I wake up in the morning, with sleep still in my eyes, and check my phone. I roll over, phone in hand, and make my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I scroll through my Instagram feed – with my toothbrush hanging from my mouth – like it is the morning newspaper. I stand and like pictures of people I don’t even know.
My bed is still unmade and I haven’t even drawn the curtains.
I then put on some music so that I can enjoy my shower. Every time my phone pings, I wonder if it is a “hello” from a friend or a message from work.
My daily drug is not coffee, it’s a screen, and I’m addicted.
A day has twenty four hours, 1440 minutes, and it is quite possible that I spend half of it on my phone, connected to the internet.
My smartphone is an extension of me, it’s like an organ I can’t live without.
How did this happen? How did I let this happen?
Being glued to my phone has made me participate in life a lot less. I don’t remember parts of certain events or conversations because at some point, I would have opened my phone to check something, and got distracted.
I’m almost always available for people and this constant addiction is giving me less time for myself, and those people who are physically around me – not virtually.
But I know I have a problem and I’m trying to fix it. I make a conscious effort to stop using my phone when I am with friends or family. I try to detach myself from my cell phone when I’m at home. When I go outside, instead of taking videos for Instagram or pictures to post, I try and live in the moment and appreciate my surroundings. There is something happening on the internet every minute, but you have to take a step back and accept that you’ll never be able to see everything. There is something physically happening around us all the time too, but we are too distracted to pay attention.
I’m planning to change my ways in the new year. Today is a gift, which is why it is called the present, and I am paying more attention to mine. Are you?
