I got up this morning and followed my usual routine: bathroom, got dressed, cat duties, cup of tea and then picked up my phone.
I had a message telling me that I had used my phone for 53 minutes more than last week and this got me thinking. Every week I seem to get a message telling me that I am using my phone more than the previous week - but what do I use it for?
I don't actually think that I spend too much time on my phone. I am mindful of how scrolling and games can eat up time, but I do limit these. I am also conscious that I check my phone for messages quite frequently, and that this has probably become a habit, but I do make deliberate choices to do other things, such as going out for a walk, reading a book, doing some needlework or some gardening, and I think I manage to balance my spare time quite well. Or do I?
I began thinking about what a smartphone has come to 'be' to us, and what impact this has had on people generally, and I started to make a list of the things our phones have replaced.
There is no doubt that the access we have to information nowadays is a massive plus, and surely it is great that we can communicate so easily and entertain ourselves on a whim. Maybe, maybe not.
I began to consider the functions on our smart phones and what they have replaced, and that naturally led to consideration about what we have gained and lost as a result.
This is what I came up with.
It's important to start by saying that this is only my opinion. I have not accessed any research on the subject and have only my experiences and observations to support my ideas, but here goes anyway.
First of all 'stuff'. Our smart phones have reduced our need for lots of different purchases - particularly those which are technology based.
Incorporated into our smartphone we have a computer, a calculator, a limitless music collection, a games console a camera and video recorder, radio, TV and film streaming. We also have SatNav, a voice recorder, a torch, a calendar, a photo album and a notebook.
Next up, 'experiences'. I have a yoga instructor, a guitar tutor and a language coach. I can play chess with anyone in the world. I can go shopping (and have my purchases delivered) from my sofa, and read books online without going to the library.
I can send an email without the need for going to the post office and buying stationery and stamps - and my letter is instantly delivered.
And what about my work and social life;
I can work from home.
I can chat to friends without actually talking to them, and play multiplayer games online or through a headset.
I can access an encyclopedia, a dictionary, a thesaurus, instruction manuals; watch YouTube videos on sport, politics, religion, travel; I can attend a tutorial or lecture, a work meeting, a doctors appointment or job interview by zoom; the list is endless.
But is this all a good thing? It certainly saves me lots of time and money accessing and purchasing things or visiting people and places; but it does mean that I have to experience all of these things from my living room on a four inch screen - and I don't think that's a good thing - how can it be?
There is a lot of talk at the moment about young people being unhappy, disillusioned with the world, dissatisfied with their lives and even lonely. Is this such a surprise when their whole lives are online or virtual? They have social media, a social friends network, online dating; some have avatars instead of an actual image of themselves, and social anxiety is becoming an epidemic.
When I was a teenager, if I wanted to see my friends I went and knocked on their door. We sat in bedrooms chatting, listening to music, playing games, making plans. We used to put on shows in peoples' garages. Our bike rides kept us out all day. We went and met up with friends in town, getting the bus there and back and making a couple of pounds last all day. If we had no money we went anyway, we just walked there and took a bag of crisps with us.
As a young adult the local pub was a thriving community and not just for drinking. It was a meeting point; we played darts and pool, chatted, laughed and joked and put the world's problems to rest over half a lager.
We went to the gym and to fitness classes; did nightschool courses to expand our interests or job opportunities; spent wet weekends camping with friends and family, hiking and building memories over burnt sausages and a campfire.
When my children were little I made new friends who also had small children, and we enjoyed garden barbecues and house parties, pram parties in the park and coffee mornings at each others houses after the school run.
Life is about connection. People are social animals and thrive on social interactions. Is it surprising that our young people are disconnected when they are living, working and socialising from their smartphone screens at home?
Yes, the smartphone has brought lots of benefits, and its technology has given access to knowledge and information to everyone. However, the one thing it cannot give us - the one thing that is missing, is people - social contact. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, in my opinion, this is what is eroding the quality of life of our younger generation and destroying communities.
Throughout history, all generations have had good times and bad times, some worse than others. Think of the generation born around the beginning of the 20th century: they had to live through the devastating spanish flu pandemic, two world wars, evacuation, food and fuel rationing and massive austerity. But they got through it together as communities, supporting each other.
We have had to live through a global pandemic and enforced isolation, including learning and working from home. But now that it is over, instead of returning to normal social lives and rebuilding work communities, many people are choosing to remain isolated with technology for both work and company.
We are moving towards insular living and that can only be a bad thing for the human race; it is against our nature and can only result in a poorer version of the world for future generations.
So, I suppose my summary, after much internal debate, is quite simple. We should take the best of what is available from our smartphones, making the most of their time, money and space saving technologies, but should also make a massive effort to actually do real things with real people. There is no substitute for human company and sharing our lives with real people in the real world.
I don't think that our smart phones are giving us smarter lives, but I think that they could, if we took control of them and made them a small part of our life instead of our whole world.
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