February 4, 2013, by Shane
Strike of the Phones
Do you know the feeling? That feeling of terror, anguish, fear that strikes at the pit of your stomach as if one of your limbs is missing? Yes, I’m talking about the feeling you have when you lose your phone. That mini computer that has become an extension of our bodies; the sounds of which we jump to and the screen of which we stare at way more than is necessary.
In the modern day hustle and bustle that is our lives, we don’t realise how dependent we are on our mobile phones until something happens to it. Whether it’s having too much orange juice on a night out and it being stolen or lost, or it falling out of our pockets on the bus or in a taxi; losing your phone has to be one of the most infuriating situations to encounter.
It was only a decade ago that a Nokia 3310 was all the rage, Snake II was the best feature to have, and if you had a colour screen you were way ahead of the pack. Since then technology has zoomed ahead and young people require a phone that can host every social media app in order for them to stay in the loop.
Don’t get me wrong I think the online community created by social media is an incredible thing; these days everyone is instagraming, tweeting and facebooking their daily lives in real time. However, it’s a frightening thought to consider how many hours a day we spend looking at our phone screens. And it begs the question, what are we missing out on?
Even Beyoncé gets annoyed with her phone
Of course the advantages for students and the working world alike are huge. Having your email and internet on your phone allows you to work from anywhere, at any time, which makes your daily hustle more efficient. It can save you from attending a lecture that has been cancelled thanks to the email you receive as you step out the front door. It can also be priceless in letting you access your emails to find out the location of that meeting you have in 10 minutes which you have forgotten the location for. Yet it also means never switching off. The constant bombardment of emails, texts, whatsapps and bbms can distract you from the real life going on all around you.
I have recently come to realise this, which lead me to change a few things. I no longer have Facebook or Twitter on my handheld and only check them when I am on my laptop. I also switched off my hotmail account on my phone so the constant spam emails from newsletters that I keep meaning to unsubscribe from, do not drive me insane. The only email left on my phone is my University one, simply because of the benefits of receiving these emails as soon as possible.
This isn’t really a New Years Resolution, just a change I’ve recently decided to implement so I can be more present in day to day life; as opposed to having my phone dominate my life. I’m calling it a trial run. Could you benefit from a similar filtering of mobile distractions?
On an unrelated note, if you managed to stay up for it last night the Baltimore Ravens reigned victorious in the SuperBowl. As a massive Beyonce fan, my favourite part of the game was the halftime show, in which she delivered a phenomenal performance. Relive it at the link below 🙂
http://www.beyonce.com/news/halftime
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