UNITED STATES—Technology is continuing to advance day after day, week after week, month after month. I recall 10 years ago the cell phone existed, but it was nowhere close to the advancements that we have today. It is like the phone can do almost everything. Not only can you call people, but you can surf the internet, you can check emails, you can bank, you can utilize apps, you can monitor your phone, make purchases, the list goes on and on.
Some people may be baffled by this conversation, but I wish the cellphone would go back to its basic roots. Why? It is consuming our lives! I feel like people get annoyed with the fact that I’m not willing to make my phone as versatile as everyone surrounding me. There is a reason for this: it’s a phone! I’m not trying to be glued to my phone 24/7; I don’t understand how people do it nowadays. I mean nearly a year ago I stopped sleeping with my cell phone and I’m glad I did. Why? It was consuming my life.
I would be up in the middle of the night, every so often checking my phone thinking I’ve missed a text or an email. People ask me all-the time do you have apps on your phone? The answer is NO! My phone doesn’t allow them and I’m glad it doesn’t. I don’t need anything causing more stress than what I already have for my workload. Apps drain the battery life, they cause you to become more reliant on your phone and at the same time it becomes very dangerous.
Why? You lose your phone and you can find yourself in a situation where your livelihood could be completely upended. I think this is vital when it comes to banking, because people are desperate to get their hands on other people’s assets and if that information gets into the wrong hands a person’s identity can be vastly changed. You have so many banks promoting the ease and convenience of having mobile banking, but that also perks up ideas for the criminals to develop techniques and plans to get their hands on those devices.
I tell people all the time, don’t make your cellphone your lifeline. It was NOT made to do everything possible in the world. There are reasons you have laptops, desktops and tablets and so many other devices. Each device has its own advantages and for reasons I cannot fathom, we are constantly being forced to think we NEED TO DO EVERYTHING ON OUR PHONE! I mean are people not aware that our phones have placed us in a position where we don’t interact with people; we are socially awkward, we are oblivious to things surrounding our orbit.
I’ve been in public places where people are glued to their phones the entire time; they don’t even look up. This occurs at the bank, at Starbucks, fast-food restaurants, the Post Office; the list goes on and on and on. We’re not living our lives because we are stuck on our phones all the time. It’s worst for the kids, who are staying up all hours at night checking social media to see what has become the talk of the town. The cellphone was invented to make our lives easier, but it seems today the cellphone is our life. Why don’t you pose a question to someone asking them how many times in a single day do they take a look at their phone?
If I’m being honest I can’t give you an answer because I know easily I check my phone 200 times in a given day and that’s a slow day.
Written By Kelsey Thomas
