Definition of addiction
: a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence: the state of being addicted
-Míriam Webster
It started as a novelty. Something we had all wanted, and a way to save time and supposedly bring people closer. Devices, those things with which to save time and communicate have taken over our very lives. Social media was to bring us together and share information. Instead, it has come to consume nearly every waking moment of many. It has also served to isolate us from one another. There is no real substitute for personal contact. Without it, we become sick. Mentally, and physically.
Courtesy and respect have taken a backseat, to contact and instant gratification. Families sit at dinner tables and stare at illuminated screens as if some unseen force compels them to remain motionless, and voiceless. Staring intently at an inanimate object craving for the need to feel accepted by others. Immersed in another reality, oblivious to those around them until some urgent outside stimulus pulls them away, like an addict in a drug room who just had the hose unplugged from their Hookah.
Young and old frantically searching for a way to recharge a device, so they don’t miss the next casual call or text. Some people actually become agitated when deprived of instant access. Mental Addiction?
We all know how it affects us, but we are still drawn into the darkness for that egotistical fix of feeling worthwhile, and important. All the time ignoring those closest to us, that are truly personal contacts. Show a person the Meme below, and they will chuckle. Knowing all too well it is a harsh truth, but it is easier to make light of it than to fix it.
Next time you’re out, look around and notice how many aren’t paying attention to what’s around them. Buried in a device of some sort.
Only we can make the decision not to be enslaved to devices, it doesn’t happen overnight. Like a smoker trying to quit, you have to be strong and resist it in increments. Take back your life, let those closest to you know you care. Don’t be afraid, take that first step. You’ll be glad you did.
Comments, welcome.
I guess I’m too old to get so addicted. Most of my friends do not spend endless hours sending me trivia on devices. The bad news is that I’m slow when I need to use it.
I think most of us that are older, have a better sense of self-worth. We don’t feel the need to be accepted by the entire world. We have better self-esteem.
And other things to do! 🙂
I never take my phone out, unless I am in the car when I might need it if I break down. I don’t want my peace to be disturbed by phone calls, texts, or system updates. I had to ask my wife to stop bringing her phone to the dinner table. She would sit scrolling her Facebook timeline instead of enjoying the dinner I had cooked. Now she just eats faster, and rushes back into the living room to check on what she might have missed.
It is an addiction on a par with Heroin, and I see no cure on the horizon.
Best wishes, Pete.
We had the same battle with our kids. They weren’t allowed at the table, or in the living room during family movie time. It can be addictive to any age.
We have many incidents of people getting injured/killed as they text while crossing a road unexpectedly. I also had to change banks because they needed my cell number for security purposes and blocked access to my account until I complied! I didn’t have a cell phone! The world is going in a rather sad direction.
I dislike entities that force us to do things like two-factor authentication with the cell phone. We should have the choice.
It breaks my heart when I see people together who should be enjoying each other’s company, completely ignore their family/friends in favor of their phones. It definitely would have been a deal breaker when I was dating. It will be (probably sadly) interesting to see where this device addiction takes us as a society.
My sentiments exactly, Janis. So sad to see a couple during dinner, that hardly say a word to one another, but spend the entire time waiting for the meal to arrive, on a device. Wasted moments, that can never be recovered.
As most likely the last person on the planet not to have a mobile phone, I agree entirely! I was once invited to a dinner party in a restaurant. Except for one other person and me, everyone else at the table were texting each other on their phones. They were sitting next to or across from each other, for crying out loud! Almost no real conversation for the entire two hours!
I remember over 10 years ago. We went to a reunion of old friends. There was a mother and daughter that were so enthralled with their cell phones, they were sending texts about posts on Facebook to one another at the table.
I am most troubled by the lack of experience with eye contact that seems to come from too many hours on screens. Before the quarantine I was aware of young clerks not looking at me when we interacted. And don’t get me started on families out to dinner with every person on their own phone!
Criminals love the devices. It’s so much easier to assault or snatch a purse from someone that is engrossed in a phone while walking through a parking lot. It has produced a generation of young, that are sadly lacking in social skills.
I hadn’t thought about crime, but what you said makes great sense.
I don’t have a smartphone, just a flip phone that I keep for emergencies, so I am a dinosaur of sorts. I don’t have internet on my phone luring me to sneak a peek. While I am walking, I see people texting or on social media and steering the vehicle with their knees, even in snowy weather. But I am on a computer, between work, social media and blogging about 10 hours a day weekdays and that is just too much in my opinion. So I am no angel. I hear of people texting to one another in the same house … I only know how to text from the computer, not the phone. I have no family, so no one for me to text or e-mail to in the house.
Nothing wrong with computers, or using devices for things like blogging. Social media is another story. That is what those that drive with their knees are probably doing. I finally got me a smart watch. It has unshackled me from toting my phone around. I also have the time easily instead of diggin in my poket for my phone, unlocking it etc.
Yes, the cellphone has created a road hazard due to texting. I am tall, so can see in people’s cars while walking in the neighborhood. Unless they’re sitting up high in a pickup truck, I can see them texting. We had a guy a few years ago who was Googling for strip clubs on his phone while driving drunk and he rear-ended a vehicle with a woman and child. He, (“the Googler”) of course, lived.
They have no consequences for actions like that. He’ll be out driving again and drunk, in no time.
I’m sure of it Ron. And you know that happens all the time – it’s the innocent drivers who die; the offenders don’t get a scratch.
Very timely, Ron. I think with so much at-home time we have now, and have had for the past year, our social-media use has skyrocketed. That’s why I finally decided enough’s enough, and I’m taking a ‘vacation.’ Er, as you can see, blogging is an exception. Lol! Hey, we all need SOMEthing to keep us busy, right?
Blogging is healthy (in my opinion). Social media is too much stress, at least for most. I turned off my Twitter account, I never used it anyway.