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.
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.
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.
