We can't deny the fact that phones have become part of our lives nowadays. It has become more than a communication tool, helping us achieve many things on a daily basis in today's world. Back in the days when I started using a phone, I didn't have much to do with it aside from communication and chatting with friends once in a while. I remember how irritated I used to get seeing people stuck with their phones always, as if their life depended on it, but then, reality came knocking, and I see myself getting so attached to my phone.
It became worse when my sources of income fell back to online means only. Even the real estate I do is still through networking, giving me reasons to stay online, running ads, marketing my product to friends, family, and distant relatives, and replying to mail. Then again, blogging happened, and my life has been rotating around my phone, as I do not even have a laptop. But the question is, aside from when I am sleeping, can I go for an hour or two without touching my phone? Is our reliance on our phones not concerning? Hmmm, it's a big concern, I must say!
A lot of us are victims of this. We wake up with our phones and go back to bed with our phones still. In fact, at midnight when we should rise and pray, we rise and continue pressing phones instead, until we fall back asleep again. Some of us only leave our phones for a few hours when our eyes start to pain us. It's that bad. Enough of "us and us"; let me practically talk about myself and sincerely answer this prompt, and perhaps I would get some help... lol
Yes, I can go an hour or two without touching my phone, especially when I want to spend good time with my family "deliberately." You see that I quoted the word deliberately to show you that it has to be a planned something for me to achieve it. This is because, even during our family time, I still have that urge to peep into my phone because then I will feel like every missed call or text or mail is already a missed opportunity from that client I have been waiting for. Lol, I know how bad this habit is, but it's just my sincere self I am revealing here.
I remember having a misunderstanding with my husband over this same phone, and that encounter reshaped to a large extent how I handle my phone, especially when I have something important to attend to at home. It's a battle within, but with self-discipline, having control over this phone instead of allowing my phone to control me has been a bit possible.
Now, I can turn off my notifications to attend to some family needs, spiritual exercise, and the little games we usually observe as a family once in a while. The moment we begin this game, my second son will say, "Mummy, remember, no phone here," hahaha, lolz. That statement alone makes me stay guided, but my inner mind will still be telling me that I am missing a giveaway at the Neoxian City Discord server, lol. It is what it is.
Overall it can be refreshing to control this device and attend to something important to us that "doesn't" require a phone and focus on it without divided attention. I think it's all about balance; then it becomes a win-win.
This is my response to the #HiveLearners community contest on the topic titled, Without A Phone.
Images were taken from canva
