Spouses wait all day for their husband or wife to arrive just to find the smartphone won out in the attention-getting department. Teachers have concerns about plagiarism and students texting answers during class. Authorities now have to police a no-texting-while-driving law that never existed before the advent of smartphones. Life Smartphone is a video that uses hyperbole to comically illustrate examples of disasters that occur because so many people are on their smartphones in lieu of fulfilling their responsibilities. You certainly don’t need to understand the Chinese that begins and ends this comical video clip that has an all-too-serious theme: People paying attention to their smartphones while neglecting their responsibilities can have dire consequences.
What Can We Do Instead of Paying Attention to Our Smartphones?
Everything in moderation is an eastern philosophy. Its merit is certainly applicable here. If we deprive ourselves of smartphone use completely, it will make us want it more. If instead, smartphone users know they will still be allowed to use their phones at certain times of the day, they will be willing to agree to curb their use of the phones. For example, on Sundays many families have “Game Day.” Many people use their phones to play games, so the human-interaction that used to accompany board-game use is gone. Try to create tech free times for yourself and your family. For example, by having “Game Day”, or movie night, families still have bonding time. In addition, there are families that have tech-free hours, for example, after 8:00 pm; tech-free days, and even-tech free vacations. Bear in mind: We don’t have to use smartphones for activities that used to bond people together just because we can. Featured photo credit: Kevin Dooley via flickr.com
