Put Down Your Phone Please?!

Image courtesy of Carlos ZGZ at Flickr  

Imagine your phone and your wallet were two separate things.  What would happen if you left your house without your wallet?  What would happen if you left your house without your phone?  Is your answer the same for both questions?  Why or why not?  If you were a mile down the road, would you go back for your phone, knowing it would make you late to wherever you were going?  Do you even have the ability to leave the house without reading a review or posting a status update?  Are you aware that there are apps to help you reduce your phone usage?  Do you believe a person can be addicted to their smartphone?

My answers are: I need my wallet but not my phone, nope, because I’m not addicted, no way, uh huh, sadly yes, and indeed I do.  Technology is grand.  Social media has had a positive impact.  However, we do not need it all day every day. I am so over the smartphone zombies I could run over the smartphone zombies.  Can I?  If you can’t put your phone down long enough to ride somewhere in a car with someone, interact with a cashier, or cross the street, well then you suck!  That’s it.  I’m calling it like I see it.  I see it, because I’m looking at it rather than at my phone.  

Flickr photo by Rob Swystun

Moderation is all I'm saying.  There is a tangible, physical world to look at.  There are people to talk to, dogs to walk, adventures to be had.  Put down your phone, for just a moment each day.  Look at the sky.  Look at people in the eye, or at least in the general face area.  You can tweet about what you saw when you get home.  You may even become more interesting if you shared more of what you actually saw of the world with your own eyes, rather than the mindless drivel you see on your mobile screen.  You could share yourself with another person, IN PERSON!  Gasp!

If you or someone you know has become numb to the world around them because they are too obsessed with their smartphone, please seek help.  There are apps for that: Breakfree, Moment, Checky, or Offtime can assist you.  I also suggest going outdoors (because it’s harder to see the screen), leaving your service coverage area, hypnotherapy, finding a time machine, or simply getting a %*$^ing life.

  

You might even remember some of what happened last week if you reduced the number of meaningless soundbites you intake, and instead read relevant news for a short while each day.  What color was that dress anyway?  How many opinions do you need about something?  Why are we attempting to validate our lives in this way?  Albert Einstein said "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.  The world will have a generation of idiots."  How did we become so broken?  I’m asking…

#Unplug  #TechnologyFreeTuesday  #PhoneFreefor5  #Participate



Photo of Pink Man by Carlos ZGZ from Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carloszgz/15827689251/in/photolist-q7D3zZ-5TJoyH-bpcFqy-igJihb-bLcHw4-bz2Ff5-aGiFQn-ix6pai-aNEZTr-mXs4KP-bCWuuM-9DTk6K-bvATiE-byGJAh-2FZD-7pWFAX-62dhTS-kBNJm4-drC7KA-bHZ5YZ-5XkyEw-5q8weZ-4jyTZo-23zUX1-4NEYz7-4jyQau-5qcR53-4DhK-6UyKrK-8cKY9j-5Dj6pT-2pVKv2-aFRe2H-sb2arN-ejUAZx-2pVKqx-mPe7rH-rGqXfi-aiEnz3-8ambTW-aMUuKv-n1Sbpp-hs6NFs-iLLSFB-jBgRqU-4VBoom-5UAi8m-x9uiV-x9u7H-x9tU9
Photo by Rob Swystun of monument of Ukrainian poet Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1814-1861):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rob_swystun/17178667812/in/photolist-sb2arN-ejUAZx-2pVKqx-mPe7rH-rGqXfi-aiEnz3-8ambTW-aMUuKv-n1Sbpp-hs6NFs-jBgRqU-4VBoom-5UAi8m-x9uiV-x9u7H-x9tU9-rUmKui-2YEMYM-2YKd3L-s6bDDZ-bx9YgA-naPaJP-dW3As9-aGTj-hocczq-hobKm4-rN3e6i-t7KQ22-6eVbEj-tGp8Tj-2kW6Go-2kVNDU-6cqvif-e6Uwzz-rthfVG-pRQZrj-q9kQ7W-pqyfX6-7vxTv7-rAxPUK-bUxRRd-aZ939x-bUxRg7-akaFuR-4FYRxy-brtjse-jAhx62-ocBc1y-pj6Rvb-c4cVC7