Cellular Insanity: Time for Change

I’m sure we’ve all had that moment after a long day where, like plants, we gravitate towards phone screens to get our digital photosynthesis on. What’s a lack of sleep if that blue light is so addicting? Technology keeps us connected across borders and time zones, a way to keep us in the loop of a rapidly changing world. Without our phones, how would we ever know Rihanna was expecting her third baby? Yet are we really paying attention to life?
Numerous studies keep warning us about fractured concentration, and yet we continue to scroll through our social feeds and hold our phones hostage. Irony at its finest. And maybe that’s the heart of it: distraction disguised as connection. When was the last time any of us left home without our phone or even turned it off for a weekend? We’re not just missing out on lectures, conversations, or even a few hours of decent sleep. We’re missing out on depth in our lives. The moments of slow, quiet thinking that doesn’t come with a “like” button attached.
That doesn’t mean we should toss our phones into the nearest fountain. (Tuition is already expensive enough without adding water damage repairs to the list.) But it does mean asking ourselves: what deserves my attention right now? Maybe it’s the friend sitting across from you, the textbook gathering dust, or even the rare chance to simply let your brain wander without a glowing rectangle telling it where to go.
As the leaves turn this fall, be like a tree and shake away old habits. Instead, challenge yourself to do something unrelated to your phone. Stop and consider the cloud formations. What could that fluffy feather-like one mean? Stop and look at the trees, flip through a magazine, or take time and snuggle in with a warm drink and book. With our noses buried in our phones, our brains weave in dopamine from syntax and code rather than each quiet acknowledgement of humanity found in clouds, bees, and leaves. When our noses are buried in our phones, the world passes by quickly; when we lift our heads, it slows down just enough to remind us of what we’re really here for.
So put down your phone today. Just long enough to turn that photosynthesis from digital to sun-bathed while the skies are still clear.
If you’d like to learn more about the relationship your brain has with your phone consider reading:
The potential effect of technology and distractions on undergraduate students’ concentration
Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity
Mobile phones: The effect of its presence on learning and memory