Limit Phone Dependence

When you’re sitting down at dinner and your friend leaves, or a service worker tells you to wait for a few moments to be helped at the front of a line, what is the first thing we all do?  We check our phones!  Why do we do this?  It’s a comfortable behavior, and we are familiar with everything on our phone, and it provides shelter from the crazy world around us. I mean who would just sit there and look around? That’s weird!

Well no, it’s actually a really good and beneficial thing to do, and here is why. First, it keeps you from hunching over your phone, and sitting or standing up with good posture reflects positive in your physiology. Second, we seldom take time to just be in the moment. Society is very fast paste these days, and setting aside time to be with yourself is valuable from a mental health perspective. Lastly, it’s a small way to break the habit of relying on our phones. We have developed a strange dependence on our phones that is pervasive in our lives and behavior. 50% of people feel uneasy when they don’t have their phones with them, and 61% of people keep their phone either under their pillow our next to their bed. Although technology and connectivity is important, just like any behavior it needs to be done in reasonable amounts.

So, resist the urge to take out your phone in non-stimulating situations. Or, better yet, if you’re really up to the task, choose to leave your phone behind for a while. Give it a try and see how in-tuned you are with everything else going on around you.