The Growing Edge

Put that phone down


Sure, smartphones and tablets are fascinating. It’s the frontier of tech development, where you can find the freshest ideas. For many of us, the smartphone has changed the way we live and work. You don’t need to be tethered to a computer to have access to email and the internet. Interesting new apps or features appear all the time, and you read about them each month in articles like this one.

But recent studies show we are spending more time with our phone than our significant other. If you think that doesn’t sound healthy, well, you’re not the only one. The old saying “too much of a good thing” may apply here.

The research was published in the ‘Mobile Life’ report, carried out by digital communications company O2 and electronics company Samsung. The survey involved 2,000 British adults. The research found that, while the average British smartphone owner spends 97 minutes a day with their nearest and dearest, they spend 119 minutes – just shy of two hours – on their phones.

The same problem exists on our side of the pond, too. New York Times bestselling authors Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield just released a study on the way “likes” and the need for social media praise affect our lives. The February study, which surveyed 1,623 people, demonstrated a disturbing trend: that we’re more concerned with getting a like than having a life.
 

Kick your social media addiction

If you’re looking to reduce the amount of time you spend on social media, try these four tips from Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield, the authors of the “Likes over Lives” survey.

  • Look at yourself
    Reflecting from an outsider’s perspective can help you stay morally centered.
  • Snap, look and listen
    Engage your senses and enjoy the experience – not just the trophy.
  • Limit your postings
    If you’re posting more than once a day, you’ve probably got a problem.
  • Take a vacation from your device 
    If you fight through the initial discomfort, you’ll learn to be present and more connected to your immediate environment.

 

Grenny and Maxfield conducted the study as a warning of sorts. Smartphones are beginning to control our attention and motivation in ways that we may not even realize. For example, three out of four people surveyed admitted to being rude or distant because they focus more on their phones than people, while one out of four said they’ve let their smartphones disturb “intimate” moments. Yikes.

A stunning 91 percent of the respondents said they’ve witnessed tourists miss a great moment because they were trying to capture it for social media. Many of that same 91 percent admits to doing the same thing themselves.

We’ve grown to rely on our phones as our watch, map, camera, notepad, and library, as well as their original function — communication device. But maybe it’s time to take a step back.


 

Screen time

Time spent using our smartphones for various activities per day:

  1. Browsing the internet, 24 minutes per day
  2. Checking social networks, 16 minutes per day
  3. Listening to music, 15 minutes per day
  4. Playing games, 13 minutes per day
  5. Making calls, 13 minutes per day
  6. Text messaging, 11 minutes per day
  7. Checking/writing emails, nine minutes per day
  8. Reading books, eight minutes per day
  9. Watching TV/films, seven minutes per day
  10. Taking photographs, three minutes per day

 
 

4 apps to make better use of your smartphone
 

May 2015
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