No Phone

Last night I was watching a 20/20 special about Digital Addiction.  It centered around too much screen time, be it for kids or adults.  One guy worked in IT all day long and then would come home and spend his evening in the basement playing video games.  While his wife was upstairs with their kids tending to them.  Another teenage kid would come home and play video games into the wee hours of the night.  A teenage girl was obsessed with her phone.  They all under went therapy for their “addiction”.  It was interesting to see.  I could relate a little bit to the story. 

This afternoon I went out to grab a pizza and some cat food.  I was out of my driveway and well down the street and there was no music playing.  Then it hit me, I had no phone.  I could have easily gone back for it but I opted to press on.  I felt a little vulnerable in that if something would have happened I had no way to call for help.  I sat in the pizza place just staring into the air.  It was then that it really hit me.  I was lost without my phone.  No surfing, scrolling or checking up on anyone.  Then I thought about the story from last night and it hit me.  One author wrote a book and referred to screen time as Digital Heroin.  That was a shock term used to wake people up and get their attention.  Yeah it can be addictive and it can destroy your life just like any addiction can. 

I think that if you lose sight of reality that this can easily be an obsession and then turn into an addiction where it doesn’t matter how much you get, you always want more  Sort of how I feel with money. 

I love social media, it can be used to call out companies and get better customer service.  You can do lots of other things with it, both good & bad.  However, you have to realize anything you post is going to live forever.  Because of this, you have to be careful what you post, as well as who you interact with.  When I have free time I love to pass it with my phone, checking out social media. 

I also can’t do my job without my phone because of 2 factor authentication.  It’s required for multiple systems I get into.  I have it enabled in my personal life as well. It is great protection, even if someone has come up with a way to defeat it.  You had to see that coming.  No matter what security or safeguard is implemented, there is someone working to break it, and there can be big money in that or you can just take the credit for the thrill of it. 

I’m back home and looking at my phone as I type this.  Nothing happened and I didn’t need my phone but rather wanted it.  I’m glad to be safe.  Earlier this week I called in a chain reaction auto accident involving 3 cars that had happened within minutes of my getting through traffic.  I blocked a lane of traffic and provided vehicle descriptions, license plates.  I was talking a little fast and was asked to slow down.  I realized I was talking to a person and not a super human, they can only type so fast.  They asked me if I wanted the officer to contact me, I said no but I’ll give you my name if you want it.  That wasn’t necessary.  Even though no one realized it and no one knows who I am, I am glad that I was able to help those people in such a small way.  They were all checking on each other and I had help on the way by the time they were done talking.  Then they realized it was time to call for help.  I didn’t stick around because I didn’t see anything and I needed to get to work.  If it wasn’t for my cell phone I would have never been able to do that.   While I would rather share my idle time with a person than a phone right now it’s one of many options I have.  Just wanted to throw this out there.  Think about how much time you spend with your digital companion (aka phone, tablet, computer).  Kind of interesting when you stop and think about it. 

I like helping people.  I like technology for many reasons.  Shame it hasn’t helped me find a man but I’m still holding out some hope.  Happy Sunday.  1 more day to go.