Give Me My FIX

Dear Phone and Social Media Apps,

I just wanted you to know how much I love you. Here’s why.

1. You are always there for me. I can go to sleep with you next to my side no matter where I might be.

   

2. I get so excited and happy thinking about clicking on those pretty apps. I can’t wait for that dopamine release. It feels so good.
3. I feel so special when I see those responses or bells ringing. I will do as much as possible to be sure that I always have some kind of new notification. I feel so bad when there’s nothing to read (even though I just checked the notification 30 seconds earlier).

   

4. I don’t like it when your battery gets low. I will always keep you charged, even though you are really draining my creative powers, concentration, and relationships.

   

Thank you, thank you cell phone and social media. Please never leave me.

While the things I’ve said above might be sound a little far fetched, in reality, I think we can all relate (even myself). Cell phones are powerful. I’m listening to music on my cellphone as I write this blog. Social media is powerful. And addictive. And time-consuming. And addictive. Wait, hold on a second I just got a new notification, let me check my phone really quickly.

Okay, I’m back!

This blog was inspired by something I heard yesterday. I may have read about this on ESPN or when I was working out yesterday. I also just received an email from another blogger who wrote about it as well. It’s an interesting decision a head coach of an NFL team just made. Did you hear it? The new coach of the Arizona Cardinals Kliff Kingsbury has just implemented a new “cell phone break” for his players. Kingsbury used to coach in college and is apparently bringing this new “cell phone break” to his NFL job.

What do you think about that? It’s getting a lot of news. I remember when I was with Pfizer how I would love to get on my phone during breaks. My last year with Pfizer was in early 2009. I believe I was on Facebook during that time, so I was probably checking social media as well. I think it’s safe to say that social media can quickly turn into an addictive habit. I’m still working on creating more distance with my phone and social media. It will be interesting to see how things play out with the Arizona Cardinals. I admire football players in that they have to memorize so much information. Their playbooks are crazy big. But I do wonder if the really elite players like Tom Brady and Drew Brees take these same kinds of breaks during team meetings?

How will this affect the mindset and concentration of the players? I know when I’m working at the building putting a sermon together, that I like to get in a rhythm, where I don’t have a lot of distractions. I also know how I do like to take a break so I can walk around for a few minutes to stretch or clear my head. This also seems to be a part of the strategy of Kingsbury new policy.

My take on this is that we all could do better when it comes to our phones and social media. Yep, I’m guilty too. The fear of missing out is something that is real. It’s so real, we will check social media while driving a vehicle that weighs a ton at 75 m.p.h.

The fear of missing out is so real we can begin to feel anxiety when we go a long period without using our phones. WOW. That’s nuts. But sadly true. I’ve always wondered what players do during half time.

Are they allowed to check social media during the middle of a game? Maybe they are. Or if they’re not, this could be the beginning of another new policy. Maybe Kilff Kingsbury is smarter than all of us. Maybe he knows something we don’t. That could be the case. We shall see.

As I wrap this up, below are some practices I’m doing with the never-ending battle of me staying under control when it comes to my cell phone and social media use. These are the strategies I’ve been using. Let me know what you think and what is working well for you as well.

I CAN DO…SO CAN YOU.

Some Things I’m Doing.

1. When I get home I turn my phone off and leave it in our “Drop Zone” for electronics.
2. I play a game when I drive not checking texts or social media. It can actually be a really hard game to win.  It’s a reminder for me how much work I still have to do.
3. When I’m studying or writing a sermon, I’ve been putting my phone on airplane mode to reduce interruptions.
4. I delete apps when the temptation becomes too much or when I feel like I’m checking social media too much. I did this recently with Instagram and totally forgot what my password was. It was great and when I finally logged back in I realized I hadn’t missed a thing.
5. I’m putting my phone in a different room when I go to bed (or at least I’m trying to even more).

Have a great day! Thanks for reading.