Phone in Hand, Opportunities Wasted: The Absurd Trade-Off of Digital Distraction
Every so often, I tumble down the rabbit holes of two social network vices: X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
The pattern is always the same. Log in to check my notifications and private messages, get distracted by something on the "For You" timeline, then look up and wonder where the time went.
And time does go by, never to come back, and I'm one of the lucky ones. If I didn't develop apps for a living, I would probably just have a dumb phone with WhatsApp on it (and possibly Maps). I don't install social media on my phones (unless I have to for a conference to meet people). I leave my phone in one room in the house, and I've taken steps to make sure my phone works for me, not me for it.
And that's the crux with smartphones. They cost far more than money. The attention they demand of their "owners" makes you wonder who the real owner is. The people who bought the smartphone, or the world's most addictive apps.⭐️
According to the University of Birmingham, the average UK child spends nearly 35 hours a week. That is enough to do a full-time job. The amount of time teens spend with friends daily has dropped 65% since the launch of the iPhone while 1 in 4 children with smartphones have an addiction.
It doesn't just stop with children; adults of all ages are afflicted as well. An 82-year-old man that I see regularly can't seem to go through a conversation without pulling out his phone and mentioning the latest Trump outrage.
A person who has lived a whole life has become a shell of his former self. Once so intelligent, witty and insightful, has now just begun parlaying whatever his newsfeed gives him mid-conversation.
Is this the life that you want? Do you want to be like everyone else? Is this how you'll be remembered?
Reconsider: Instead of tumbling down another Instagram rabbit hole, you redirect that energy to something tangible.
- Reading a paper book
- Learning to cook a new meal
- Talking to someone you love
- Exercising
- Planning your next day
- Learning a new skill
- Sleeping