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Guide · Phone habits

Am I Addicted to My Phone? Signs, a Free Self-Test, and How to Cut Back

By The ScreenWorth team · · 8 min read

Short answer

“Phone addiction” isn’t an official diagnosis in the DSM-5 or ICD-11, and researchers usually call it problematic smartphone use. The most widely used check is the Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version (SAS-SV): 10 statements rated 1 to 6, for a total of 10 to 60. Scores of 31 or more for men and 33 or more for women are the published at-risk cutoffs. You can take it below; it scores itself and nothing is saved. Hours alone don’t define a problem. The warning signs are losing control (using it longer than you meant to, failing to cut back) and your phone getting in the way of work, sleep or people. If that sounds familiar, start with your evenings and the two or three apps that pull you in most.

Take the 2-minute self-test

This is the Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version (SAS-SV), the most widely used questionnaire for problematic phone use. Rate how much you agree with each statement, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Your answers stay in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent.

  1. 1. Missing planned work due to smartphone use
  2. 2. Having a hard time concentrating in class, while doing assignments, or while working due to smartphone use
  3. 3. Feeling pain in the wrists or at the back of the neck while using a smartphone
  4. 4. Won’t be able to stand not having a smartphone
  5. 5. Feeling impatient and fretful when I am not holding my smartphone
  6. 6. Having my smartphone in my mind even when I am not using it
  7. 7. I will never give up using my smartphone even when my daily life is already greatly affected by it
  8. 8. Constantly checking my smartphone so as not to miss conversations between other people on social media
  9. 9. Using my smartphone longer than I had intended
  10. 10. The people around me tell me that I use my smartphone too much
The published cutoffs differ slightly for men and women. Which should we use?

Signs of problematic phone use

Researchers focus on loss of control and real-life impact more than raw screen time. Common signs:

  • You use it longer than you meant to, most days.
  • You’ve tried to cut back and couldn’t.
  • It gets in the way: missed work, trouble concentrating, scrolling instead of sleeping.
  • You feel restless or irritable when you can’t check it.
  • You reach for it without deciding to, opening apps on autopilot.
  • People close to you say you’re on it too much.

Is phone addiction real?

Not as a formal diagnosis. Neither the DSM-5 nor the ICD-11 lists smartphone addiction, and there are no agreed diagnostic criteria. Dozens of questionnaires exist, and researchers disagree about how to measure it. The pattern is still real enough to study: in a 2024 household survey of 5,536 adults in Singapore using the SAS-SV, 30.2% scored in the problematic range, and those people had roughly three times the odds of poor sleep, depressive symptoms and anxiety.

How common it looks depends heavily on which scale and cutoff a study uses, so a high score on any self-test means you’re at risk, not that you have a disorder.

Who scores highest

Younger adults and students consistently score highest. In the Singapore survey, people aged 15 to 34 were most likely to score in the problematic range, and the odds fell sharply with age. Heavy use of social media and entertainment apps is the common thread, more than calls, maps or messaging.

How to cut back on your phone

  • Find your two or three problem apps. Settings → Screen Time shows where the hours go. It’s usually social media and short video.
  • Limit those apps, not your whole phone. Keep calls, maps, messages and music free. All-or-nothing rules rarely last.
  • Protect your evenings. Stop scrolling an hour before bed and charge your phone outside the bedroom. See our guide to phones and sleep.
  • Add friction at the moment of the urge. Move tempting apps off your home screen, turn off their notifications, and make opening them take a decision.
  • Notice what triggers it: boredom, stress, avoiding a task. Plan something else for those moments.

Make the limit stick: ScreenWorth

Most people already know their phone use is too high. The hard part is the moment you hit your own limit and iPhone offers “Ignore Limit” for free. ScreenWorth gives your problem apps a daily allowance. When it runs out, the apps lock and you choose: walk away for free, or pay a small amount you chose in advance for 15 more minutes ($0.49 for the first on the default setting, rising with each unlock that day). Your weekly receipt leads with how many times you walked away.

Free to download. Free to walk away. You only pay if you decide extra time is worth it. ScreenWorth is a self-help tool for adults, not a treatment, and it never charges automatically. If phone use is tied to low mood, anxiety or sleep problems that don’t improve, please talk to a doctor.

FAQ

Am I addicted to my phone?

Take the 10-question SAS-SV self-test on this page. Scores of 31 or more (men) or 33 or more (women) are in the published at-risk range. A high score suggests risk, not a diagnosis; loss of control and impact on work, sleep or relationships matter most.

Is phone addiction a real diagnosis?

No. Smartphone addiction isn’t listed in the DSM-5 or ICD-11, and there are no agreed diagnostic criteria. Researchers call it problematic smartphone use.

What is the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV)?

A 10-item questionnaire published by Kwon and colleagues in PLoS ONE in 2013. You rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Totals range from 10 to 60, with at-risk cutoffs of 31 for men and 33 for women.

What are the symptoms of phone addiction?

Using your phone longer than intended, failing to cut back, feeling restless without it, checking it on autopilot, and your phone interfering with work, concentration, sleep or relationships.

How do I stop being addicted to my phone?

Limit the two or three apps that take most of your time, keep evenings and the bedroom phone-free, turn off their notifications, and add friction at the moment of the urge. ScreenWorth locks chosen apps when your daily allowance runs out and lets you walk away for free or pay a small set price for 15 more minutes.

Is my score saved anywhere?

No. The self-test runs entirely in your browser. Your answers and score aren’t stored or sent to ScreenWorth or anyone else.

Sources

  1. Kwon et al., “The Smartphone Addiction Scale: Development and Validation of a Short Version for Adolescents,” PLoS ONE (2013), CC BY
  2. Ong et al., “Prevalence and associations of problematic smartphone use… in a household survey of Singapore adults,” PLoS ONE (2024)
  3. MIMS: Smartphone overuse tied to adverse mental health outcomes, Singapore survey
  4. Hidalgo-Fuentes et al., psychometric properties of the SAS-SV, PLoS ONE (2025)

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