I have found a flaw with my beloved iPhone 4. I know it's shocking, but it's true. It is stealing hours of my time. More accurately, hours and hours and hours of my time...wasted by a stupid phone. Okay, wait...I'm sorry. It is not a stupid phone. I regretted the words as soon as they came out. I love my phone.
But...
Between the apps - oh, the apps!!! Scrabble! Angry Birds! Tap Zoo! Sudoku! Chuzzle! Unblock Me! -and the instant access to Facebook, my e-mail, texting and the fabulous World Wide Web, I can (and have) spend countless hours (a whole afternoon...gone!) on my phone. These are hours I can never, ever get back. Not only time, but embarrassingly enough I have spent money (!) building a fake zoo. And I'm not even a gamer! I've never understood the draw, until now. I can't even remember the last time I spoke to someone on the phone. If I can't say it in a text, why bother? If I can't say it in a text, but really should - I send an e-mail. I can't even watch t.v. anymore without one eye on my phone.
That is...unless my child has stolen my phone and is playing one of his games on it. I had to change the password the other day, because he's hacked it twice and he uses it almost to the exclusion of all his other "toys". The little love dismisses any phone calls I might receive because it's interrupting his game. It has become the source of more than one argument between the two of us...because he always wants more...one more app, one more hour, one more second. "Just Wait" have become his two most favourite words.
I haven't read a book in 6 months. That's horrible. I have two books that I really, really want to read. It just so happens they're both coming out as movies...although, I wanted to read them before I knew they were movies. Well more accurately...I wanted to read them after I found out they were being made into movies, but before they actually were...Water for Elephants and The Help. (The Help, by the way has been toted as "one of the most important pieces of fiction since 'To Kill A Mockingbird'." *Gasp*) I have both in my possession...and they both remain untouched and a little dusty.
It is embarrassing the hold this phone has on us. And I can't really get mad at my child, he's just following the lead I've forged. I'm addicted. It's an addiction - an illness, really. I don't think we can be held accountable for our actions.
Okay, for real...I'm gonna make a resolution. I'm going to put the phone down. I'm going to use the phone as a phone. I know this is totally revolutionary and a little scary. But I'm going to do it. I'm going to read a book. I'm going to blog more often. I'm going to live my life instead of merely watching others live theirs. I'm going to set an example for my son, and here's the bummer for him...he's not gonna be able to use it, either. Well, let's not go completely crazy, right? I'll give him a time limit....it is a wonderful babysitter when mommy needs a few *me* minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment