Sunday after the Dominican Day Parade I lost my phone somewhere between the train station a few blocks away from home and the apartment. It most likely fell out of my pocket when I decided to sit for a moment right after getting off of the train before exiting the station. To say the least I lost a lot of ‘important’ items, still it’s not a life or death situation. To be honest I wasn’t really bothered by it. I’ve been here before in other ways. Many lost harddrives due to damage caused me to shift creatively. I’ve reinvented myself quite a few times in the space of twenty five years.

I remember a time when I didn’t have a phone. It didn’t cease my ability to be tapped in. I was still able to navigate the world of promotion, network and get things done. People were confused. I did all my work on the Desktop. The internet is still accessible from your computer friends. While your smartphone is most definitely a computer, it’s one far more distracting. A very disruptive piece of technology if you do not have control over it and it begins to control you. 

For years I was in charge of my life as far as my relationship with my phone. No notifications. No sounds. I basically chose to look at it when necessary. I’d leave it in the house and go live my life. I didn’t suffer from phantom phone syndrome which plagues millions. Imagine being so attached to your device you think it’s buzzing when it’s not. Phone addiction is real as alcoholism and or any other serious addiction but it’s easy to dismiss. Having a phone in hand nearly 24/7 destroys your connection to the present moment. It interrupts healthy connections with human beings. The over stimulus of a miniature computer, phone and camera also contributes to an increased disconnect with nature. Look up nature deficit disorder.

I rode along the coast yesterday from Williamsburg to Sunset park. No phone on my person. I took a nap on a grassy hill in Greenwood Cemetery after exploring only a portion of over four hundred acres of beautiful land. I was refreshed in only a way you can be out in a natural setting, untethered from a small computer with access to the world digitally. 

Here are a few prompts for consideration. 

• How healthy is the relationship you have with your device? 

• How does your device affect your relationships not only with others but with yourself?

• How would you benefit if you decreased not only the time you use your phone but if you were fully away from it?

• Does your phone adversely affect your creativity? 

As an exercise, take a moment and think back to simpler times when you didn’t have so many distractions, many of which are presented by owning and engaging a smartphone. Make a short list of things you enjoyed doing but no longer do. What are some positive benefits of taking breaks from smartphone use?