Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone?

Mobile technology is, quite frankly, astonishing. In less than a decade we have gone from basic ‘feature phones’ that were capable of doing everything that you ever really needed a phone to do, to smartphones that are nothing short of miniaturized personal computers. Smartphones have redefined how we think of phones and gone are the days when all you really needed to do was make a call, set a reminder, or send someone a text message.Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone?

Today, smartphones do it all. From making calls and sending text messages, to planning the minutia of our daily lives, connecting with friends online through social media, watching movies or playing games on the go, taking razor-sharp images and videos and much more. Our mobile devices (including tablets) are everything to us and most of us could not imagine being without our beloved mobile devices. But, the burning question is, are you addicted to your smartphone? If so, what are the causes of the addiction?

Gaming and Social Media

These days, most smartphone users hardly use their smartphones to actually make calls, which would be the ‘phone’ part of smartphones. They use their smartphones to chat on Facebook or Whatsapp, follow interesting people on Twitter, check out cool pics on Instagram, and all sorts of other social media trends and options. Social media is playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives and for some, it’s becoming more important than the real world around them. You may have noticed this in a friend or even yourself, not being able to go longer than thirty seconds before checking your screen again. This has a lot to do with the dopamine, the ‘feel good’ hormone, which gets released every time someone follows you, likes your comment or picture, or adds you as a ‘friend’. Dopamine is a drug and, like any drug, is addictive.

The other aspect which can lead to smartphone addiction is playing games on the go using sites like newbingosites.net and other casino apps. There are thousands upon thousands of gaming apps available on various app stores, and many of these are actually casino gaming apps. Casino gaming apps are currently the number one downloaded gaming app in the world, as thousands of online casino gamers are making the switch to mobile casino gaming.

Now, mobile gaming apps like casino apps are not really the problem. As with anything that has the potential to create an addiction, it is ultimately up to the user. The really good news is that, in the case of casino gaming apps, responsible online casinos are committed to something called ‘responsible gaming practices’. This basically means that online casinos put certain measures in places such as self-regulation and user-enabled depositing limits, to ensure that you do not become addicted to online gambling.

As most online casino apps are simply mobile extensions of the regular online casino, these same safety and control measures are available through the app. This allows mobile casino gamers to easily self-regulate their gambling on the go, simply by clicking on a few options. So, while you may still run the risk of being addicted to social media, becoming addicted to casino apps on your smartphone is quite unlikely.

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What Can You Do With a Busted Smartphone?

What can you do with a busted smartphone?

Well, that really depends on your phone’s make and model and how broken we’re talking.

Let’s say you trip and drop your smartphone down a flight of stairs or accidentally fling it into a toilet and find that some critical function has been lost. It will no longer text, tweet or has stopped playing YouTube and Candy Crush.

What do you do? Maybe you exchange it for a refurbished phone, sell it for its parts or simply drop it off at a recycling center. Maybe you do absolutely nothing. 

But you are not the average consumer! No, you are the savvy, DIY type always down to save a buck. So, what are some things you can do with a broken phone that still maintains some measure of functionality?

Busted smartphones can be a goldmine for new parents

You could spend up to £250 on a brand new baby monitor system and mess up your finances monumentally, or you could just rig up your own with an otherwise unusable iPhone. (This method, however, does require the use of one functional iPhone.) Assuming your broken phone still has some audio/camera capabilities, you can stream both from the broken phone to the usable one. Do yourself a favor though and leave the busted one with the baby! (I’m not a professional in the childcare field and would strongly recommend consulting one before using this method.)

Who doesn’t have a little trouble sleeping now and then?

A broken smartphone can make for a superb white noise machine, especially if you have a white noise app prior to breaking your phone or your phone has its own built in. Get creative with your phone’s other sounds too. A cell phone can make for a great alarm clock (and already does for most people). For parents, a certain jingle may be just the distraction their infant needs, and they can change it up as often as they like.

Consider your phone’s other basic uses

Flashlight, calculator, note-keeper, contact/book, calendar, compass, games, voice recorder and more! An old phone could be the perfect accompaniment for a short trip and you don’t have to worry about losing it (less baggage!).

Does your phone still vibrate?

Use it as a massaging device!

Other idea’s

  • If you store old media on your phone, or can still transfer music, you could easily rig up a home theatre sound system.
  • Take it apart and teach yourself a thing or two about electronics.
  • If all else fails, you could always consider household decor.

Before you toss your broken phone, consider what functionality it might still have around the house. While the image of hoarding a mountain of old, broken electronic devices in a closet somewhere is one most people don’t want to conjure, smartphones are small enough to squeeze just about anywhere without junking up a place. With your old phone and a little creativity, who knows what you might dream up?

Can you think of other creative uses for a broken smartphone? Have you tried any?
Related:
Track Your Expenses With A Smartphone Budget App
Make Your Android Phone More Smart-Must Have Apps

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Security and Usage of the Internet For Your Childs Security

How Parental Controls Can Enhance Your Child’s Internet Security

Over the years the internet has revolutionized a lot which has provided its users with many options to explore it for different uses. You can find any piece of information you want in an instant without any hassle. This advanced technology and massive collection of data on the internet undoubtedly increases the rate at which internet is used. But as everyone knows, excessive use of anything could be dangerous; and the internet is no different. While online, you will most possibly not be notified about your personal information leak, and because these things happen in an instant, you may not get a chance to back up your data. Everyone who works in the field of information technology and is mature enough to understand how things work can easily identify online threats and warnings. Kids, however, are not aware of these issues, and frequently become a victim of these threats which then causes trouble for their parents. Kids should be educated about these online threats, but even before that, they should have limited access to the internet for their and your own safety. Security and Usage of the Internet For Your Childs Security

What are Parental Controls?

As humans, it is in our nature to explore new things, and when it comes to kids, they seem to be even more eager at discussing and learning new things. Parental controls are tools and methods that allow parents to control how their kids use the internet. It is a great way to prevent children from accessing any inappropriate content online. These controls can be set up on devices, networks or specific applications. Usually, parents set these controls on their child’s devices which include smartphones, Xbox, PlayStation, and more. Parents can set a level of security they desire. Internet Service and Parental Controls

Internet Service and Parental Controls

Usually, you have to buy or install parental control software to ensure the internet security of your children, but there are some internet services such as Charter Spectrum who are providing these services free of cost. Most cable internet services have the feature of parental controls installed on it. Some internet services have a web page where you can personalize the checklist of your parental controls for your in-home devices. My cable internet provider gives me the access to apply parental controls on the router or hub meaning when a device connects to it, and I have the liberty to check the type of content viewed on that device.

Types of Parental Controls

There are multiple types of parental controls available which can protect your children from accessing unsuitable content.

  • Network controls are applied to the connecting device which could be a router or a hub. These controls check every device connected to the internet and only provide the level of access allowed by parents.
  • Device level controls are set on your kid’s devices such as smartphones and tablets. Regardless of where they connect to the internet, these controls will apply on their device.
  • Application level controls apply to specific applications like YouTube and Google. These apps contain different types of content, and some of it is not suitable for your children, which is where this type of control comes in handy. Safe Internet Browsing For Your Family

Safe Internet Browsing For Your Family

It is always a better idea to add up parental controls for your children’s safety, however, as long as you don’t educate them about the harmful effects of the internet, it is still a loss. Teach your children to access social media for a limited time. Explore different technical and educational movies to help them increase their intellectual level and tell them to spend more time with people rather than gadgets. In addition to parental controls, listed below are some measures you should take to help your children stay away from unwanted content on the internet.

  • Install an anti-virus program which can protect the system from viruses and online threats.
  • Turn on firewall protection to prevent unauthorized access.

Keep a web advisory tool for browsing protection to avoid risk

Related Internet Security
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Make Your Android Phone More Smart-Must Have Apps

Make your android phone more smart and advanced by installing some of the must have apps

There are so many things to explore in a Smartphone from its features to camera and from voice clarity to storage. But, no Smartphone is complete until and unless you install some popular apps in it. Well there is no end to the number of applications as each day one or more application is launched with lot of new features.Make Your Android Phone More Smart-Must Have Apps

Few must have apps –

Audio recorder – Most of the android devices do not come up with voice recorder due to some reason. But, there is no need to worry as you can download it from play store. There are bunch of options which you can give a try as they are free, simple and straightforward. But, always keep in mind that don’t do recording in high quality unless it is highly needed because it takes lot of space.

Inbox by Gmail – This is another app that you must have in your Smartphone. This is email app from Gmail, although it is not a huge departure but has number of interesting features that will make your life more convenient and stress free especially when you find yourself with crowded inbox. This app sorts mails into several groups which means you can scroll simply right and pass promotional emails and other unnecessary things which is less important. Overall with this app you can focus on the messages which actually need your attention.

Cloud based app – 21st century is a modern century and with many advancements coming in technologies things are getting more easily day by day. So, one of the must have app is such which offer cloud based services. With launch of cloud based network you can store anything online and can get it back whenever you need it. This will help in saving lot of space in your mobile phone and even offer free space for saving all your important files online.

Spy app – There are so many reasons because of which spy app is listed among a long list of popular applications. One of the main reasons is, it can be used for spying or monitoring other people’s smartphone. And the plus point of such type of app is the user of phone which you are spying will never get to know about it unless you tell him or her. Spy app is quite beneficial for parents, employers and couples. Today, so many android spy apps are available among which you can choose one and get one as per your need. Look for hidden spy apps for android and you will surely want to check them out.

Online newspaper – With starting of e-newspaper many people are able to save lot of their expenditure. It comes as a blessing for many people who do not have morning tea without reading newspaper. This app is easy to use and come with all the important news just like normal newspaper. Most of the newspaper app even sends you notification about breaking news or current news of your interest through message or email.

Among a long list of apps, choosing few applications which are fruitful for you can be little hectic. Above mentioned are few best apps which you can prefer to install.
Related:
Track Your Expenses With A Smartphone Budget App
Where Do You Shop For Phone Cases and Accessories?
Track Your Expenses With A Smartphone Budget App

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