It's a Trap!

I used a Star Wars reference for May the 4th and May the 5th.  

This week's topic is from a book I just finished with a mission to save us from ourselves.   Keeping on top of run-away smartphone usage is a losing battle without a clear idea about how you want to use your phone.  I just finished How to break up with your phone by Catherine Price.  She gives smartphone devices the well-deserved and ominous name WMD (wireless mobile devices).  As a child of the time before cell phones, I remember being a 12-year-old and spending hours lying on the floor looking at the world book encyclopedia. So the addictive nature of gleaning new information is not unique to me.  

Smartphones are an excellent tool with the right mix of apps and self-awareness.

Catherine Price lays out a plan to break up with your phone and create a new relationship.  The hard part for me is deciding what I want that relationship to be.  I want to be in charge, but I want to have the phone push me to do better.  My phone could be Batmans' butler Alfred. On the other hand, I don't want it to be the Worm Tounge character from Lord of the Rings, whispering in my ear," just one more news story video."

She points out we spend mindless hours scrolling on our WMDs.  I skipped the exercise in the book to show me exactly how much time I waste on my phone.  There is, ironically, an app for that.   I know I am completely addicted to my phone.  I had to buy an extra battery pack to keep the phone running as I wandered from appointment to appointment.  I have a few habits to help me control my phone use.  First, I disabled most of my phone's social media apps and games.  Second, I don't take the phone into the bedroom or bathroom.  Also, I added a chime on my phone that goes off every hour to remind me to move on to my next task.

The bottom line for me is being aware of what I want from my phone.  I need to be responsible for where it takes me.

A movie I watched this week and gave two snaps

Flashback on Amazon by Director Caroline Vigneaux.  A modern-day attorney takes a cab ride on an insightful journey through history.