My Nickel’s Worth

I use my phone for everything.   EVERYTHING. My phone gives me the time. I use it for an alarm clock.   It is my dictionary, my encyclopedia, and my secretary.   My Google Remind keeps me updated on my calendar.   It is my camera.   I take pictures and videos every day.  My phone holds my photos too, so it is also like my scrapbook or photo album.   I use the GPS as my map.   I listen to music on my phone.   I watch Netflix.   I read my Bible from my phone app too.   I order books for graduate school on my phone and read them on it.   I order food from Sonic.  I check my e-mail from my phone.   I do Christmas shopping on Amazon Prime from my phone.   I even use the phone for work—to make phone calls, take notes, or send text messages.   I keep up with friends and family on social media.   I read sports articles, do research, and play games.  I use the memo to make my to-do list.  I have every contact of every person in my life in my phone.   My phone holds my life—or does it?

My parents discuss a time, not too long ago, when they only had land-line phones.   They had watches, cameras, maps, stereos, libraries with real books, sets of encyclopedias, and Christmas catalogs to use to order their Christmas gifts..  They had real books and real mail.   They did everything I do, but in a different way.   And, they had time for each other.   They enjoyed long phone conversations, taking drives to visit, they played cards with neighbors, and played outdoors.  They had face time with one another--really looking at one another while they talked.   Yes, cell phones are convenient, and we all enjoy their capabilities, but are we losing more than we are gaining?   Sometimes I think so.

The other night I was hanging out with some friends.   We were all on our phones, sharing memes, in the same room.   It was impersonal and quiet—but it is all we know.   Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back in time and just hang out—where the television might be the only distraction from personal, intimate conversations with others.   What would that look like?

I am trying to be more aware of my phone time and be more present with those I love.   I am trying to set time limits and not spend every waking minute as a slave to a tiny device—a device while valuable—which has taken something from me personally.   

Perhaps we should all be more aware of how much time we spend looking at a tiny screen and not being present in the life we have been blessed to live.  

Think about that the next time you reach for your most prized possession--hopefully it is not your cell phone.