Mr Markowetz, why are we constantly glued to our mobile phones?

Mr Markowetz, according to your research, we look at our smartphones an average of 88 times a day. Is that such a bad thing?

That's the higher figure - if you subtract the times when you only unlock your mobile phone briefly to look at your watch, for example, we're at 53. It's not the duration of smartphone use that's the problem. It's the constant interruptions in our everyday lives that break it up and ensure that we no longer stay focussed on one thing. We forget how to devote ourselves fully to one thing.

That sounds dramatic. As if we were all suffering from ADHD.

I'm not just interested in the tip, but above all in the iceberg. In other words, what smartphone consumption means for the majority of people. The fact that we only ever look at diseases and addictions is certainly linked to our healthcare system. But the exciting thing is that this fragmented everyday life affects us all. From an economic and public health perspective, the number of distracted but healthy users is much more dramatic than the few per cent who become ill.

But the fact that we are interrupted is nothing new.

That's right, the only new thing is the dimension of constant interruption by the smartphone. This is due to the constant access to distraction and communication. As long as a text message still cost 19 cents, this prevented us from constantly writing messages. Today, messaging with WhatsApp and the like is free.

As a student, I had a big advantage: my PC had a cable. When I left the house, I was offline. Inevitably and for several hours.

I studied computer science and probably only 10 per cent of the time I spent on the computer and the Internet was really necessary for my studies. But I had one big advantage: my PC had a cable. When I left the house, I was offline. Inevitably and for several hours.

A 16-year-old today probably can't even imagine that. How does the use of smartphones by young people differ from that of adults?

On average, they are online more often and for longer. And that's despite the fact that they have a compulsory break from school. That scares me a little. What happens when these young people go to university? How quickly can they build up their self-regulation and impose offline times on themselves again? It's very difficult for parents to intervene. We must not forget: smartphones are not just status symbols, they are networks and communication tools.

Or to put it another way: if you don't wear branded trainers, you can still have a say in the school playground - you're just not as cool. If you don't have a smartphone or WhatsApp, you're not on the school playground at all. Smartphones are the school playground! Banning an individual from communicating via smartphone would be just as cruel as locking them in a classroom while the others play outside. And telling them: «But you're stronger than them!»

So parents are helplessly at the mercy of the smartphone craze? Simply because everyone is doing it?

No, but excessive smartphone use is a task for society as a whole. That's why it can only be tackled in groups. In companies with a specific policy of inaccessibility. In the media through education. Or even in schools. For example, at parents' evenings in class, it could be agreed that all parents will collect their children's mobile phones at 8 pm. Then the person who is no longer allowed to be in the class chat at 2 a.m. won't be an outsider.

There is simply no class chat at night. And in class, we have to talk about why offline time is important. Just like environmental protection was preached to us again and again in the 80s. Today, it's just normal for me to throw my rubbish in up to six different bins, for example - it's become second nature to me.

But you write yourself that it's not so easy to resist the addictive mechanisms of the smartphone.

Yes, there's the dopamine effect, for example. I click to see if there's a message. The surprise triggers a release of dopamine. If there's no message, maybe there will be next time. This dopamine release is addictive. And ensures that we are constantly checking emails or messages. We can also expect an immediate reward when we check our phone. The cat videos on YouTube are always there!

If we have to concentrate on a task for longer, such as homework, the reward for which is a long way off, it is much more difficult. And what's more - and this seems particularly important to me - we don't always consciously pick up the phone. We think we are so clever and reflective, but 95 per cent of the time we are simply trained monkeys - we act out of habit.

And how do we get out of ingrained habits?

To do this, we have to trick our own habits. This is not possible on a rational level, not through arguments. We have to break habits or replace them with healthier ones. There is currently no proven advice on this. Instead, an entire nation is currently trying to wean itself off the habit. Various tricks are crystallising in the process. Rule number 1: no smartphones in the bedroom. I'm less concerned with the blue light, which is supposed to disturb you when you fall asleep, and more about waking up.

When we are tired and stressed or not fully awake, we fall into well-worn patterns particularly quickly. How quickly have the first 15 minutes of the day gone by if we've just been fiddling with our mobile phone? And how valuable and creative could this time be when we are so closely connected to our subconscious? Rule number 2: Prevent the immediacy of the reward and stow your mobile phone deep in your rucksack, for example, so that you have to rummage around before you can click.

Do you have any other tips?

The mobile phone can only be used on a single - very uncomfortable - chair. Or an app delays the start of certain apps so that I can really think about whether this is necessary now. If it's a chore to check our mobile phones, there's a good chance we'll actually do it less often. And buy yourself and your children a wristwatch. If you look at your mobile phone every time you want to know the time, you have it in your hand and start surfing.

But all of this is just self-regulation and does nothing to prevent your best friend or later your boss from constantly trying to reach you.

When it comes to communication, the 20-to-80 rule applies to most people. Around 5 people account for around 80 per cent of incoming messages. For teenage girls, it is even the case that their best friend alone accounts for 80 per cent. So talk to these people and make new rules with them. For example, let them know that you will only check WhatsApp three times a day. Or suggest that your daughter talk to her best friend on the phone for three hours at a time.

That sounds like an absurd amount of time.

But then she has about 12 more waking hours to devote to other things without interruption. Perhaps your daughter's actual WhatsApp time with her friend is «only» two hours - but these two hours are ruining the whole day because they fragment it and divert attention away from other activities and thoughts. If you talk to your closest circle about your smartphone use, you can reduce your interruptions by up to 40 per cent!

And the rest is self-tricking or mastery. Since I read your book, a little monk admonishes me via an app when I switch on my mobile phone. I have to actively click: «Yes, I know what I'm doing!» It also counts my unlocks per day. That worked well for a while. Now I don't even notice what it says and just click the app away.

The idea itself is good: the monk forces you to reflect and interrupts the immediacy. But you will probably only really think about his question 100 times, and after the 101st time, clicking away is automatic. The mechanism behind the Mönch app is too simple. We are currently testing an app where you have to solve small puzzles before unlocking. That works a little better. But we mustn't forget: We're all still trying it out!

We need to break our habits - and replace them with new, healthier ones!

So the ultimate remedy for mobile phone use has not yet been found.

We live in a society of too much and have not yet learnt to limit ourselves. I think that more and more people will have to exchange tips and try things out in order to curb their mobile phone consumption. It's no different to smoking or overeating. We first have to learn to limit ourselves. One tip will work better, the other worse. And certainly not for everyone. Why not ask your children?

They sometimes have more creative ideas than their parents.

Or the dumber ones. But then at least you had a fun conversation.

Finally, the inevitable personal question: What about your mobile phone use?

It's getting better. I've become much more reserved in my communication. At first, I think about whether something can wait or whether I really need to trigger a WhatsApp beep from my colleague now. But I'm just as bad at self-regulation as everyone else. I have a few years' head start when it comes to reflection because I realised early on how unhappy and unproductive I often was when staring at my laptop. This led me to research media use. I am the Saul who wants to become Paul.