A New Habit – Put Your Smartphone Down?

Smartphones have become our constant companion and instant gratification, our new normal.  Need to know the weather?  There’s an app for that.  Need new patio cushions for your soirée this weekend?  No problem, a few key strokes and they’re on their way; next day shipping of course. Need to double check the spelling of soirée? 2 seconds flat – thanks Google!   With information and goods literally at our fingertips, life has become much easier.  That’s good right?  Well, yes and no.

A study at The Harvard Business School found that checking our smartphones has become a daily habit with 70% of participants checking their phone within an hour of getting up, 51% continuously while on vacation and most alarmingly, 44% said they would experience “a great deal of anxiety” if they lost their phone and couldn’t replace it for a week.  The last finding sounds a little far fetched, but is it really? Check your Facebook or Twitter feed, posts about the iOS7 update are dominating social media. ta.com reports “iOS7” received more than 5 million online mentions on September 18th alone.  Forgive my “I have 3 young children and can no longer curse in my house speak” but Holy Macaroni!  I’m beginning to think 44% may be a little low.

I’ve been thinking about my relationship with my phone a lot lately and I think it’s time for a break.  It’s not my phone, it’s me; really.

Watch this video as Louis C.K. explains why he thinks smartphones are toxic.