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Dear iPhone–It Was Just Physical, and Now It’s Over
- taylodl 8y agoSo a smartphone is an all-or-nothing proposition? I don't think so. My smartphone has improved my family life. As a background, my family consists of myself, my wife, two kids in graduate school, and a kid in high school. We have a family chat (group iMessage) we utilize nearly every day with everyone texting something interesting they've learned and seen or reacting to major news events. It really keeps us connected. During lunch at work my friends and I will watch YouTube videos together that one of us have found interesting or entertaining. I say this to provide a counterpoint that smartphones can actually help bring families and teams closer, making them more cohesive. Now there are downsides, and those can be mitigated with some simple rules. First, and probably most important, no phone usage during dinner. Not only is the phone not allowed to be used, it's not allowed to be present at the dinner table. We have the same rule at lunch. No phone unless we're watching a YouTube video together or someone is looking something up that's relevant to a conversation we're having. Similarly, our company has a Be Here Now policy for meetings. Phones are to be put away and notifications are to be disabled. You're even allowed and encouraged to call people out for violating this policy. Once you've done these simple things something starts to happen: your phone becomes a part of your life instead of consuming the entirety of your life. You realize there's a time and a place for everything and learn how to achieve better balance. The all-or-nothing approach is not balanced.