This morning I spent an hour looking for my iPhone. I searched in all the usual places: under the covers of my bed, the bathroom counter, my desk… I even went outside onto the back porch to see if I left it on the railing when I let the dog out and opened the washing machine to see if it could have fallen in. It was nowhere to be found. I checked all of its usual hiding places again… and again… and again.
In a near panic, I opened my laptop and sent my husband an urgent message. “I can’t find my phone anywhere! Will you call me?”
I was ready to make my rounds again listening for the familiar vibrating I hear 10,000 times a day. I’d have to move quickly from room to room so I wouldn’t miss its subtle buzz.
Finally, my husband answered. “Dude. I have you phone!” (Yes, my husband addresses me as “Dude” half the time. Isn’t that sweet?) “I have no idea how that happened. I’ll bring it to you. Give me 15 minutes.” Phone thief. He must have picked it up by accident thinking it was his.
Relief.
As I was waiting for my beloved to arrive (the phone, that is… well, the husband, too), it dawned on me how completely ridiculous the whole interaction was–and how dependent I am on my iPhone. When I lose it the first places I look are in my sheets and my bathroom counters? What is wrong with this picture!? Ridiculous!
Then I panic. What if someone tried to send me a text message and I missed it? What if my daughter does something cute and I can’t take a picture of it and immediately post it to Facebook? What if I wanted to walk away from my computer.. and I couldn’t refresh my email inbox every 30 seconds? What if it was lost forever?!
It’s true. Smartphones have dramatically changed our lives. But they also have robbed us of the ability to live our lives without constant worry. Actually, it’s not fair to blame the technology–I should blame my inability to create boundaries for the use of the technology instead. It’s ironic, though, that I feel like I can’t be without my phone for an hour because I might miss something, when on a daily basis I actually spend so much time refreshing the browser on my phone–or computer, or tablet, or other tablet (I have one upstairs and one downstairs.. yes, really!)–that I’m missing out on things that are actually happening right in front of me. You can bet that when the day seems to get away with me and I’ve accomplished little it’s because I was so worried about what was happening in the virtual world that I wasn’t present in the real world for an entire day. It’s sad. And it’s STUPID.
How do you create boundaries around technology so you can enjoy your life more fully, more mindfully, and live in the present? Obviously, I could use some pointers.
This is a conundrum I've often thought about as well. I wish I could detach myself from my phone more often but I feel so dependent on it. Mostly for work related/ school related instances than anything else. I've to see others responses to this.
Raises hand! Guilty!!!!!!!
I cherish the times when my phone is off, like when I'm teaching. When I walk Scarlet, its a no phone zone. If I'm vegging out I keep the phone out of my eye line so I'm less tempted to check it. Also, in the car, generally I keep the phone in my purse & only answer if its the Hubs – mostly.
I'm a work in progress.
♥♥♥
THIS WAS THE BEST POST IN THE HISTORY OF POSTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just so you know, you can go online to http://www.wheresmycellphone.com and then you won't have to email your husband, although in this case, what you did was even more of a help.
It is true thing, in the recent time we cannot imagine our life with out smart phone. It is so good and peoples does every activity with the help of it. Now phones are listed in our primary needs.
remote computer access
Really? In the history of all posts? Or just my posts? Either way you made my day! Thank you!
Good to know! I'll try that next time!
Posts ever!
We (society now) are so caught up in electronic gadgets and TV that it runs our life! TIVO and Ipods and Iphones and Garmins and such……it was so refreshing to read about someone that had such an epiphany.
I'm friends with a hypnotherapist. She said she's been getting a lot of people who want to get hypnotized because they are addicted to their iphone, FB, etc… Maybe I should ask her to give me a session so I can write a testimonial. I am so addicted.
http://www.judiesjuice.wordpress.com
Soooo true!!!! Same happens to me! A kind of panic when i can't find it! Woman, it's just a phone! You hated phones, remembered? But the truth is that i have an strange relationship with it.
There is a book you should read, called the Winter of our Disconnect. It's an experiment by a mum to see if she had her three technologically dependent teenagers could live three months without technology. It's an easy read, and made me switch off my computer for a week (which is the longest it's ever been off when I'm not on holiday)