No Phone Zone Fail

Just before Christmas, I saw an article called "Our Unplugging Challenge: Seven Days Without Our Devices." That night during the kids' bathtime I mentioned it to my husband and suggested maybe we could try it over Christmas vacation. He sort of laughed, so I amended my request to having a "no phone zone" while the kids are awake. That's a good idea, he agreed while looking up from his smartphone. We didn't end up doing it though. Our kids like to play a couple games on our phones, and they like to watch Sesame Street songs on YouTube too.

A couple years ago, a study showed that using our smart phones lights up the same areas of our brain that love does. We literally love our phones. "Some psychologists suggest that using our iPhones and BlackBerrys may tap into the same associative learning pathways in the brain that make other compulsive behaviors — like gambling — so addictive."

That's kind of sad.

I'm guilty. I check my phone a lot. It's just so easy. It just takes a minute here and there. The kids are entertaining themselves for a minute? Great! I'll check the latest updates on Facebook! But do I really need to read and like the gazillion climate news stories in my feed? Or the latest cute kid picture? Do I need to read yet another parenting blog?

The other day I was parked by the lake as my daughter slept in the car, and it wasn't yet time to collect my son from preschool. It was a cold day and the ice fisherman were out. I should have sat in the car staring at the lake and the ice and the horizon for 10 minutes. I did look for a bit, but then, almost without thinking about it, I pulled out my smart phone.

Whoops.

I kind of miss the days before cell phones. Days when I went out without caring that maybe no one could reach me for a while. Days when I took trips to see friends in neighboring states with nothing but printed out directions. Days before Facebook existed, before Words With Friends existed. There was a certain kind of freedom.

Now that I have a smart phone (since late 2010) it's hard to give it up. It's annoying not being able to look up something whenever I want, or snap a photo whenever I want, take my turn in a game, or check status updates. I honestly don't think it's a problem how much I use my phone, but it would be good to use it less.

Maybe I will do that 7 Day Challenge afterall. Maybe.

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