The attention grabber
Do you feel that your smartphone is stealing too much of your time, energy and attention on a daily basis?
Does panic set in when you realise you’ve misplaced your device or it runs out of battery at an inopportune moment?
Do you reach for your smartphone first thing in the morning and it’s the last thing you look at before you drop off to sleep at night?
Do you have cravings for the wealth of information available at your fingertips?
Do you sometimes wonder why this tiny device is controlling your life?
If you answered yes to all or most of these questions, it is quite possible that you are a smartphone addict. I have been one most definitely and am now in recovery!
In efforts to curb the habit, I’ve told the device, “It’s just not working out!”. Like you might say when you’re breaking up with someone. I switch if off and insist that I’m not switching it back on for three hours and then cave in after thirty minutes. I can find any excuse to activate the device. It will keep luring me back with the promise of new apps, notifications, news reports, posts and alerts. I may suddenly have a desperate urge to find out the name for a baby porcupine and it really can’t wait! It’s a porcupette by the way.
I’m a curious person and love knowledge and insight so having access to so much information at my fingertips makes me want to continually satisfy that human need. I’m like a dog eagerly salivating for its next treat. It’s that fear of missing out (FOMO) on an important event, information or message.
The device can be so addictive that a top addiction therapist warned in an Independent article, in 2017, that “Giving your child a smartphone is like ‘giving them a gram of cocaine'”. The article suggests that more support and guidance is needed to balance screen time and other activities; teaching children and teenagers to regulate their usage. 1 I think the same could go for adults too! Some days I think I might set up Smart Phone Addicts Anonymous (SPAA). It would give a whole new meaning to “I’m just off to the spa”!
The past and the future of smartphones
Smartphones have become a necessity for a huge percentage of the population in recent years. So let’s start with some facts and figures:
- The Smartphone was invented by IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) in 1992 during the Technology and Information Age of inventions 2
- 79% of UK adults personally use a smartphone 3
- The average amount of time spent online on a smartphone is 2 hours 28 minutes a day. This rises to 3 hours 14 minutes among 18-24s. 4
- The current number of smartphone users in the world today is 3.5 billion, and this means 45.04% of the world’s population owns a smartphone. This figure is up considerably from 2016 when there was only 2.5 billion users, 33.58% of that year’s global population. 5
- Our smartphones are millions of times more powerful than all of NASA’s combined computing in 1969. 6
Here are some more interesting facts: https://www.kickassfacts.com/smartphone-facts/
It feels strange now to even envisage how we coped with life before the smartphone but we did and quite happily as I recall. I probably spent more time engaging with friends in person rather than on virtual platforms i.e. social media. I will honestly say that when I was first aware of mobile phones, I was extremely reluctant to get one. My earliest encounter with one of these devices was in the late 1990’s. On a train journey, one day, I was aware of a fellow passenger noisily talking on their mobile phone. I remember thinking how annoying and disruptive this was to other people’s journeys. I will never get one of those new-fangled mobile phones, I thought to myself. It’s amazing how this new technology can creep up on many of us and before you know it, they’ve got you hooked!
I started with a basic phone (well basic by today’s standards), and enjoyed the games, such as Snake and Tetris. I remember spending ages carefully crafting a text message to fit into one message to save the cost of a second text message just for one word! I also remember, with fondness, my small and perfectly-sized shiny silver flip phone. I then invested in my first smartphone. Wow, what an innovation! A personal computer I could carry everywhere and look up anything I wanted on the go e.g. check the weather, train times, maps etc. If any thought popped into my head, I could use an internet search engine to find the answer. I didn’t need to think for myself anymore!
I used to automatically upgrade my phone when my contract ended and had the pleasure of having a new phone with the latest technological advancements. However, in recent years that allure and novelty has lessened. Maybe I’m just not a tech junkie or have become more aware of the negative effects of prolonged use of my smartphone e.g. anxiety, energy slumps or privacy concerns. There has been much research done about the effects of excessive exposure to Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMFs). Here’s an interesting article and insight into what to look out for:-
https://emwatch.com/who-is-at-risk-from-emf/.
Of course it is difficult to completely distance yourself from devices emitting EMFs, especially with so much technology required in today’s society. However, I feel that it is a good idea to be mindful of your usage, take regular breaks and get out into nature as much as possible.
So these days, I don’t automatically upgrade my smartphone when my phone contract ends and instead keep my present smartphone, until it’s on its last legs, and then replace it. I believe that in modern times, where the need to consume is so great, it is important to think about what happens to all this tech we no longer want. Sadly, a great deal may end up in landfill. In this report in the Telegraph, in 2017, United Nations researchers highlighted that “Discarded laptops, mobile phones and electronic goods are now the world’s fastest growing waste problem”. They called for “..global efforts to better design of components in electrical and electronic equipment to facilitate reuse and recycling and the better recovery of precious metals”. Read the full article here:-
We all have a responsibility to ensure that our old technology equipment is disposed of responsibly. Here’s a few ideas in this article on what you can do with your old smartphones to prevent them from going to landfill:-
https://www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk/where_can_I_recycle/mobile_phones.php
So okay, I must admit that the smartphone is a great invention and a useful tool. However, that’s just it, and I have to keep reminding myself, it’s just a tool! It’s not a person, a pet, an extra limb and I’m not quite ready to be a cyborg. As Elon Musk eloquently put it in an interview in 2018 with Joe Rogan:-
“We’re already cyborgs. Your phone and your computer are extensions of you, but the interface is through finger movements or speech, which are very slow.”
I appreciate that the technology movement will continue to evolve and it is right that it should. Elon Musk is one of the forerunners of this movement. However, as humans, we must decide how far down the technology “rabbit hole” we want to go. Future innovations for smartphones include flexible frames, advanced cameras 7, holographic displays, and more eco-friendly devices made with biodegradable materials and cleaner energy charging capabilities. The device could become more of an extension of your human self able to connect with you both physically and emotionally. 8
To offer a different perspective, I wonder whether we have sufficiently fully explored the huge capacity of the human mind and body. For one thing, in recent years, more research has been done on the enteric nervous system which has been described as a “second brain”. Here’s an interesting article on this subject that I would recommend reading and there is plenty more research out there on this subject.
https://www.learning-mind.com/scientists-discovered-second-brain-in-the-human-body/.
It is obviously a big attraction for technology companies to sell us a product to enhance our human capabilities, rather than educating people on the full potential of the human body and mind without the aid of technology.
So could we survive in today’s reality without a smartphone? Well in terms of meeting our basic human needs for survival, the need for oxygen/air, shelter, water, food, rest, and safety. No, smartphones are not necessary for survival and many people do cope perfectly well without them. However, in terms of survival in a future world, well that is a good question. Smartphones are becoming a necessary convenience for work purposes, paying for goods, internet banking, communicating with friends, organising our lives and more. Humans may come to rely on them even more as time goes on.
Finding that balance…
It’s important, however, to find balance between the good elements of having a smartphone and any potential downsides.
First, the good….
- Having multiple information outlets on one device
- Using less paper which is better for the environment
- Easy to connect with people from all over the world, anywhere, anytime
- Useful tool to schedule and organise your life
- Access to games, apps, organisers, news, social media, podcasts
Potential downsides to be mindful of….
- The risk of becoming over-reliant on the device
- Potential for addiction and anxiety issues
- Too much screen time/eye strain
- Huge distraction to life priorities, especially through alerts and notifications
- Privacy, data protection and tracking issues
So to conclude, here are a few tips and concepts which have helped me to keep the smartphone habit under control….
- Take time to observe nature and your environment without looking at your device.
- If you feel like you are becoming over-reliant on your device or it is affecting your health, limit how much you use it. Set a time limit or use one of the many apps which can help you monitor your usage.
- Immerse yourself in your favourite activities which do not involve your phone e.g. running, cycling, painting, singing, gardening, cooking etc.
- Log out of apps/websites so it is less easy to log on
- Keep it switched off when possible, especially at night and keep it away from your sleeping area to avoid temptation!
- If you like to listen to audio books, music or podcasts at night, use a more basic device, if you have one, with less distractions.
- Be purposeful with your device. Use it as a tool rather than a distraction. Use it for what you need and then put it away. Shift the balance from the device controlling you to you controlling the device.
- Keep your phone minimalist. Declutter files and apps periodically.
- Turn off notifications
- Do a tech free day or part of the day when possible.
- If it vibrates or dings, resist the urge to check it, especially if you are in the middle of doing something else.
- If you have a question and you think it is something you already know, take time to remember and think for yourself before looking it up.
- Go retro – e.g. use a paper map or get out a pen and paper! Writing things down the old-fashioned way can often help the memory and creative process!
I hope this has helped as an introduction to how to be more mindful of our smartphone usage. I will explore many of these issues in more depth, give more practical tips to safeguard our usage and reveal some industry tactics used to keep us hooked on the device on my website and in future blogs. And of course as I write this, I have had to deal with resisting the urge to check my own smartphone. It’s a daily battle, but one I am trying to win! I do find it quite liberating now when I spend time distancing myself from my smartphone and absorb myself more in the world around me and my present reality.
I would love to hear your thoughts, so please add your comments below.
Wishing you a healthy relationship with your smartphone. However, if you feel any adverse affects from using your smartphone, there are support groups available such as this one:
https://internetaddictsanonymous.org/smartphone-addiction/ .
Or contact me at Susie@simplebalancetoday.com if you need some advice or information.
Just remember, “Use it, Don’t abuse it“!
Sources
2 www.who-invented-the.technology/smartphone.htm
3 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/155278/communications-market-report-2019.pdf.
4 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/decade-of-digital-dependency)
5 Source: Statista https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-phones-are-in-the-world#sources).
6 https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/smartphone-power-compared-to-apollo-432/
7 https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/what-could-your-future-smartphone-look-like-in-2030
8 https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/guides/future-of-mobile-phones