For any casual observer of social situations, it’s just too easy now to see how much smartphones have pervaded our everyday lives. When couples sit in a restaurant, they’re staring lovingly into their smartphone screens. When families gather, smartphones remain at the ready — even if just to take and share photographs — and post them to a social-networking site. And when we drive, there is always that temptation — as dangerous as it is — to check for texts or emails. Like it or not, many of us are addicted to smartphones. We check them constantly, monitor updates, fret when battery levels are low. But like it or not — we actually can live very well without the devices. Smartphones have become our diaries, cameras, banking assistant, contacts keeper, our files of instant facts, our link to nannies, children, families and friends. And yes, they’re extremely useful. But they are not the be all and end all.
Just think back a decade ago when we were quite happy with a mobile phone that could keep time, send texts — and even make a phone call. The moral? Chill out, relax, forget the phone for a moment and enjoy life. Not just life on the phone screen.
