On playgrounds all across America, moms are taking their kids to the playgrounds and allowing them to play while feverishly scrolling through FB. Boyfriends are on dates while checking sports scores. A sibling is throwing her sister a baby shower, but is recording the event on SC and posting it to all of her friends (most of her friends are at the party). A Youtuber is making a video of a mom falling down the up escalator because she's head first into her FB, and a teen across town just caused a wreck because she sent a text to her mom and didn't see the stop sign. A wife rolls over and checks her tweets because she woke up before her husband.
This is a problem. People don't know how to socialize with each other without the use of Social Media. They don't get to see their daughter do a cartwheel for the very first time. They miss that the waiter just passed their girlfriend his number because he's too into the sports scores and didn't notice that she just really want to talk to him. The sister doesn't see her sister's reaction when she opens her gift because she is frantically searching for her charger because her phone is about to die. The Youtuber just got pickpocketed because his is focused on the mom on the escalator, and the mom suffered a broken nose from the fall. The young teen driver severely injures a runner who is running with their dog because she ran a stop sign. The wife doesn't notice that her husband woke up just in time to see his wife checking FB, and rolls over and pretends to sleep because his wife is more interested in FB stats than wishing him a good morning.
Do you think that this is farfetched? Check out the following statistics:
81% of smartphone users check their phones for messages, or social media while dining.
26% of young adults check their phone within 5 minutes of waking up (under the age of 25) and some admit to doing it immediately after they wake up.
Social Media users are higher for adults age 25-54 than for the 24 and younger age group.
25% of vehicle accidents are caused by the driver using their smartphone.
Those are just a few of the statistics of how much cellphone use has grown exponentially within the last few years and the social issues they cause. People are more interested in what 324 strangers and 121 actual friends and family members think about their vacations, their Christmas tree, the political stance, than what they think of the opinions and lives of the people that share the very same living space.
Not only have we forgotten how to socialize, we've also have forgotten how to spell, how to use homophones, how to just call and see how someone is doing. We are more concerned with IG likes on a pic, or IG followers, than what our kids are doing on the playground.
We are constantly head first in our phone while trying to hold a conversation with our significant other at the same time. We play Candy Crush, Trivia Crack (notice the drug reference in the name, and yes, it can be that addicting) while we are watching TV or at our kid's recital. When our mind gets bored, the first thing that we reach for is our phones to check IG of FB. Did you know that Americans spend an average of 4.7 hours on social media a day? 4.7 hours! Do you know what you can accomplish in that time? You can take a hike, a road trip, bake a cake, or a loaf of bread. You can work out, run a 5K, visit your mom, call your friend, and do three loads of laundry (wash, dry, and put away.) You can play a board game with your family AND watch a Disney movie afterwards (unless of course you are playing monopoly). You can learn a new line dance, or several depending on how quickly you pick them up. The point is.......that is 4.7 hours that you are taking away from YOUR life. That is 4.7 hours that you could be spending quality time with your children, wife, mom, etc.
Not only are we consuming our time with our smartphones and 324 of our closest and dearest friends, our cellphone usage is so bad, that it is bad for our health and our ability to socialize with living, breathing people within the same room. Take a look at the few things that our obsession is doing to us:
1) It's bad for your sex life: 40% of smartphone users have delayed sex due to using their phone. This will turn off your partner and give the implication that your tweets are more important than him/her.
2) You could develop (what I call) hunch neck: The actual term is tech neck, and basically it is speeding up the process of degenerative disc disease or the formation of arthritis from your neck being bent at more than a 30 degree angle in order to look at your phone.
3) You can jeopardize friendships: People do not like it when they feel that they have to compete, either with you while you play Candy Crush, or they feel like you are always one-upping them because your life always has to seem better than theirs, or anyone else's for that matter. If you are sitting there with a group of friends and you are playing Candy Crush or checking FB while your friends are visiting, then what is it that you are telling your friends.....that your latest FB status is more important than them. Additionally, don't use the excuse that: "Well, they have their phones out, so I'm gonna pull mine out." That is simply not right for any person involved. Why waste time and money to get together if all that you are going to do is check FB anyway? Besides, it's a distraction to me when I'm trying to talk to a friend, and they are more interested in what Donald Trump just tweeted about Clinton.
4) You'll bump into things: Have you watched YouTube videos where someone falls into a fountain while texting on their phone? Enough said.
5) You'll damage your eyes: True Story. I had very good eyesight. Then, I got a job where I was working on a computer all day. My eyes got used to focusing on 12" in front of me and now I have to wear glasses to drive my car. I just went to the eye doctor the other day and my eyesight will get worse because I'm constantly in front of a computer (I'm an IT tech, so I have to be.) The need for glasses caused from shortsightedness has gone up 35% since 1997. That's when technology started becoming more easily to afford and available to everyone, not just the rich, or business owners.
6) Increased thumb injuries: Well, I laughed at this when I first read it, but it is true....people are getting carpel tunnel in their thumbs, and their joints in their thumbs are getting fatigued quicker. Physical therapist have exercises just for the muscles in your thumb. (Maybe I should change my job to thumb physical therapist.)
7) You won't get enough sleep: Many friends of mine complain of insomnia.....but the truth is...their insomnia is actually due to them spending time on their smart phones. (I know this because when I was overseas, they were having conversations with me complaining about not being able to sleep, or posting one FB when they are in bed. Again, another reason to leave the technology outside the bedroom. The bedroom should be your sanctuary. It should be a place to unwind and relax before you go to bed. The blue light from the phone (tablet, computer) simulates the light received from the sun, therefore tricking your mind that even though you are in a dark room, it must still be daylight because of the blue light coming from your phone. It takes longer for your brain to shut down and the melatonin (the natural hormone that signals your body to go to sleep) to kick-in.
8) It can make you stupid: C'mon we've all seen the posts that say: They're (they are), there (a place) and their (ownership). When I was younger, I could recall facts easier because I forced myself to remember them. Now, all I have to do is ask Siri, and she'll tell me just about anything that I want to know. If you don't use your brain to recall facts and are constantly relying on Google, than your brain isn't getting the 'exercise' that it needs.
9) Nomophobia: (yes, a real word) Is the fear of not having your cell phone, not having a signal, or your battery dying. You start to panic when your battery is down to 20%. You get nervous when you are in an area with poor cell phone coverage. You are frantically looking for a cell phone tower so that you can get service again.
and
10) You'll become lazy. Those 4.7 hours that you are gazing at your phone, you could be up and active. Yes, you could download Tony Horton's P90X app and use it to exercise, but that still has you plugged in for 3.7 hours doing what exactly? You could check your bank balance, get driving directions, etc, but that doesn't add up to all 4.7 hours. The majority of that time is spent on social media.
The whole point is.....besides the health issues, and unhealthy relationships you are forming, you could be out there living your life. You don't have to miss your daughter's first cartwheel. You don't have to turn off your husband when you are busy checking Twitter. You can live a happy, healthy, normal life, and at the end of the day you can look back on your day an know that it wasn't wasted on IG, FB, or SC.
Take a look at some tips that I've put into practice to help ween me from my smart phone addiction:
1) When I come home from work, my focus isn't Candy Crush, FB, or IG, it's my family. I cook dinner, maybe do some chores, hang out with my husband, etc. My phone is with my keys, wallet, and glasses, and unless someone calls me, or I need to charge it, it rarely gets touched until the next day. Sometimes, I won't even charge it until I get in my car to go to work.
2) Set a time limit for social media. If your time limit is an hour, then stick to that hour. You don't need to check your social media accounts 17 times a day (average for Americans). Do it once and get it over with. Your 324 friends are mainly posting false news stories anyway. Do you really NEED to see them? How many times have you seen that cat video where the cat is afraid of the cucumber? Allowing yourself a time limit for social media opens up the opportunity for other things. And....those silly political posts are still going to be there tomorrow anyway.
3) Upload pics from an event all at one time, (preferably AFTER the event is over) not as the event is going on. This is a time saver and allows you to upload all pics at once. And, after your ten closest friends and family have gone home, they can all look at the pics that you tagged them after you have gone your separate ways. Additionally, this will not make it seem that you are always on your phone when you are with your friends and family.
4) Save Candy Crush and other gaming apps for the bathroom, or when you are waiting to be seen by the doctor, or leave your phone locked in your car, (unseen of course) or with your spouse and take a Kindle or book in with you instead. We all know how reading benefits you, right?
5) If you are expecting a very important phone call that CAN'T be missed, put the phone in the same room as you.....but NEVER at arms reach. (Otherwise, throw it on the charger.) This not only makes you get up to answer the phone, but it keeps temptation down from reaching for the phone to do a 'quick check' on IG likes during a commercial break, or when you are extremely bored from watching the chick flick or baseball game.
And finally:
6) Turn off ALL notifications. Again, when you don't hear the DING, you won't want to get up and check. Because, in the end, those notifications really don't matter.....but your actual friends and family do. Your daughter on the playground matters. Your husband matters. Your girlfriend that sits with you at dinner and wants to spend the rest of the her life with you, matters. IG and FB.....those people that you barely know, or knew a long time ago.....they don't matter. Your actual life....with your actual friends and family.....THAT matters.
Sure, it's great to catch up and see how their lives turned out, to post vacation pics, to share good news......but you don't need to do that 4.7 hours a day. Smart phones can be great assets to your life, but they don't have to take up 29% of your time that you spend awake (assuming that you actually get 8 hours of sleep).
Good luck to you and God Bless. Go out there and get YOUR life back.
References:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/01/6-facts-about-americans-and-their-smartphones/
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/mindandbody/10-reasons-your-smartphone-is-bad-for-your-health/ar-AAaWd47#page=1
http://time.com/4147614/smartphone-usage-us-2015/
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/carianneking/2015-06-26/social-media-addiction-statistics-infographic
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/informate-report-social-media-smartphone-use/
http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-devices/smartphones-tied-to-25--of-us-car-crashes/d/d-id/1098800?
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