3 days without my Smartphone..

I recently needed to replace my smartphone so sent it off and while waiting for a new one I decided to have 3 days break from Mobile Phone Technology. 

I’ve always known that my smartphone can be a huge distraction.  In hospital it is my saviour and it is also large enough to watch TV on, I am not joking!

Like everyone, I have had days when I haven’t been able to stop myself from staying glued to my screen’s glow. I’ve had other days when I’ve compulsively unlocked my phone more times than I can count. On many days, I’ve done both.

Everyone checks their phones, some for no reason other than boredom, loneliness, or anxiety. According to studies, the average person unlocks their phone an incredible eighty to a hundred times per day.  People look to their smartphones for comfort when we feel unfulfilled.

We all ponder the musings and exchanges we’ve had or have yet to have on our smartphones. Perhaps we yearn for small escapes in our daily routine. Does anyone ever think though that these escapes fritter our attention, which is our most precious commodity.

By giving our attention away so carelessly, day after day, we aren’t able to live as meaningfully.

I am not addicted to my smartphone, I  hate Facebook and Snapchat, I use my phone for Twitter, Instagram and to phone and text.  In hospital, I use my phone to watch programmes and listen to music.

I know some who are addicted and I realize that this behavior is slowly becoming the norm rather than the exception, but it’s far from sane.

Constantly checking a smartphone apparently improves the way people feel? I disagree & believe that it only gives the illusion of feeling good. In reality, it ends up making people feel unfocused and unfulfilled.

When I am at work I often check my phone so many times, It feel like my brain will implode.  Checking it disconnects me from myself while giving me the hope that something outside myself, on a four to five-inch screen, can give me a sense of greater well-being.  I was able to realize this on a profound level once I was without my phone for 3 days lately. 

As the hours passed on the first morning,  I felt like I was being slowly untethered, I began to feel more and more of a disconnection. After the first day, I felt far more connected to myself and those around me.  I had time to talk to my wife and play little games with my dog, read 2 books that I have been meaning to read, catch up on paperwork that has needed completing. 
I, like most people have this underlying assumption that our smartphone can whisk us away to somewhere more stimulating and exciting. Our phones have become the equivalent of cigarettes for our eyes and sugar for our cravings, and we just can’t get enough and like a craving the more often we check our phones, the more we fracture our peace of mind and disconnect from ourselves.

I’m not knocking anyone who’s let go of their smartphone permanently.  I know people who have recently gone back to a basic phone with no apps.  I think there's so much pressure in this digital age, it’s not a sustainable option for most of us to let go of our devices. Doing so also inhibits us from enriching our lives meaningfully, with the myriad benefits of technology.

Smartphones aren’t the enemy; what needs to change is how we use them.

More time spent in front of your screen’s phone means less time doing what you truly want to do in life.  I am going to try and take some time off once a week from my phone, I don't need it 24/7.  I am also going to try to be conscious of whether I reach for my phone out of a need to feel comforted, or because I need it.