The Power Button

Ever wonder why the button on your phone is called the “power button?”

“because it powers up your phone duh….” Nah. I’d like to stray away from this ideology.

I’d like to think that it’s called “the power button” because YOU have the POWER to shut the thing off! 🙂 😉

When you hold down the power button, you have the power to disconnect from the mobile world. You have the power to eat your dinner in peace without a notification going off every 10 minutes about how you should “stream shows with your subscription to Xfinity” or “sign up today for [insert said advertisement here]”. Or this or that. Some quiet time.

You have to realize that I’m 23 and in college. I can’t be around another person my age without someone pulling out their phone and scrolling up and down on something. It simply isn’t so. Not in my generation. And then there’s me. Some call us “old souls.” We’re the ones who prefer to drive with the radio off and listen to the sounds of our thoughts. We’re the ones who prefer a handwritten letter over a text. Yeah… so weird right?

“Like… who does that?”

I’ll tell you who…

ME!

But I’m no angel folks.

I’ll be the first one to admit that I am addicted to my smartphone.

…an addiction not many people know they have.

the constant anxiety of “I should check my phone … see if someone has contacted me” is all too familiar in my neck of the woods.

However I’ll be the first one to tell you that I recognize the addiction. I see how it affects me and that’s why I’ve shut off my phone for the past week.

I needed a break…

My body was begging me for it.

It doesn’t mean I’ve shut off all my electronics altogether. I stay in contact to the people I desire to stay in contact with through my email which I check 1 to 2 times daily.

I get to decide when I check my email. My computer is at home and it doesn’t follow me everywhere I go.

My father highly contributed to me making this decision by texting me “What are you doing that you can’t respond back?” within a 10 minute margin of time (probably less than that) … uhh let’s see dad… eating? Maybe I like to pick up my plate with one hand and my fork on the other while I sit on the couch (I have no dinner table – fun fact) to eat my dinner… I would love to text you with my third hand but God didn’t give me one of those.. sorry?

No!

I shouldn’t even have to answer that question!

My phone is not a part of me.

I have the power to answer or not to answer.

I have the power to check it or not to check it.

I have the power to turn it off or turn it on….

And I have chosen to turn it off.

 

Curtains closed folks.

 

Sincerely,

Your Neighborhood Motherless Child

 

 

Sideline: The other day I ran across some new old technology that I thought was cool. It’s called “The Light Phone.” There’s 2 models: the light phone I and the light phone II. The light phone I only has 3 basic features. It allows you to make calls, receive calls, and look at the time. That’s it. No text. No email. Nothing else. For those of us who would like to take a break from our mobile slave masters but still need to have an open line for work calls or calling Triple A or 911 if need be. Check it out! (https://www.thelightphone.com/)