We’ve teamed up with Transport for NSW to help you all Get Your Hand Off It while driving. Trust us, we love our smartphones as much as the next person, but your obsession can wait – is liking a meme worth someone’s life? Nah.
When the smartphone was introduced to the world, it well and truly changed our lives. Sure, we’re all connected now in a way we never thought possible and people are able to score $500 for a selfie, but hooley dooley if there’s not a plethora of messed-up side effects to having the internet in the palm of your hand.
Research in 2016 by Ernst & Young showed that Aussies spend an average 10 hours and 24 minutes on internet-connected devices every day – if you sleep as much as I do, that’s almost an entire day lost. This is beaut stat for marketers but an absolutely cooked one for the mental health and, you know, general quality of life for humans.
We all need a break – that’s clear enough – but how can we have a detox without coming across as a righteous tool? We propose that you don’t give up the handheld altogether – you’ll crack – but instead find sneaky slots where you can go without, rather than feeling like you’re always connected.
WHEN YOU’RE BEHIND THE WHEEL
If you’re driving, well, honestly, do I even need to go there? If you’re using your phone in any capacity (be it emailing, texting, checking social notifications, what have you) while driving then you should take a long, hard look at yourself. This is actually the best time for a mini detox – turn your phone off before even starting the engine. You don’t want to even be tempted to touch or look at your device, because lives, including your own, are at risk. No email, meme, text, Shazam or call is worth it.
If we’re honest, no matter what your commute is (driving, transport, walking – but more on that below) you should be putting your phone away. You’ve got anywhere from five minutes to two hours between your doorstep and work – for a lot of people, this might be the only ~you time~ you get all day. Don’t ruin that by texting, emailing, checking socials, what have you, because you may as well be alongside 827 of your Facebook friends if you’re gonna do that.
IF YOU’RE ON THE MOVE
Just so you know, in January Michael Rebold, an Assistant Professor at Hiram College found that texting and walking can negatively impact your balance during everyday activities. He said:
“Your attention is divided by the two tasks and that can disrupt your postural stability, and therefore, possibly predispose individuals to other greater inherent risks such as falls and musculoskeletal injuries.“
This has also become a massive problem for road safety in general. So much so, in fact, that Sydney is currently trialling pedestrian lights across several CBD locations for people looking down at their phones too often. Trust me when I say no one likes that person who walks into them because they’re looking on their phone. Then add to that if the person driving is on their phone – it’s all a very dangerous crash waiting to happen.
DURING THE SWEET SHUT-EYE
OK, I know you’re not texting and sleeping (I’d almost congratulate you for that tbh) but so many of us are going to bed with our phones or next to it. Look, understandable. Phones have the time and an alarm, and those features alone can really cook your sleeping patterns.
I, for one, slept with my phone under my pillow so I’d for sure wake up come alarm time. I now put it on my bedside as I became scared for my life and, well, hair after reading how a phone caught fire from that exact thing.
The first change helped me not wake up in the middle of the night and check the time and notifications, however, I’d still find myself reaching over and looking at the time and notifications. Both are baaaaad as we are constantly alert and expectant of what could happen all the time. This can increase anxiety, result in stress, insomnia, poor concentration (which ain’t good for work, driving, conversation and well, many everyday activities), lack of productivity, irritability, nightmares and headaches.
My colleague suggested a very interesting idea: an alarm clock. ANCIENT, RIGHT? Nah, stuff it. Sleep’s important. Phone off. Alarm clock on. That was an easy 8-hour detox, wasn’t it? If you don’t wanna turn it off, put it in another room at least. If you’re not going to get up to unleash your bladder, you’re not going to get up to check your post likes.
WHEN YOU’RE IN GOOD COMPANY
For a lot of people, phone is work and work is phone. All good but it’s really disrespectful to do anything on your phone in a meeting.
Research from The University of Southern California‘s Marshall School of Business found that out of 554 employees on salaries over $30K, at least 66% thought it was inappropriate to write texts / emails in a meeting, formal or otherwise.
Phone use in any social setting is also widely frowned upon. It’s downright rude and is basically subtext that you’re bored. It’ll definitely impact the convo at hand, as well as the friendship, really.
A good way to detox during this time is to play what I like to call phone jenga. The rules? When you’re out at dinner or drinks, everyone stacks their phone on each other’s and the first one to touch their phone has to pay the bill. Pretty neat. Alternatively, line them up, face-up, so you can really test people’s needs to check their notifications. It’s more fun when everyone’s in on the detox with you.
If you want to go hard and try a couple of days, weeks or months without your phone then we’re all about that too, but it’s hardly achievable, is it? At least you can give the above a red-hot crack without it affecting your personal and professional lives. Besides, this way it can be a lifestyle change rather than a fad diet where you order a burger straight after.
On top of that, if these mini detoxes can help you get your hand off your phone when it’s dangerous – while driving or crossing the street, for example – we are HERE. FOR. IT. That back-patting feeling of receiving a phone notification doesn’t come close to how horrible you’ll feel if you ruin someone’s life, or your own.
You got this.
Photo: Frazer Harrison / Getty.
