We are literally missing out on life as we know it. The orange spotted butterfly that just flew by the window, you missed, because you were busy scrolling through story views. The call from your grandpa at 8 a.m. was slept through, because you stayed up playing video games all night long. The dolphins that swam close to shore your friend told you to look at, you couldn’t find! You were caught up trying to open your snapchat, and record. Our phones have become an extra appendage over the last decade. They are not only with us just about 99% of the time, but connected to us by hand at least 50% of the time- if not more. I’m almost always holding my own, opposed to keeping it in my purse. For safety reasons, but still. Physically holding it in my hand at times brings me a subconscious comfort. I’m mindlessly holding a device that makes me feel “safe”. We’re never really alone when we have our phones. That last sentence is equally as scary as it is comforting.
Our phones know how many steps we’re getting in a day. They know about the new shoes you were just telling your friend you liked, and they definitely know what type of porn you’re watching. They also know that the drive to work is twelve minutes, but it took you forty because there was “traffic”. They know that you see Carmen on Saturday nights, and Alexa comes through on Wednesday mornings. You can clear your search history, but it already knew it. You can delete your photos or messages, but they already had them. Our phones know everything. They have the power to either build us up as humans in this society or completely deteriorate our entire species as a whole. Call me crass, but it’s the truth. My cousin once said to me, “What if all of the tools and resources related to technology the human race uses to build itself up in society, are the exact cause of what breaks us down and sets us back overtime?” Obviously we were thinking a bit outlandish, but the intriguing perspective spoke volumes to me.
Ironically enough, it seems the most timid people in life, are some of the most ballsy behind the screen. This is where the saying, “everything in moderation” is key. Choose the amount of time you wish to spend on meaningless scenarios through the phone, wisely. I invest the same amount of energy worrying about what people have to say about me behind the phone, as I do worrying about the stock market crashing. The answer would be none..nada..ziltch! I one thousand percent should be worried about the stock market crashing, since in turn that could devastate our economy- but i’m just not. I have the stock market on my list of things to learn about in 2021, but as of now it doesn’t really make much of a difference to me whether it crashes, or not. Unlike the stock market, which one day I will be worried about once i'm investing, I will never be worried about what people hiding behind a screen have to say about what i’m doing. Unless they would like to talk in person, or give me a ring- I’m not pressed, and quite frankly it’s a waste of my time if it doesn’t deal with business.
People are going to have their opinion’s regardless, and that’s that. Their opinions will forever remain a subjective delusion of the real thing, because you’re living the real thing. Just like they’re living their own unique version of the real thing. It’s your life, so don’t worry about whoever is passing judgement on the 2 minute sliver of your story posts- two minutes is nothing when compared to the 1,438 other minutes in the day. If I wasted ten minutes a day worrying about what internet trolls think, opposed to what I think, and what makes me happy- that would be almost five hours a month! Do they deserve your time? No..hell no! Of course not! You, deserve your time. Because it’s the only time you'll ever have. You will never get that same wasted time back. This is where being conjoined at the hip to your phone, can be so toxic. Not caring is obviously so much easier said than done. My absolute favorite thing to do when I feel uninterested, or attacked by the socials on my phone- is to remove myself completely. Sometimes for merely a day, and other times for much longer. As strange as it sounds, it is immensely cleansing to feel like you’ve “dropped off” the face of the earth. The only ones that can get in contact with you are more than likely the ones you don’t mind being in contact with. Enjoy this time with yourself!
Our phones have helped us advance astronomically in society and business, for the better overtime! So don’t think I’m writing them off all together. I personally believe as stated above- everything in moderation is healthy. If you are someone that takes advantage of your phone or social platforms for your career, then just remember to be intentional with the time that you’re spending one them. At the beginning of each week go ahead and construct a schedule that you’d like to stick to, with being on or off of your phone. I personally like to do it the night before, but that’s just me.
If you are getting on your device randomly throughout the day, think about how much that time can build up if you weren’t being intentional. I recently listened to a training call, for the CBD that I sell. One piece of information they shared about our focus once we start work each day was rather interesting. Businesswoman and leader, Sue Rusch, told us that we are the most unproductive the first ten to twenty minutes we start working; therefore, if you are popping on the phone to work five minutes here, ten minutes there, and two minutes later you are most likely going to burn yourself out. If you can jump over that twenty minute hurdle, I promise you there is an endless abundance of focus on the other side! Or maybe the randomness is how you operate at your best. I’m a good mix of both, but ever since I have started setting aside the time to work on my phone without distraction, I have been able to get much more accomplished! I also feel so much more zen throughout each day, rather than feeling extremely scattered, with fleeting thoughts.
Count the many blessings, opportunities, and connections your phone brings you in life, but be aware of all of the negativity, anxiety, and distraction it can also bring along. Your phone is kind of like that one friend that we all have, where they’re friends with everyone..good and bad. They don’t really care enough the shoe the bad away, and they’re just happy to have the good ones surrounding them. They’re just kinda there.. enjoying, and taking it allllll in. All of it- just like your phone, that is also literally taking all of it in. So don’t let your phone take all of you in, with it. Keep healthy boundaries- those are crucial to your mental health. Let the phone make you not break you! So you decide...phone or foe, today?