Rebelling Against My Phone

Recently I got my weekly update about screen time on my phone. According to Apple I was averaging 3 hours per day using it.

This is the most amazing device ever.

This is the worst device ever.

This device is stealing our lives

.

Do we own our phones, or do they own us? What I now worry about is how much time I spend staring at my phone screen with no particular goal, to the detriment of doing other things.

I love the fact that my family can get hold of me at any time in case of an emergency.

I hate the fact that most people (and clients) assume that they can contact me whenever they wish, including nights and weekends.

At some point we’ve all been contacted on nights or weekends by people we work for, or with, needing something. And many times we drop what we’re doing and respond. And then they contact us again and again at odd hours and if we don’t respond, they want to know why?

Recently I got my weekly update about screen time on my phone. According to Apple I was averaging 3 hours per day using it.

I don’t keep music on my phone, so what exactly was I was using it for? Checking/scrolling social media, surfing different websites, watching short videos, and who knows what else? In other words, wasting time, just like I did when I had television.

When I was younger I would come home, tired from work. I’d turn on the television ostensibly to look for something to watch, to relax. At some point I realized that I’d been sitting there for hours bouncing from channel to channel watching nothing at all. I had a hard time turning the damn thing off.

Was I relaxing? Or wasting time?

I decided to take my life back. I got rid of cable and television in the late 90’s. I started doing other things, reading, writing, working outside, meeting friends, going for walks. You name it. It was great. Time moved forward and technology progressed.

We have this mini computer in our pocket that’s just begging us to use it. It’s so easy to grab your phone and look up the capital of Bolivia, who played the bad guy in Silverado, what the hell is mince pie, or what’s the air speed velocity of a swallow carrying a coconut? An African Swallow of course.

Once we open that screen it’s hard to turn it off. As long as I’m here I’ll check my email. Has anyone commented on my Facebook status? What’s the weather like outside? NO! Put it away!

We’ve all been in public places and seen people staring at their screens instead of looking around them. And it’s not just young people. When I go to the doctor or dentist’s office there are people my age and older waiting for their appointment mesmerized by their phones.

You see them at restaurants, at the bank, grocery stores, among other places. How often have you honked your horn at the car in front of you when the light turns green and they’re just sitting there? Yep, 9 times out of 10 they are on their phones.

What’s the point of going anywhere if you’re not going to look up from your phone?

What do I do when I have appointments? I take a book with me, in case I have to wait. If I go places in the evening, my phone stays in my pocket and I interact with the people I’m with.

I am not a Luddite. I don’t mind technology in fact I use it all the time. As a filmmaker, author, editor, and sound designer, I spend hours in front of my computer working. I am currently learning 3 new software programs that I’m hoping will help me work more efficiently.

I have never had a tablet, but for years I had both a laptop and a desk top computer. The laptop was for writing, and I’d drag it with me every where. My most recent laptop died over a year ago and I was figuring out how to replace it when I had a major realization: I don’t need it.

In fact by not having a laptop I’m getting more work done. Working from a home office, I have my desktop computer to do everything I need to make a living.

I haven’t replaced my laptop.

For the five years my parents spent in assisted living I never turned my cell phone off, in case something happened. As someone who is self-employed, I also received a lot of calls and texts at all hours. Many people would respond right away, especially if they’re afraid they could lose their job if they’re not available. I wait until office hours to respond.

After my parents passed away my daughter showed me how to use the “Do Not Disturb” function on my phone and helped me put together a list of family and close friends that could contact me when the phone was in it’s Do Not Disturb mode. I started turning my phone off at night when I went to bed. All was good. Now I leave my phone in its Do Not Disturb mode most of the time.

Like many people I was charging my phone every night. I decided I would only charge it every other day, which soon became every third day. The only time I charge my phone more often is if I’m using the telephone portion. Sometimes you get on a long call, business or pleasure, and that’s not a big deal.

I now average much less than an hour a day on my smart phone. And since I have started talking about cutting down my cell use, my phone battery life has been getting shorter and shorter. When I started this it was no problem to go three days without a charge and my battery would still not drop below 30%. Now on a day where I hardly use the phone it drops to 50%. I’m sure this is not a coincidence... We all know our gadgets are listening to us no matter how much the tech companies deny it.

I am not the first person to say we’re being controlled by our devices, or that we have too many of them. Smarter people than me have pointed this out over the years.

Please, put down your phones. They are robbing you from real human interaction, and interaction with the world. They also have a way of numbing you to what’s going on around you. Remember that phrase, “Doom Scrolling”? Yeah, don’t do that.

Use your phone for a specific purpose. When you are finished, turn it off, put it away.

Remember, our phones are tools. We own them, they shouldn’t own us.

Now that the weather is getting good this means more time outdoors, in my garden, walking, or hanging out with family and friends. Who knows with additional time away from screens I may stumble across the cure for cancer?

Thanks for reading and subscribing. Have a great week.

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