10 Reasons Your Iphone is a Trap

10 Reasons Your Iphone is a Trap

iPhones, smartphones, tablets or cells. Whatever you use, whatever you call it – it’s a trap for the following reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I love this new technology we have in our lives today but for the reasons listed below, these devices are ruining my life…and yours. So, your iPhone is a trap – here’s why.

1. Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s ruining your attention span

I have written on the topic of our failing attentions pans before. Our brains do not really multitask, they shift between tasks quickly, meaning that we are not really doing anything properly. Our attentions spans are getting worse and worse, and while some of us joke about this, this is not a joke. Having the ability to focus and ponder lengthy and deep subjects is imperative to our cognition as humans. We need to be developing our ability to focus and concentrate and these devices are making this impossible.

 2.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s affecting your intimate relationships

We’ve all seen the couple at the restaurant who sit opposite each other, both on their phones, not engaging with each other. This is very sad to see. These little devices we call iphones compete with our loved ones for our attention. If you are at dinner with someone or over at their house, resist the urge to play with your phone. Allow yourself to be present. Another thing I notice that I do all the time is get half way through a story and realise that I’d like to illustrate my pint by referencing an article online, or showing my friend an image or video  of something. I need to stop doing this. It’s distracting to me and them. And very boring.

10 Reasons Your Iphone is a Trap

 3.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s making you feel inadequate

Mary is staying in a luxurious Balinese villa? Christina just ran five miles? Some chick I don’t even know is posting photos of her wash-board abs on Fitness Selfies? Gawd I feel so… pathetic. Again, we may joke about FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) but there have been studies that show that humans today have so many more reasons to feel inadequate than ever before.

 4.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s causing you to over-spend

Wow! An app where I can order fashion online with only a few clicks! A book store that remembers my shipping and credit card details! And I can now subscribe to all sorts of programs and gadgets online (like the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite) and I don’t even need to physically order any CDs! Oops – did I just send fifty bucks on a bunch of lame Ministry of Sound albums? What was I thinking?

5.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s feeding your addictions

I can count calories obsessively all day! I can find other deviants to meet for illicit sex! I can gamble! I can watch porn! I can bully people! And I can do it over and over again so easily. Let’s look at porn as an example. I used to have nothing against porn but now I can see it ruining the sex lives of men I know, and men I read about online. Porn can become a barrier between people, and between you and your own true sexual power. They say kids are now being exposed to hard core porn as early as five. This is one of the best articles I have come across about porn addiction.

10 Reasons Your Iphone is a Trap

 6.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s allowing you to procrastinate

I could have had this blog post written sooner but I had to check my four email accounts, my twitter account, my facebook feed and then my Google +. Oh and then my boss emailed me. Oh and then my other boss emailed me. Oh and then I surfed around some trashy English gossip sites. Then I reread some texts from my dear sister. Then I wrote some texts to my friend in LA. Then I cruised eBay. Oops! I just wasted an hour and a half and now I have to cram six hours of my work into four.

 7.Your iPhone is a trap because: It could get you killed as a pedestrian

I am not kidding. One 14-year-old boy walking down a road while talking on a cell phone fell 6 to 8 feet off a bridge into a rock-strewn ditch. Then there was the video of the woman who walked into a fountain at a mall because she was distracted by her phone. Accidents like these are on the rise and there have been cases of pedestrians actually getting killed. I am hugely guilty of this myself and it makes me appear rude and silly too.

8.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s ruining your hearing

I go on and on about this because I have terrible hearing. I ruined my hearing working in radio where I either had a set of headphones or a headset on for most of my decade-long career. My hearing is particularly bad when there is background noise, such as a loud pub or club. If you walk around with your headphones on and your iphone turned up full blast, you are in danger of hurting your ears. Kids, please note: once you f**k them up they do not ever get better. Look after your hearing.

 9.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s keeping you inside

Until they invent a screen that can be seen in broad daylight, when we are playing with our iphones we must be in the shade or inside. I don’t use an iphone for my job (much) but I do have to be chained to a desk. This is not the fault of my awesome employer, but society as a whole. There have been studies that indicate that being desk-bound is almost as bad for your health as smoking. Iphones tend to keep us sedentary, indoors and focused on the tips of our noses and fingers. Lame.

 10.Your iPhone is a trap because: It’s costing you money

An obvious point, these things aren’t cheap. Mine cost me $100 per month and when I think what I will have to spend over the course of my lifetime on maintaining and updating technology, my mind boggles. I dream of going off the grid and living off food I grow myself and throwing my devices into the sea. This will never happen. In this lifetime I am bound to these devices and I will need to maintain contact with the world for every hour that I am not asleep. That’s a tiring thought. But it’s pretty much a fact.

Summary
10 Reasons Your Iphone is a Trap
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10 Reasons Your Iphone is a Trap
Description
Did you know that your iPhone is really just a trap? Smartphones, Android or iPhones can all cause pain and suffering and here's 10 reasons why. 
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Alyce Vayle | Content Strategist
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  1. November 30, 2014

    Hello,

    I just stumbled upon your blog by googling ‘somebody insulted me’ – enjoying catching up on your articles and I have actually just drafted my own post about giving up my Iphone, which I will post shortly!

    Particularly liked your post about modern life!

    Have a nice weekend,

    Fiona 🙂

    1. December 2, 2014

      Hi Fiona,

      Thanks so much for your lovely comments – they really brightened my day. I am so glad that you took the time to read some posts and to share a lovely comment. Hope you have a great day and stop on by another time!

      –Alyce

  2. Ross Weir
    January 9, 2015

    Great Blog, currently writing a persuasive essay for school on the topic of smart phones diminishing lives and found this post very useful 🙂

    1. January 9, 2015

      Thanks so much for your comments, Ross! Hope the persuasive essay goes well for you – it’s a great topic.

      Hope to hear from you again. —Alyce

  3. PhoenixBlaze
    March 2, 2015

    This website has helped me a lot for my debate topic about why children should not have access to smartphones. Thank you for your awesome blog post! Love it! ^_^

    1. March 3, 2015

      Thanks for your comments, Phoenix! Glad you found the post useful!

      –Alyce

  4. May 13, 2015

    great! helped me with my essay

    1. May 13, 2015

      Good stuff Jackson!

      I hope you get top marks on this very important subject.

      —Alyce

  5. dash
    July 20, 2015

    all the time i wondered ‘do l really need a smart phone?’ after reading your lovely article, i now know somebody agrees with me. i have postponed to buy my smartphone now!

    1. July 27, 2015

      Hi Dash-

      Good idea – I think the longer you can spend without one – the better!

      Kind regards, Alyce

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  7. Matt
    February 23, 2016

    I really enjoyed your article. I am writing a persuasive paper for debate on how smartphones are actually more helpful than harmful. Your writing gave me an insight on the opposite perspective which helped me greatly. I enjoyed looking at things from your point of view. Great work! 🙂

    1. February 23, 2016

      Hi Matt-

      Thanks so much for your comment! I have become more and more addicted to my “little magic box” as my Great Uncle Mick likes to call it. Help or hindrance, I won’t be giving mine up! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!

      –Alyce

  8. Sean
    February 28, 2016

    Still have a flip phone with no internet…sick of seeing the zombies

    1. February 29, 2016

      Hi Sean,

      Good idea. I have a friend who is a personal trainer. He favours a “dumb” phone because it’s less distracting, he can still make and take calls from his clients, the phone is much more hard wearing, stays charged for 4 days and he can use it with sweaty hands, while out in the sun!

      Thanks for stopping by!
      —Alyce

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