Am I Addicted to Technology?

Hello, everyone. Last night a title caught my attention. It read, “Are You Addicted to Technology,” by Eric Perry, PHD. As I read the question, it got me thinking, “Am I?” Admittedly, I cannot deny the fact that I could possibly be. It’s nicer to say “possibly,” than to deliberately say, “I am.” In denial at its best.

I was without a phone for almost two weeks. My phone was acting up, so I contacted the company to help me. Luckily, my phone was still part of the warranty, so they fixed it for free. I felt joyful. Anxiously, I waited for my phone to arrive. In retrospect, the two weeks without a phone, I did notice a few things. And reading about “Are you addicted to technology,” made me think even harder about the “possible addiction to technology.” I did not feel happy to lose my phone for that many days. Now, phones are replaceable. So what was I anxious about?

(Not in its entirety) But most of my communication is through text messaging or social media. Some of my family members or friends are quite comfortable communicating specifically through social media, and they take it as an actual connection. Long distance friends don’t really count. But even a phone call is awkward nowadays. I have fallen on that spectrum of a click away. Perry writes the following:

We live in a world where most of our life essentials are one click away. Food, clothing, companionship, entertainment, and even sex can be attained by just a click. More and more we are giving our vital life energy to electronic devices. Look around. I am quite sure you will see what is becoming a familiar norm.

This is very true. And it doesn’t help when we’re surrounded by people who are okay with a click away for a “true communication.” And it got me thinking, I am not helping anyone either by being a clicker. He also writes:

Further, on average people click, tap, or swipe their phones 2,617 times a day. The heaviest smart phone users touch their phones 5,417 times a day. That is approximately 2 million times a year that an electronic device has taken up moments of your life.

 Yikes! That’s a lot of clicking even for an average person. Most of us have our phone “attached to our veins.” That’s a big problem. I’ve mentioned this before, when I have observed people attempting to be away from their phone, they start either twitching or fidgeting. They can’t even concentrate on the dialogue at hand, that or they simply don’t care. That’s from my perspective. Perhaps I do the same if someone is observing me, and I thought about it, “That’s not a good picture. You probably look paranoid.”

Perry defines “LOL” in a new way that made me feel a bit iffy, and yet I agreed with the statement:

Perhaps, LOL meaning Laugh out Loud should really mean Loss of Life. Allow yourself to have at least one day a week without social media. Interact with your loved ones and real life friends. Remember what it is like to just be present in an unfiltered world and in the moment without worrying about likes or shares.

My question is, what do we do about relationships who persist on communicating only through social media and feel as if that’s the only true connection? On my part, I am going to try my best not to be dominated by technology, (more like, try a lot, a lot). The Terminator movies came to mind too as I examine all this conundrum of our current society and technology. Perhaps the machines have already won in a different way, and we have not noticed.

What are your thoughts on the addiction to technology? I also suggest that you read Perry’s full blog because it has valuable advice. You can find the link below this blog and picture. Thank you, and have a great day.

©Ana P. Rose & Anaprose 2017.

Erik Perry, PHD. https://makeitultrapsychology.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/technology-are-you-addicted/