There has been much debate in recent years about how much people are using their phones and the damage that this can potentially do. I was first notified about the overuse of my phone by my very good Alexander Sabadash, who approached it in the perfect way with me. Alex is a great talker and a humble man, and he merely brought up to me that my phone usage was essentially making him not enjoy his time with me as much as he usually does. I took this on board and I have actually found it very refreshing to put my phone down more often. If you are worried that you may be using your phone too much, here is when you will be able to tell for sure.
Missing Conversations
So the start that broke the camel’s back for me was actually when my friend was explaining something to me, and I was only half-listening because I had my phone in my had. What I didn’t realize was that what my friend was telling me was really important to him and quite emotional, and I wasn’t present enough to listen because I was too busy scrolling through social media.
Obsessing Over Things You Cannot Help
When you become so attached to your phone you invariably end up paying far more attention than you need to social media and to news channels. Unfortunately, there is a lot of sad stories in the world, most of which it is very little, if anything that you can do about them, yet because you are so engrossed in them these stories genuinely begin to create anxiety and desperation in you. Once you find yourself worrying about things around the world that are completely out of your control, it may be time to give the phone a rest for a while.
Not Present
It is not just missing conversations that you’ll find yourself doing but also completely failing to be present when you do see and meet people. I have had instances where I have been so quick to take a photo of what I’m doing, that the truth is I can’t really remember much about the so-called ‘memorable’ day, because I was just too busy staring at my phone or sharing how great my day was with the world, failing to note that the day wasn’t that great because I spent it telling people how great I believed it was. You have to be present when you are with people, being glued to your phone won’t help you do that.
Time
Most modern phones will now tell you how much time you are spending on there, review this every week and you may very well be shocked at what you find. If you read that you are spending 2,3 or even 4 hours on your phone a day then it is time to put it down and start interacting with people in reality.
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