now
Call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 — free, confidential, 24/7, with referrals to local treatment and family support.
Use a lock you can’t undo
Set app limits or Screen Time restrictions and have a family member or friend set the passcode, so you can’t unlock them yourself.
Consider a medical evaluation
If depression, anxiety or sleep problems are also present, see a clinician. Behavioral addictions are closely tied to other mental health conditions.
Build in a replacement
Put an hour of exercise, a walk or an in-person meetup on the calendar in advance, and tell someone — the accountability is the point.
Start measuring your screen time
Use Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing to see one honest week of data. Averaging over four hours a day is a red flag.
Cut your notifications
Turn off notifications for every non-essential app. The alert itself triggers a dopamine response and feeds the urge.
Phone out of the bedroom an hour before bed
Leave your phone outside the bedroom for the last hour before sleep. As sleep quality recovers, the urges get weaker.
Clear off your home screen
Take the time-sink apps — social media, short video, games — off your home screen and bury them in a folder. That extra step buys you a second thought.
A digital detox day
Go half a day a week without your phone. Your tolerance for boredom comes back.
Use it on purpose
Before you unlock the phone, name in one line what you’re unlocking it for.
A monthly review
Once a month, look at your screen time and ask whether the app you used most matches what you actually care about.
Keep a fallback ready
Decide in advance what you’ll reach for when your hands are idle — a book, a workout, a hobby. It cuts the automatic phone grab.
Copy result
Copied
Copy link
Take it again
– Jlogue self-checks (jwiseflow.com)
Source: Smartphone Overdependence Scale (2016), National Information Society Agency, South Korea
Source: Kwon et al. (2013) Smartphone Addiction Scale, PLOS One | DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056936 | CC BY license
Pick the answer closest to you.
/
pts
📊 Scores by subscale
⚠️ Warning signs you flagged
🎯 What to do next
SAMHSA National Helpline — free referrals
Free, confidential, 24/7 — treatment referrals in English and Spanish
1599-0075
/
Q
[ Smartphone overuse self-check — quick version (10 items) ]
[ Smartphone overuse self-check — full version (SAS, 33 items) ]
■ Total:
→
■ Subscale breakdown
■ Warning signs
■ Result
· No warning signs flagged
⚠️
📞
total / 40
total / 198
About this self-check
This test is a self-check tool, not a substitute for a medical diagnosis. If the result concerns you, talk to a professional. SAMHSA National Helpline 1-800-662-4357 (free, 24/7) · 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988
Based on an official national scale
Smartphone overuse quick check
(10 items)
A fast read on your usage pattern using the 10-item Smartphone Overdependence Scale developed by South Korea’s National Information Society Agency.
TimeAbout 3 min
Questions10 items
Factors3 factors
🟢
Typical
🟡
At risk
🔴
High risk
Total
/ 40
🎯 Loss of control
Measures how hard you find it to control your own screen time.
🧠 Salience
Measures how central the phone has become and how strong the urge is.
⚠️ Harmful consequences
Measures the effect on your health, relationships and work.
The academic standard scale (Kwon 2013)
Full smartphone overuse assessment
(SAS, 33 items)
The 33-item Smartphone Addiction Scale from Kwon et al. (2013), analyzing six separate domains. Published in PLOS One with a reliability of .967.
TimeAbout 8 min
Questions33 items
Factors6 factors
Reliability α.967
🟢
33-66
🟡
67-132
🔴
133-198
Total
/ 198
🎯 Daily-life disturbance
Disrupted work or study, plus neck, wrist, vision and sleep problems
✨ Positive anticipation
Enjoyment, confidence and release while using it
🔥 Withdrawal
Impatience, irritation and compulsion when you’re without it
💬 Cyberspace-oriented relationships
Feeling closer to online friends than to people in person
📱 Overuse
Longer sessions than intended, and the urge to start again straight away
⏱ Tolerance
Trying to cut back and failing
🎙️ Say it, and it is written downLog your phone-free time by voice7-day free trial after sign-up · on-device speech recognitionSee Spicat →About this smartphone overuse self-check
This self-check offers two validated instruments. The quick screen is the 10-item Smartphone Overdependence Scale developed by South Korea’s National Information Society Agency in 2016; the full assessment is the 33-item Smartphone Addiction Scale from Kwon et al. (2013), published in PLOS One.
If phone use is making daily life difficult, the SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-4357 is free, confidential and open 24/7. If you’re also struggling emotionally, reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988.
Sources: National Information Society Agency, South Korea · Kwon M et al. (2013) PLOS One 8(2):e56936, CC BY license
🎴 Five sets built from your saju elementsToday’s energy, turned into numbersFive sets free · every combination has the same odds of first prizeSee Ohaengdam →