Let your phone die and watch the world around you come alive
As Americans, we live behind screens. A 2016 Nielsen Company audience report revealed that adults in the United States spent 10 hours and 39 minutes each day consuming media.
I’m no mathematician, but the average American is spending nearly half their day clinging to a device. I’m no exception, either. I am the average person. I may be worse.
My articles, my books, my newspapers, my emails, and my favorite sites are all on my iPhone 7. And I’m always checking social media. Sometimes, I look at my phone for no reason. It’s just a habit. We’ve grown way too accustomed to our phones.
Leaving your device at home feels like losing an appendage. Or when your phone’s not charged, you feel drained and stressed. How did we get to this place? How are we so attached to our phones that when we don’t have it or can’t use it, we feel a void inside?
Billy Graham once wrote, “We are the most entertained generation in history.” He noted professional sports teams and music groups bring in — and spend — billions of dollars. We’re always looking for the last and greatest.
I believe this frantic search for entertainment is a symptom of something deeper. Some have suggested we are the most bored generation in history, and perhaps they are right. —Billy Graham
Even though our phones are meant to save us time, they end up wasting our time. They come between us and those around us. My iPhone vies for my attention over my wife, my friends, and my family. The phone almost always wins. It wasn’t long ago that I was packing a portable charger everywhere I went (mainly so my phone wouldn’t die when I was trying to catch a rare Pokemon in PokemonGo).
Recently, I’ve started to let my phone die — intentionally.
A whole new world
There are times when I’ve missed entire conversations searching the internet without any idea of what I wanted to find. It’s not that I tried to ignore those around me. But I assumed I would find something more entertaining on my phone. It turns out, the earth God created and the creatures he placed here are pretty impressive. And nature is far wiser than the internet.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.—Job 12:7–10
The world looks much better without a screen in front of your eyes. Plus, My relationships grow when I’m taking part in them.
There truly is a time and a place for everything — including your phone.
Make your phone serve you. It’s a powerful device. Used well, it can save you time and energy. Your device drains your focus and your relationships, though, when it controls your attention.
I’ve found it helpful to let my phone die. In the evening, when my phone is below 10 percent, I do not resuscitate. Let it go. If that’s too much for you, turn it off for a few hours. Leave your phone in the car when you go out with friends. We can live without our devices.
There is so much life to live, and the best of it is beyond a screen.
