Apple. Blackberry. Friend? Foe? Or just plain fruit?

What’s the first thing that springs to mind when I say apple, blackberry and orange. Surely it’s ‘mmm fruit salad’. Right? No? If you thought ‘two brands of smartphone and a mobile service provider’ then we need to talk.

I want to have a little chat about an alarming global pandemic. Global is probably the wrong term. Let’s call it a first world pandemic. Phone addiction. I saw a satirical piece recently, with a picture and quote saying “Tonight, my friends are all coming over to play on their phones.” I couldn’t even find the humour in it because it’s true. We’re too busy staring at the little screen we hold in our hands to have decent actual human interaction. We’ve basically created a 2^nd life. There’s our physical life and our digital life. And our digital lives seem to be taking over. No word of a lie, it really scares me. I sit around and worry about how this will all eventuate.   

There is even an official phobia relating back to our phones. Nomophobia (No-Mobile-phobia) is the fear of being out of mobile contact, causing symptoms of anxiety, panic, nausea and sweating. I’m not kidding. Admittedly, if I leave my phone at home I do feel a little naked and disconnected, and when I can’t immediately locate it in my handbag there is a slight panic. But I’m astonished that nomophobia actually exists. On the other hand I’m not surprised in the slightest.  

Every now and then I snap and try and pull in the reins on Tania Digital Myles by removing all the waste of time apps off my phone. I just did this a few days ago. Solitaire...gone. Face-in-hole…gone. Facebook…gone. After the initial shock, it’s amazing how liberating it actually feels. Instantly, you start to take more notice and interest in your non-digital surroundings.

Even after deleting a stack of apps, I still have 24 (on top of the official ones I can’t delete). But they’re mostly informational or productivity based, like JourneyPro and 1Password. There are a few dubious ones I have left, including Twitter. But I guess it’s about knowing what’s hindering the quality time with the real world that I feel like I was missing.

One day I might backtrack and reload all my apps. But for now, I’m enjoying the space my iPhone and I needed.