Are you using your device or is it using you? Chances are that it’s using you if you’re a part of our modern-day generation. I’m not talking about smartphones alone. I’m talking about phones, television, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and whatever there’s out there. How many hours do you waste by using these products? Does it feel fulfilling? Maybe you’re addicted? It’s possible, right?! You might claim that I’m selling you bullshit but think about it. How many hours do you spend in front of these screens? How many hours of sleep do you sacrifice to watch just “one more video” in an endless playlist? Can you put these devices away for a week? Or would you be anxious if you had to live a couple of minutes without it?
Are you getting upset or are you going to read on? I can guarantee you that you won’t like the rest if you don’t like it already. The truth hurts and this time it might hurt bigtime. I mean who wouldn’t update his story on social media when a person is in trouble. You make sure that it’s on the story when someone drowns right?! Ladies and gentlemen get ready because this is going going to be a long-ass blog post.
Are you using your device or it using you? The Stockholm experience.
So here’s a quick update for the people who have no idea why I refer Stockholm. I traveled on my own to Stockholm to train over there. I was there for 9 days. Scary isn’t it? I barely used my phone during the trip. I posted every day on Instagram and Snapchat to give people a view behind the scenes but that was it. You might be surprised but I was so careless about my phone that I lost it at one point. I was reading in a park and suddenly noticed that I had to go to a restaurant because it was closing in 30 minutes (I wear old school watches). So I got up and left to get some food. I was 5 min away from the park when I suddenly noticed that I didn’t have my iPhone in my pocket.
My heart didn’t skip a beat. I was like “well I’ll have to buy a new phone I guess.”
I returned to the park but I didn’t find my phone over there. So I went to the restaurant and ordered my food. Eventually, I found my phone in my backpack under my book. I didn’t care to be honest. It’s just a device. It’s just a toy, my identity isn’t bound to it. That thing is replaceable. I don’t even know if I would have bought a new smartphone if I had lost this one. What would you have done in this situation? The same or freak out?
Are you using your device or it using you? Enjoying your company?
So many people are constantly scrolling on their devices or whatever they do when they use it. Just look at how families behave at restaurants. The quality of family time is replaced with device time. Nobody is talking to each other and they all glance at their screen. They all share their food on social media but in the end, nobody knows how the other family member feels. They have no clue how their day went. Those people don’t even know each other. They’re strangers to each other and they don’t even realize it. They’re so focused on the square screen that they lose all sense of reality. Some people even talk to others while they’re staring at their devices.
Sounds like a great way to date someone right? Others pick up the device as soon as their company goes to the bathroom and they’re so intrigued by the things on that thing that they keep on watching when their company returns. It’s so bad that the company mostly takes out the phone as well.
So I rather go out eating on my own than being in the company of people who constantly stare at their phones. That’s just not the most pleasant company.
You can’t talk and stare at your device at the same time.
Multitasking is a myth. You can’t multitask, you’re just really good at lying to yourself. I once met someone that I hadn’t seen in a very long time on the streets. The person asked me how I was doing and took out that device before I could even answer. So I was waiting until that person was going to put it away. The person told me that I could talk because apparently, I was talking to a master multitasker. I just said goodbye and left. Later I heard that I came across as arrogant but was I arrogant?! Isn’t it arrogant to ask how someone is doing and then just take out your phone? That person didn’t seem interested if you ask me. That’s just my perspective though. Yours can differ.
I hate it when people take out their phone when I’m talking to them. I do. It’s a sign of disrespect but that’s what most people don’t get. Everybody is doing it so why would it be wrong? You’ll never hear criticism when you follow the crowd but watch out if you don’t follow the masses. Then you’ll be labeled as a weirdo. Because apparently, it’s weird to talk to people if you’re not staring at your phone. I’m pretty surprised that I have to write about this matter. I assumed that it was common sense but it seems like I was pretty damn wrong.
Are you using your device or it using you? Television and chill.
We have unlimited access to movies, games, tv- shows,… It’s doesn’t even matter if you paid for it or not. These days shows release multiple episodes in a row and you can binge-watch them all in a row during the weekend. After the weekend you need something to fill the hole because you’re out of shows now so you do the same thing with another show the weekend after. You can binge-watch shows and movies for less than 10 dollars a month. Why wouldn’t you do it? You’re bored to death so you pay it gladly. You want to pay it because it just eases your mind. It’s an easy way to kill time and kill your unhappy feelings well for the first 5 minutes of course.
After that, you’ll feel tired and sluggish. You’ll want to lay down and go to sleep. But the sad reality is that you’re not tired. You’re just uninspired. Our bodies aren’t made to live like this. We’re designed to be active instead of passive. In the past, we had to walk or run to catch our food. These days we have to walk or run to chase a virtual Pokemon. Times have changed. Times have changed indeed.
Are you using your device or it using you? The media.
You’re unworldly if you don’t watch the news but you’re misinformed if you do watch it. So what do you do? That’s a hard question, right? I don’t watch it. I have no clue what’s happening in the world. I just like to spend my time doing other more useful things. But the misinformed people believe everything that the media is selling them. The media isn’t about the truth, it’s about entertainment.
I remember a fun meeting some months ago. So I was the only one without a degree at that table and those people were asking me how I did financially. I didn’t have money problems (I still don’t) so I told them that I was doing fine and that I was going to travel to Stockholm for 9 days. They all looked at me and probably assumed that I was telling that to impress them. These people had all watched the news and they had heard that college dropouts mostly were unhappy and had a lot of money problems.
They were so full of themselves when they told that fact but 30 minutes later those people were complaining about how expensive the dessert was (it was 11 dollars and it was really good). They were the ones that were short in money but somehow they convinced themselves that I had to be one that had problems with money.
Don’t believe everything if you decide to watch the news.
This story might make you laugh but the sad reality is that my best friends (one dropped out and one never went to college) are financially more stable than most higher educated people. You’ll have people who’ve got money problems without a degree as well but that’s something that occurs with people who’ve got a degree as well. Some doctors and lawyers go into serious debt because they can’t handle money. The fact that you have or haven’t got a degree doesn’t guarantee you that you won’t have money problems. The way that you handle money is what’ll make sure that you won’t have money problems.
The media won’t tell you about the people with a degree who’ve got money problems. That’s not how things go in Utopia. Everything should be perfect if you follow the herd.
Reflect on what you see. Is it really how they present it to you? Have you ever questioned what you see? Just look outside and you might see that the world is exactly the opposite of what the media is telling us. That’s why I don’t watch the news. There’s too much information that you have to filter.
So, Alex, you’re bashing all devices.
It seems like that doesn’t it? But do I hate them? Of course, I don’t hate them. I even use them daily. Well some of them, only a laptop and the phone. But I use them because I need them to study MMA and launch my blog posts. I barely watch television, to be honest. Most movies suck just like most television shows. But I enjoy going to the theaters from time to time. You see everything can be good and bad. It’s all about moderation. Your phone can be used as a GPS but it can also be used to waste 6 hours of your day. You can learn new things by accessing the internet and you can waste 6 hours doing whatever you do.
I think it’s problematic if couples wake up next to each other and take their phones instead of talking to each other or having morning sex. Who would skip on morning sex to check their social media feed?!
I think it’s problematic if you spend 8 hours on your job and 6 hours a day on your phone.
In conclusion: devices.
You have some great power in your hands (literally so use it wisely). Use it to your advantage and don’t waste time on it.
But who am I to write about this matter anyway?
I’m just a dumb college dropout with money problems according to the media. They’ll probably claim that all these devices are great so I have to be wrong!
Why don’t you challenge your own beliefs instead of taking in everything that others tell you?
I rather tell you the uncomfortable truth than a comforting lie.
So be wise when you use your device.
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Till next time
Alex
