LANSING, Mich. — These days, everyone is resolving to spend less time looking at screens and more time being fully present. This means cutting the phone addiction. There are times when the people, things, and life before us deserve our full attention. However, smartphones can be a window to the outside world and a key instrument in keeping us connected with our communities. Your phone is not the enemy! Here are some of the ways it can change us for the better:
Phones make us feel connected. Sure, there is an overabundance of toxic comparing and keeping up with the Joneses on social media, but it’s also a world where we meet people we never would have any other way. We are making virtual friends with those who seem to understand us better than our own families, even if they live halfway around the globe! These tiny devices spell communication at any hour of the day or night, which is important to those who feel isolated. Someone, somewhere always understands how you feel.
Phones keep us close to family members and friends we might have lost touch with long ago. We have the ability to transcend time zones and cross oceans with the opening of an app. We see pictures and videos, and feel like we know a person, like we haven’t missed out on all of the life happening outside of our own circumstances.
Phones make us feel intelligent. Smartphones are windows to the world where we can get the headlines, full stories, newscasts, podcasts, TED talks, and politics. We can stay informed, we can chat and debate, we can learn a foreign language, we can even take online classes. As long as there’s Wi-Fi, we can be learning and engaging when it’s convenient for us.
Phones make us feel inspired. It’s because of this window to the outside world and connection to others that we don’t wallow in self-pity on those really hard days. We get up and keep going because we can see what’s possible. We watch the examples set for us by others and we know what we’re experiencing is normal. We realize there are practical ways we can save to planet, manage our finances, and become healthier individuals. We are not limited to our own bubble of experiences, so in this way phones show us a life we never could have imagined otherwise.
Sure, we could all benefit from using our phones less, but phones aren’t all bad. Think about what a remarkable invention these little things are. Lets just make sure we look up from them once in a while and enjoy that life going on in front of us.
