3 things this week that make me want to ditch my smartphone

You ever get that nausea when you have too much of a good thing, like candy corn? (which is actually just one. One piece of candy corn.)

I’ve been feeling that way on and off about my smartphone for months. Really the internet in general – I work on the internet, albeit not the Dave Chappelle way – but the smartphone is the root of the overdose.

The first was this striking video that really hit me hard. What’s it like to live in a world where you forget your phone at home for the day?

I’ve felt this way around friends who are worse than I am at phone attention disorder. It sucks, but in my case I’ve dealt with it for an hour or two. The feelings this video conjures up… actually appalling.

The second was this NYTimes article – Step Away From the Phone! – that basically asked a bunch of hot shot public/corporate fashion personalities how they have cut down on their smartphone use, or attempted to reign it in with sneaky tricks. Like:

  • Leave it in a bucket by the door when you come home.
  • Set an 11pm curfew.
  • Don’t take it to bed.
  • First one to look at their phone pays for drinks.

And the third, was of course, the recent Louis CK bit on Conan. Louis has spoken about the evil of smartphones in the past, but he really hit home with relating it to why he doesn’t get his kids phones, despite the fact that “all the other stupid kids have them.” (Therein lies the problem.)

Also, he’s generally hilarious.

So how does someone who works in pseudo-hi tech, sometimes writing for mobile app companies, drastically cut down on smartphone use?

I have a few thoughts… meanwhile, happy to hear yours.


Posted

in

by

Comments

Whadya got: