Personal Reflection Of The Simplification Test

As much as I regret to admit it, I’m attached to my phone. I’m constantly reaching into my pocket to check the time, make sure I haven’t gotten a new update, or to send a message. I do this even when I’m not talking to anyone! It’s become an addiction, having to make sure I’m not missing anything, and I'm not the only one who has this problem. Seventy-five percent of the world population has a cell phone, and that number will only increase. With the creation of new technology portions of life have become easier. Technology has changed the way we go through life. It’s made talking to people easier, as well as keeping up with the lives of others. However, the effects have affected the aspects of our lives that don’t include technology.

Being tethered to a phone, as opposed to simply having and using one, has become the norm and does more harm than good at times. People, especially teenagers, cannot seem to put the phones down. Some even admit to being addicted to their smart phones and experience anxiety when they are without it. According to Ellen Gibson, author of “Sleep with Your iPhone? You're Not Alone”, more than thirty-five percent of adults in the U.S. have a smart phone; two thirds of those people actually sleep with their phone due to the anxiety they feel from the thought of missing something such as a text, phone call, email, or social media posting. Gibson states “…being away from their phone will almost certainly cause separation anxiety… some people have become so dependent on being able to use their smartphones to go online anytime, anywhere, that without that access, they ‘can no longer handle their daily routine’”. To some, being addicted to a phone is like being addicted to a drug; there is a strong dependency that makes it hard to focus or concentrate on anything else. After speaking with a group of students from Cranston High School in Connecticut, Turkle says “These young people live in a state of waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put themselves on the line. Several admit that tethered to their phones, they get into accidents when walking” (236). This is an issue that will

Without the use of my phone I was unable to receive team emails and texts from my captains and coaches which was one of the biggest obstacles I was faced with. Therefore, I had to rely on my friend/teammate, Emily to tell me updates and important information. At one point I could tell she was getting annoyed with me, having to update me regularly. She even told me she subconsciously sent me a text message because she was used to the constant communication throughout the day. Disconnecting myself completely from media provided me with a new opinion and outlook on its powerful role in my own life and in the world.

I Can’t Put Down My Phone” by Margret Kaminski talks about how the majority of people are addicted to their cell phones. She talks about a student who experienced a panic attack because he left his phone at home. Margret mentions that the sounds of the phone are meant to grab our attention, but we should try to spend less time on our phone. It is hard for people to focus on homework or anything else when there is a phone right next to them (Kaminski).

I am constantly on my phone almost every second of everyday; texting friends, scrolling through Instagram, tweeting, or sending ugly snapchats of myself. All behind a screen, I felt connected to my friends, my followers, and the world. However, I was actually slowly losing my grasp on reality as I indulged myself in the world of social medias. Reality hit when parents came to Wellness Committee with concerns about their children’s overwhelming use of technology. As the Director of the Wellness Committee, this issue became my focus because I realized that constantly being on technology was unhealthy. It was also affecting the connections I made with people in real life; I was always too busy on my phone to make conversation with the those around me. I wanted my peers to be aware of this and to encourage them to disconnect from technology and connect with the real world. Therefore, I organized an informative community block and a no-technology lunch with the Chair of the Wellness Committee.

In this editorial, Live Science writer Kelly Dickerson found in a study that people who pulled out cell phones throughout a discussion found the conversation less rewarding. She claims that the compulsion to check our cell phones and the essential to stay tied into the straight network system can make people withdraw from their current activities, and it can produce anger between them and their family and friends. Cell phones are not only taking away the time alone to damage our associations with others, but we have similarly lost the incapability with people without watching at our phones and being present with another person.

“…are symptoms of how technology captures our attention and disrupts our connections” (Goleman 5). The more people are on their phones, the smaller the opportunity is to look someone in the eyes and have a human moment—to talk, to share, to comfort. Living in Seattle, I’ve used public transportation plenty of times and in all those times, I’ve noticed no one is looking at one another or outside—everyone is glued to their own phones. Go into a crowded room full of people—regardless of age—and the majority will be on their phones instead of communicating with one another. “You know it’s not right to check your phone when you’re with someone, but it’s addictive” (Goleman 8). While some may see nothing wrong in constantly checking your phone, the majority recognize it is an issue, but decide to overlook it. The ability people have in quickly overlooking a major issue, despite age or gender, proves the level of addiction towards our technological

Everybody has some kind of routine they follow. Whether it be a small ritual you do when you get up in the morning, or it be your daily schedule. There has got to be something in your day that if you don’t do, you feel weird. For most teenagers these days, or anyone for that matter, it might be checking their cell phone. Let’s take that for example. Most people with any kind of money have a cell phone. What about those who are just scraping by? They don’t have money to waste on something so unnecessary. They’re normal day is probably way different from the average cell phone owner. Someone with a cell phone, or to be more specific: a smartphone, would probably have a chaotic day without their phones because they tend to center their lives around this device.

The first seven hours were challenging, being disconnected from my virtual communications made me become aware of my unknown behaviors tied to my phone. For example, when I felt bored or get disconnected from a conversation I would grab my phone with the intentions of surfing the web or visiting my social media platforms. Secondly, at home, I would hear my phone ringing or vibrating and would rush to check it but of course, it was off. This taught me how daunting it is to contact or meet someone without a text and the overwhelming feeling of being unsure if they will find you at your meeting destination.

The cell phone has become a centerpiece of everyday life as cell phones are evolving and have been increasing their functionalities. Today, we use them today for many others reasons than what cell phones were originally designed to do. People are using them so often that they are becoming dependent on their phones that they have even become addicted to them. Those who are addicted to their cell phones struggle to stay away from them for a certain period of time and become so indulged in all of the unique things they can provide. With cell phone addiction comes many problems or issues that can occur in an individual’s life. Cell phone addiction has lead to differences in people mentally, physically, and behaviorally.

One problem with cell phones in today’s society is that they have become major distractions. Cell phones are distracting employees in the workplace and are leaving them with their jobs halfway done. Everywhere in the business industries, the employees are hard at work re-tweeting and catching up on the latest newsfeed rather than managing their time more wisely. Not only are cell phones a distraction in the workplace, they are also a distraction and disruptive in school districts, causing students’ attention to be elsewhere. Many students would rather text in the middle of class instead of pay attention to what the teacher is reviewing. In this case, students do not gain the amount of education provided for them. In addition to cell phones being distracting, people often like to multi-task by walking or driving while texting. These things cause them to be unaware of their surroundings. Texting while driving has become a major issue because texting and driving can lead to car crashes which are often fatal. On the other hand, texting and walking isn’t too bad, but can cause a little bit of embarrassment. There are stories of people walking into walls and bumping into people or tripping over a table because their nose seems to be stuck in their phone. To some, being on their cell phone is more important than grades, clients, and others around them.

The client expressed that she wants to change her habit of checking and using her phone constantly throughout the day. As an interviewer, I hope to strengthen facilitators and limit the barriers with the behavior change. A facilitator that the client expressed that can assist with the behavior change are times during the day or events that she is least likely to use her phone. Most of the time, it is something that distracts her from the phone, like watching movies at a movie theatre where phone usage is a restriction or while hanging and eating out with friends that involves more direct conversation. A barrier that I understood from the client’s response during the interview is that she always has her phone on her. This prevent her from detaching

To find an answer I chose to make a commitment to disconnect from social media and texting for two entire days. I had made friends, colleagues, and my parents aware of the decision I had made. And the responses I got were differed from each individual. A few friends sort of questioned my reasoning behind my action and as they became more informed they were more understanding. My mom on the other hand told me “how are you going to do it”, her comment was the most shocking to me. I had figured she of all people would be completely understanding and okay with me going without a phone. When she was my age she didn’t rely on technology, her means of

Unfortunately, cell phones have become one of the biggest challenges instructors face in college classrooms as these devices have become a pervasive part of young people's lives. What used to only make phone calls and send text messages, now does our emailing, sends us Facebook and Snapchat notifications, and plays music. Additionally, our cell phones are not only used for personal activities, but for school and work life. We want to be reachable in case of an emergency, but the constant stream of notifications has led our productivity to significantly tumble down. Recently, I noticed that in many of my classes, even though the professor says there is a “no phone” policy, many students are scrolling through their social media feeds or responding to a text rather than paying attention to the lecture of the day. I admit to using my phone constantly during class, which often has led my grades to suffer poorly. Rather than paying attention to the lesson, I was checking on buzzing notifications of entertainment news and random trivia. Because I was not listening to my professor earlier in the day, I had a difficult time trying to complete the homework assignment. Thus, in an attempt to be epistemic temperate, for the last two days, I tried to not use my phone during class lectures and study time to measure my productivity.

If I were to ask each of you if you were able to go an entire day without your mobile device, very few can say they`d be able to do so. In fact, in a recent TIME Magazine Mobility Poll, 84% out of 5000 people surveyed in 8 different countires, admitted that they couldn’t go a single day without their phones and a third of respondents admitted that being without their mobile device for even short periods of time leaves them feeling anxious. It is clear that whenever we`re waiting for those last five minutes before the bell rings to every class, our automatic impulse is to reach for our phone. Do you really need to check anything that important? The sad truth is that we have become far too dependent on our phones. The fear that we might miss the latest gossip, or the most recent updates on all of our social webesites seems more like an addiction than anything else. We`ve clouded our vision as to what is really important, and that is-quality human interaction.