HOT PURSUIT

Most of us have enjoyed that highly smart calendar-clock-camera-email-SMS-social media lifeline affectionately known as our smartphone. We can’t seem to navigate through our lives without it.
I have a teenager at home who I am convinced is addicted to her phone. It never ceases to amaze me how much time she spends on the phone. “What possibly can be that interesting to be on it constantly,” I wonder in my head, realizing I’d get the eye roll if I mentioned it out loud.
I’m convinced that device is really not that smart, at least when it comes to other aspects of our lives. In all fairness, it’s not really the device, but rather the person clutching it like their life depends on it.
Part of the problem is that we have become a society that demands immediacy. We want it now and only now. If it’s not now, we lose it and act like the world is going to end. Guess what? I don't think the world is going to be any different tomorrow if we don’t respond to something immediately today.
I always remember cringing when older folks shared stories that began with “Let me tell you what it was like in the olden days…” I always thought I was so smart and nothing they said really applied to me or that it was even remotely relevant at the time.
As I grow older and move well beyond the 50 mark, I now find myself focusing on “the olden days.” Call it a generational gap or whatever you want, but my greatest pet peeve is what we’ve become as a society because of cell phones.
While it doesn’t seem that long ago to me, I’m slipping back into the 1990s this week. This is especially targeted to those under 30 years old (I hope there are a couple 30 and under somethings who read the newspaper). Let me share with you what life was like prior to the time when smartphones became a permanent fixture in your hands.
People actually spoke to one another, often face to face. I know, I know, that’s a scary thought. But we shared how we felt about something without hiding behind a smartphone or Facebook.
This next one may jolt you right out of your seat. We sat down and read newspapers and books by holding them in our hands. The paper was our bible on what was going on in our community and the rest of the world. 
Perhaps most importantly, those of us who drove a vehicle, focused on the road. We didn’t have a smartphone to tempt us with texting and driving, which has become as dangerous as drinking and driving. I’d love to share examples of that with you just in case you’re thinking I’m a little out there.
We enjoyed the moment. The present. The now. We spent time enjoying ourselves without subjecting people to meaningless selfies.
It really wasn’t such a bad time.
As much as cell phones have provided us with a connection to the world around us, it seems kind of crazy, but they have also made us become socially awkward to put it nicely. For the past 30 years, we have created social creatures who don’t know how to communicate other than with their fingers dancing around on a screen that eyes like mine can’t even see.
Research is now warning us excessive smartphone use leads to personal, social and workplace problems. Phone addicts are showing signs that indicate depression, social isolation, social anxiety, shyness and low self-esteem.
I’m certainly not suggesting we get rid of cell phones as I believe they provide significant value in many areas of our lives. However, I am advocating for a better balance in life. I think we need to establish some clear boundaries of when and when not to use our cell phones.
Perhaps, taking a page from old fogies like myself isn’t such a bad idea in patching up the serious communication barrier that has been created by smartphones. Being in hot pursuit of digital detox may be in order for 2022.