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SMART PHONE STRESS IS A FACT OF LIFE FOR MANY USERS
Writing about smart phones and stress seems contradictory. If the phones are deemed to be so smart how can the gadgets stress us out? Perhaps technology has taken over our lives?.
Take a good look around you and you can see that the cell phone use has become an integral part of many people lives Like drug addicts they are hooked into instant contact and text messaging. My cousin, Jack, actually leaves his family dinner to sneak outside in the rain/sleet to make sure that his wife doesn’t catch him checking his messages. The phone never ever is shut off and left in his briefcase. When his Blackberry service was shut down for three days recently it seemed like his whole world had vanished. He was depressed and stressed out that his telephone had abandoned him in his time of need.
Many of us live like Alice in: Through the Looking-Glass, who must run as fast as she can just to stay in the same place. With money worries, job stress and family obligations competing for our time, it can seems that if you want to get ahead you must run twice as fast as the competition.
Stats Canada reports that 30% of Canadians aged 35-44 describe most days as stressful. The numbers in Toronto are higher with 43% of respondents stressed out.
In my opinion the labour saving devices and communication technology that promised to reduce effort and increase productivity- and let everyone log into work from the beach have only added to the pressure.
The devices make life more stressful because people are compulsively checking for new messages, alerts and updates.
So many people to-day have smart phones that the effect they have on their lives and the amount of time that they are spending is scary. Nevertheless, smart phone use is bound to go up thanks to the supply of new applications.
Try laying off the Crackberry/Apple for a few hours each day especially before going to bed. Hard-core addicts should try to shut off their phones when they go out for dinner.
If you love your phone more then spending quality-time with friends and family you have to question your priorities.
Len Lesser