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Here are the apps helping you not use apps so much
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Do you find yourself inexplicably scrolling through Twitter even though you said you were going to sleep an hour ago? How about checking your phone to avoid a conversation with someone? - photo by Shelby Slade
Do you find yourself inexplicably scrolling through Twitter even though you said you were going to sleep an hour ago? How about checking your phone to avoid a conversation with someone?

If so, you might be addicted to your smartphone. But dont worry theres an app for that.

A Pew Research Center study revealed that 64 percent of American adults own a smartphone and 46 percent of them say they couldnt live without it.

The ease of access to social networks, games and the wealth of content on the Internet makes it hard to focus on other things at times. In fact, it might be creating a generation of tech-addicted people.

Technology has evolved so quickly that we have spiraled out of control and nobody has stopped to think about how this is going to impact our lives, Kate Unsworth told Connor Dougherty in a New York Times article.

Unsworth is the founder of Kovert, which makes jewelry that can help cut down on smartphone use. One similar company, Ringly, sells $195 rings that connect to your phone and block notifications, Dougherty explains.

Still others suggest moving back in time to dumb phones, which cant access the Internet; iPod Touches, which dont allow data plans; or NoPhone, a hunk of phone-shaped plastic to give the illusion of a phone.

Still the most interesting and contradictory way to overcome your cell phone addiction is through apps.

One popular app is Offtime, which gives users the chance to block certain apps or Internet access at certain times of the day, Arjun Kharpa reported for CNBC. This has been used for people who want to set aside family time, be extra productive at work or focus on safety during their commutes.

Other apps, like Checky, Moment and Menthal, take an awareness approach by letting users look at how many times they unlock their phones or spend on certain apps, Katy Hall wrote for The Huffington Post.

Theres a perception when youre using your phone that time goes by fairly quickly, Moment Creator Kevin Holesh told Hall. You can easily burn 15 minutes on Twitter and have it feel like five.

By simply knowing that youve spent more than 30 hours a month on your phone, which as Nielsen reports is average for a smartphone owner, you can begin to realize how much time on your devices you need to cut back.

You have a population that is starting to say, Wait, we love all this technology but there seems to be a cost whether its my relationship or my work or my safety because Im driving and texting, neurologist Adam Gazzaley told Dougherty.