Virtually constant contact. Always being in her presence. The first communication when you wake up, and the last before you go to bed. She gets along almost perfectly with your other friends and and your family. She is always an effective "partner in crime." She sometimes begs for your attention, distracting you from studying, homework, reading, praying, work, or relaxation. She can even keep you up long past your usual bed time with the latest gossip or topics of discussion. But you don't mind, because she's better than all that from which she distracts you. She always seems to know the answers to your problems and questions, and she never fails to keep you company when you feel lonely or awkward. Admittedly, you live in a bit of fear that you might accidentally do something to shatter your relationship, because it hasn't been perfect; there was a period of getting to know one another, learning how to best communicate with each other and unlearning that which is habitual from past relationships. There were times you mistreated her and took her for granted. Other times, she hasn't really listened to your needs in the relationship. Over time she starts to seem inadequate, leading you even to long for something new -- another. Still, you hold on, faithful, bringing her everywhere, diligently investing massive amounts of time into your relationship until it, regardless of your painstaking efforts, is unsustainable.
You part ways...
Less than a day later, she is replaced. This one arrived in a new box, with an entirely novel operating system and button layout, a different charger, and new features! Another period of learning to communicate and unlearning habits of the past. Life goes on. iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, they come and go.
We never stop and think long enough to realize how unhealthy this relationship was and is; we don't see how terribly debilitating our attachment to our phones are. This relationship is, up until the parting ways and replacement, how marriages are to be. It is not fitting or healthy for any of us to use our phones in the same way, especially when it goes so unnoticed. How often do we check our phones unnecessarily? Or how often do we hold them mindlessly while engaged in other activities (e.g. socializing)? How often to we feel the vibration of a notification when none have popped up?
How many hours, or more accurately, minutes do we spend away from our phones daily or weekly? It takes no genius to see and despise how attached we are to our devices. Yet people have existed for thousands of years without iPhones and Androids. It would, I believe, be healthy and helpful to us if we all tried to disconnect a bit, even for just an hour a day! Let's experience life together! And, if we can, reserve that aforementioned intimacy for a real person -- a spouse who can feel and love and be alive with you.
Join me for just a short time each day; let's put our phones down and away. #PhonesAway
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