I am in love with my phone. This doesn’t take away from my love for others but it does show that I can love inanimate objects.
Am I the only one who finds it difficult to leave my phone in a place where I might not hear it ring, beep or ding? Is it bad that I’ve taken it into the bathroom (once or twice!) or into my bedroom at night? Do you know that we spend almost as much money on our phone bill as our heating bill?
Cell phones have changed the way we live and work. No matter the location, whatever the time, we have grown accustom to constant available contact. I’ve found a few amazing statistics that show just how much we’ve come to rely on them:
22,128,000 people voted for American Idol using their cell phones. That’s approximately the population of Texas.
500 million cell phones weighing 250,000 tons are stockpiled and awaiting disposal. That’s the weight of 25 Eiffel Towers.
4,239,956 people are having a cell phone conversation at any given second.
According to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 67 percent of cell phone owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, calls, tweets, etc., totally unprompted by a beep, ringing or vibration.
The Urban Dictionary has a term called “phone dorking,” which is checking one’s phone without any real purpose … I phone dork!
I wonder … has this love become an obsession? Is it bad that I find myself taking my phone on a run (what if a kid or client calls?) or on the pool deck (what if a kid or client calls?). I’ve got to be honest with myself here … it might be ok for me to run out of milk or gas in my car, but run out of cell phone reception — that could be a real issue for me. How about the fact that I put my phone on silence when I am supposed to shut it off? Please tell me that at least one of you can privately admit that you have some of these same tendencies!
I need to examine this love of mine and find a way to get it under control (why are things in my life either being controlled or out of control?? – for another blog, I suppose). Maybe I’ll start with a phone free hour … no, wait – that might be too much. I’ll start with a minute each hour. What’s the point in killing myself the first day? Plus, I don’t want to miss any of your communications!
Enjoy your Friday!
theyearof50 