Your Smartphone is Turning You into an Animal - And Not in a Good Way

Your smartphone is turning you into an animal.

Let’s talk about what you can and must do about it.

Freedom is one of the defining features of human beings. It’s what separates us from animals.

But what kind of freedom, you might ask? Apart from those living in the zoo, animals seem to be way more free than we are. They don’t have to wake up to go to work, they have no bills to pay, etc.

I'm referring to a different, more fundamental kind of freedom.

We are free from the rigid chain of stimulus and response that animals are enslaved by.

Humans have the ability, unlike animals, to hold multiple impulses on pause and then make a decision based on their long-term goals and core values, rather than their most immediate desires.

Or at least that should be the case. But what happened?

It’s the god damn phone.

I’m not saying there aren’t other things deteriorating our human capacity for making a pause and consciously directing our lives. But nothing comes close to the phone.

Just think about it. The first thing most people do when they’re bored is just pick up their phone. It’s so easy and convenient. But it’s not even about being bored! We don’t take the time anymore to process how we’re feeling, whether it’s bored, sad, or exhausted. The moment we are not talking to someone or engaged in an important task, we reach for our phone and open our favorite app.

However, our ability to have meaningful conversations and execute important tasks is hindered by our need to constantly check our phones. So we end up being less engaged in important tasks than we should be, leaving more empty space for mindless phone usage.

But why do we reach for them so easily and so often? 99% of the time, you wouldn’t be able to give a reason. It’s automatic behavior. Just like ending up scrolling for a full hour when you just wanted to “check your phone” feels automatic. No different from an animal enslaved by the rigid chain of stimulus and response. At least they spend time in nature.

I’m not going to suggest you delete all your social media and throw away your phone. (Although it seems the world and humanity would start healing if we all collectively did it for a while.)

We need to have a more realistic approach. So I have a simple (not easy) challenge for you:

Practice that pause.

I’ll give you an example. After the last call of the day with my clients or community, my automatic response is to reach for my phone and “reward” myself with some social media time. It’s embarrassing to acknowledge how automatic this response is. It sometimes feels like there is zero space between ending the call and realizing I’ve been scrolling for an hour. That is, unless I challenge the impulse and consciously practice that pause.

Because I’ve identified a recurring moment in my daily life where there is a strong impulse trying to deny my human freedom, I can address it. I set a clear intention to start a practice of conscious breathing, do some light movement, or write a message to a loved one right after the call has finished. I even allow myself to check my phone and social media after one of these three practices. But, by breaking the chain of stimulus and response, I’m using my phone more intentionally and am far less likely to get hypnotized into an hour-long scrolling session.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

-What is a recurring moment in my daily life where I tend to get lost in the automatic response to my impulses?

-What are the activities appropriate for the usual setting of that moment that I could use to create a pause between the impulse and response?

-If the recurring moment is fixed in time and part of my schedule, would I benefit from setting an alarm for right after it ends?

-If the recurring moment is more spontaneous, can I take 30 seconds at multiple points in the day to set an intention of practicing a pause before engaging in behavior that feels automatic?

I’m not promising you’ll win the battle for your attention once and for all. We are living in the digital age and it seems like this is the battle of our lives that isn’t going to end anytime soon.

But I see no more straightforward way of reclaiming our humanity than practicing the unique human ability to pause, reflect, and make a conscious choice.

Thank you for reading.