When is the last time you went an hour without any electronics? Not counting the obvious (sleeping, driving, etc) – that you SHOULDN’T be texting… Could you do it for a day?

If you cannot, you’re not alone. Nearly 50% of All Americans say they can’t go without their cell phone, and that includes people that don’t even have them, like small kids, older adults, or people that realize there’s more to life than a phone!. There is now new words in the dictionary – like “phubbing” (basically snubbing someone by being on your phone, instead of talking to them) and the emergence of cell phone addictions – as well as ways to fix those addictions.

We are losing touch with touch itself! As a leader or a manager – how often do you use IM (instant messenger) or an email to say what you just don’t (or can’t) say? As an employee – how often do you “project” yourself by firing off an email to a co-worker instead of having a face to face (or Zoom to Zoom)?

This month – When you get ready to open your phone – I challenge you to 3 questions by Kevin Roose, New York Times columnist. If you can’t CLEARLY articulate an answer, then I challenge you to PUT the phone down and make a tally of every time you chose yourself, your team, family, friends – your Non-Virtual Experience – over the latest Twitter feed, email update, or FB trend.

What for?
Why now?
What else?

You may just learn something.

You may just see something you haven’t seen before (and wouldn’t if you were looking down).

And before you know it, you may just be a bit happier & a bit less stressed.

Try it.

Other links:

• Plugged In: Half of Americans Can’t Go a Day Without Phone, Study Says
• Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain, by Kevin Roose
• How to Fix Smartphone Addictions