Dear Agony Aunt,
Whenever I hang out with my friends, it seems like we’re always on our phones. Whether were walking around the center, out to dinner, or hanging out at home. Once one person pulls out their phone, we all become glued to our own. We get more involved in our digital life than the real world around us. Any suggestions?
Your question reminds me of the Oscar-nominated movie Her, where the main character gets so enthralled with technology that he ends up drawing back from the real world. Obviously, you and your friends are ‘addicted’ to technology on a much smaller scale. Let’s face it—the reason technology is addictive is because it’s fun. Social media is entertaining, and so are games such as flappy bird. But too much of anything is never positive, and the same goes for media. Here are some suggestions to recover from this ‘addiction’.
When you’re out to dinner, suggest everyone pile their phones in the middle of the table. This may seem boring, but here’s the trick--the first person to look at their phone pays for dinner, that is, everyone’s dinner. In this way, it becomes a sort of game to see who can go the longest without checking their phone. Once this friendly competitive spirit is ignited, there’s no stopping it.
Another more long-term strategy is to simply be honest with your friends. Chances are they’re feeling the same way as you, but have just never said anything. We can all relate to how enthralling and time consuming technology can be, so being honest might very well be the first step to combatting your mutual addiction to your phones. After all, I’m sure you can all agree that spending time together is more important (and more enjoyable) than playing the latest mind-numbing game the app-store has to offer.
Hope this helps!
Agony Aunt