How my IPhone ruined my life

in #life8 years ago (edited)


Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, email, text messages, all tools designed to keep you connected. We even give them the name of “social.”

But are we really being social when we’re using these tools?

As a society we’ve seen a massive increase in the use of social media and electronic communications. And the reality is that they are important tools for communication and business. People use them every day to be more productive and stay connected with family and friends around the world that they would not otherwise be able to do.

The problems come when we are unable to disconnect with our phones and connect to our world around us. And I’m writing this from personal experience in hopes that others will read and hopefully understand all that they are missing.

My daughter was born in 2003, the heart of the cell phone boom. I, like almost everybody I knew, had a cell phone that was only able to send and receive phone calls and text messages. And I spent as much of my waking time interacting with my child as I could.

But then, one day, I decided that it was time for me to get an IPhone. Possibly the worst mistake of my life. As I began to use it more and more I started to spend less and less time interacting with my daughter and more time reading email, surfing the web, and playing “social” games.

And our relationship suffered. A lot.

She would come to me wanting to play, or read, or just be together. I would set my phone down and give her my attention… for about 3 minutes. Because then my phone would beep alerting me of something that “needed my immediate attention.” Of course, it didn’t need my immediate attention.

She did.

And she began to think that whatever was on that screen was more important than she was and would walk away, eventually never coming back. But I just didn’t see it at the time.

Often times when we think of families who suffer because of addiction, we immediately think of alcohol or drugs. Of the abusive parent who gets drunk and screams at their spouse. Or passes out at the ball game.

But addiction goes much deeper than that.

I was an IPhone addict. And it was destroying my family.

I would sit in the corner for hours staring at my phone. I would miss her performances because I was staring at my phone. I would miss watching her grow up because I was staring at my phone. I would miss interacting with her because I was staring at my phone. Sometimes I would try to hide the fact that I missed something because I was staring at my phone.

And it breaks my heart every time I think about all the memories that I’ll never have because I was staring at my phone. My eyes are tearing up as I write this now.

But that’s not even the worst part.

Just as many children of alcohol and drug addicted parents become addicts as well. So do children of IPhone addicted parents.

Today my child is an IPhone addict...

...and it’s my fault.

Hi, I'm Forest

I teach people how to kick ass for a living. You can read my story and verification post here.

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Nice story. What about our lovely Steemit? I understood that you have to be actively engaged in it, otherwise it doesn't work out for you, materially and ideally. It is not an IPhone, however it swallows our attention too. It is a bit more sophisticated distraction.

Very true @johano. As a recovering addict, for me it's all about scheduling. I schedule certain times of the day to check my email, check my #steemit, write, even responding to texts. I've turned off almost every alert on my phone and I practice the art of focusing my attention on what I choose.

Wow Forest! This is powerful and brings to mind on how often I look at my iPhone. All the time. Even when I not suppose to look at it, like during my commutes home from work.
Thanks for sharing.

Great post! Great reminder to limit screen time of my little ones. Thanks, Brother!

Great post, Something i've struggled with in the past as well, its amazing with distractions, how they can sap the quality from life.


Hi @forestwest, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads today and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.

Not just an iPhone, owning any smartphone gets you addicted. You have to learn to use it less. I've removed most of the social apps from mine, I only use Twitter, Email etc for work. I use the phone mainly to take photos, text a few close friends, talk to people, listen to music, and play a few games when I'm bored. That's about it. I wouldn't say I'm addicted to my phone, but I can understand what you feel. Nice post! :)

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