[1]Hello, my name is Palooke and I am addicted to my electronics, especially my cell phone. Now you may be saying to yourself, her momma did not name her Palooke, and she cannot make a real confession under an alias (or is it a nom de plume). But before you go judging my confession, you might want to go on over to the About me section to crack the code and discover my “real” name. Seriously, aside from my name, I am sure that some of you can relate to my confession. You, like I, find yourself incessantly attached to your electronics checking email, Facebook, Instagram and now there’s Periscope! For those of you who do not know what Periscope is, let me take this moment to enlighten you. It is the live version of a tweet or Facebook status update. Now people can broadcast what they are doing (or shouldn’t be doing), and you can interact with them in real time. For some people Periscope is great, for others, I consider it a cry for help. Either way, I am amused. But with every new app, and with the ever expanding social media, I find myself more amused than productive; and staying focused becomes increasingly a challenge.
Electronics and apps are created to make life easier, funnier, and to somehow bring us closer together, which they can do. I would not feel as connected to my distant family and friends without social media that allows me to see their highlights and interact with them. Ironically, however, these same contraptions can also lead to an increased sense of alienation. We’re so busy interacting with people virtually, that we fail to interact with the people physically before us. I cannot tell you how many times I am in a room filled with people and nearly everyone is on their phone, and hardly anyone engages in a conversation with the person next to them, except, of course, to show them something funny on their phone. And I am just as guilty of this as the next person. It seems, the devices that are meant to connect us to distant family and friends, at times prevent us from meaningfully interacting with those closest us.
The irony continues beyond the alienation, however. These gadgets also interfere with our productivity. Electronics and social media were created to make life easier and make us more productive (and of course to glean valuable marketing information). I would not remember half of my obligations if I did not have my phone sending me reminders. But these same gadgets that help keep me on task, also entice me away from my tasks. Because I can check my email, calendar, Facebook and Twitter account from my phone, I do exactly that and not what I should be doing. Instead of focusing on one task and completing that, my phone invites me to multitask, which only slows my productivity. The sad reality is that despite my awareness of this problem and my efforts to break away from my constant phone checking, I cannot stop. I find some comfort in know that I’m not alone in my struggle, however. (In fact I’ve read a few articles about these addictions that you can read here, here and here.)
So how do we break from these addictions? I have no clue. If I did I would’ve finished writing this article a long time ago, but alas I was on my phone. What I can do is offer a small suggestion. No I am not going to make you do a 40, 21 or 7 day social media or phone challenge. After all, how would you be able to read my blog if you did that? Rather, I would simply challenge you to be more present in life. The next time you find yourself in a room filled with people, or even if there is only one person, and you’re tempted to pick up your phone, avoid that urge and instead start a conversation with the person next to you. Place boundaries around the amount of time you’re on social media, and hold yourself accountable. Above all else, don’t let your device keep you from living in the moment and appreciating what is right in your face, because it may not always be there.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
[1] I was going to title this post “Dealing with Distractions: Part Two,” but sequels are rarely as good as the original, so I decided to keep it provocative.
