The iPhone. I’ve waited in line for every model except for the iPhone 4. I was even first in line for the 3GS at Apple’s highest traffic San Francisco store. I love the iPhone. The iPad not so much but the iPhone has done a lot for me and has really helped make my life easier but now it’s just a distraction, like a coke habit and I use it to occupy myself like you would by putting a toddler in front of a TV so they’ll stop crying. Being distracted is not a long term solution.
Really?
My friend, Andrew Mager sent out this tweet last night:
If you think trying to avoid your phone now is hard… Imagine 5 years from now.
Actually, I’d like to put a stop to this nonsense right now. I have the power to avoid my iPhone. I will avoid it. There was also this post on Gizmodo on Friday. Here is an excerpt:
Along with thousands of others – including the players themselves – I captured some digital snapshots, but I missed the moment. We walk around with what seems like infinite access in our pockets, and yet, we often experience our lives through two-inch screens.
I don’t like this. I hate where this is going so I’m going to vote with my mind and break free even if it’s just for a few weeks and try to remember to post here what happens.
For the next 2 weeks, I’m going to pretend that I’m on a 1st date 24/7. You know the drill. First date, you might check in to Foursquare or might text your friend that you’re here but once you’re there, the iPhone stays in your pants. So, if I’m in a waiting room, stuck in traffic, at the drive-thru or waiting on a meeting to start, I won’t touch my iPhone. I’m not sure how this will go and I’ll probably be bored out of my mind but I believe there’s value in staying detached. This will also mean turning off push notifications and, once i’m home from work, the iPhone will be on the counter. I won’t be checking email during commercial breaks or thumbing through weather reports while I get out of the shower.
The goal is to pick up the iPhone when I receive a text or phone call. If I need to research something, I’ll use the iPad and keep it as short as possible.
There’s something wrong with us that we’re always staring into screens and I think it’s time that we do something about it. I’ll no longer be prisoner to a phone and no longer get pissed when there’s no service or my battery dies. The key is to not use it and rely more on pen & paper and rely more on a real camera if something is worth photographing.
Maybe I’ll learn something from this break. Now, I’m going to go hop on my bike and take a ride. Yeah, I know it’s 31 degrees outside but, without the iPhone I kind of need something to distract me.
Have a great day!
Blog post is great but the title….priceless! Good luck with that.
:)
While different from your method, I’m working on ways to cut down distractions and increase my attention span. One way is not keeping a million tabs open in my browser at once, and after opening a bunch of articles linked to on Twitter in different tabs, reading through each one with some measure of concentration. My old habits consist of flipping back and fourth between tabs without really finishing and absorbing whatever info was on that page. Good luck with your self-challenge and let us know how well you do.
That’s a great point. Just use an iPad exclusively and you’ll be golden.