What I learned from not having a phone for two hours
So its no major discovery that we have entered an age where we have become very dependent on technology for EVERYTHING.
But whose mad? Innovations in technology have allowed us to complete tasks in more efficient and convenient ways.
Yesterday, I had an epiphany.
Prelude: My phone screen has been cracked since early November. It started as a few cracks and progressively took on a point of no return where things became unrecognizable. My rationale for not fixing it was because it represented how I felt and that brought me comfort (It has been a rough couple of months).
But on this day (yesterday) I decided I was going to kick the comfort and fix the now smashed phone screen. I get to the store and hand off my child to be fixed and the associate says, okay see you in an hour…hmm…an hour? I had a mini anxiety attack…how will I make it without my phone for an hour? I was eager to get it done so I left the store and started my countdown. I decided to do a little retail therapy to calm my nerves. I get in to H&M and I started to have withdrawals…feeling phantom vibrates, nonexistent pings and reaching for a phone that was not there. For some reason every returned text message or phone call I was suppose to make and forgot about all came back to me at that moment. I started thinking up all these crazy scenarios about all that could happen in this hour when no one could reach me. And as I am having these thoughts I am also picking up several items of clothing.
After a while, the palpitations stop, and I even start jammin’ to the music playing in the store (I usually have my headphones in blasting my own playlist). People are saying hi to me in the store and I am saying hi back…I even notice sections of the store that I have never seen before…and I hear about discount programs that I never knew existed. (Side note: did you know that H&M has a garment recycling program to tackle throw away culture and if you donate your old garments (regardless of brand) you will get 15% off a purchase?)
So I get in the dressing room, hands full of items, trying them on one by one with my full attention. I saw every piece for what it was and rationalized if I really needed something or not. Had I had my phone, I would be texting and scrolling a timeline in between each outfit and would likely not take the time to consider if I needed it or not and would choose it because its cute. All in all I walked in with 14 items and purchased only one pair of pants. That was my high for the day.
I get back to the store to pick up my phone and it had been nearly three hours. I turned on my phone to find it DRY AF….no messages, no notifications, the world was not on fire and everything was fine.
This intrigued me, and being a researcher I wanted to take a look at technology and stress. I came across a study looking at this and here were some of their findings:
• Heavy cell phone use showed an increase in sleep disorders in men and an increase in depressive symptoms in both men and women.
• Those constantly accessible via cell phones were the most likely to report mental health issues.
• Men who use computers intensively were more likely to develop sleeping problems.
• Regular, late night computer use was associated with sleep disorders, stress and depressive symptoms in both men and women.
• Frequently using a computer without breaks further increases the risk of stress, sleeping problems and depressive symptoms in women.
• A combination of both heavy computer use and heavy mobile use makes the associations even stronger.
….in short…technology is like medicine, take it in doses.
