Mobile phone, dream killer of our time

The average person spends about eight years looking down his or her mobile phone. These touch screens are likely to be detrimental if not taken charge of.

What do we usually do when we are bored at functions? We turn to our phone for instant relief from mounting boredom.

We live in a world where in a room packed with friends, we can disengage because everyone is busy on his/her mobile phone; scrolling to read a Tweet, zooming to view a particular outfit and laughing out loud at a post.

Having whatever we want is just a click away. That is instant gratification, finding solace in phones without reckoning that ‘in-person’ conversation is the synergy of humanity. We have substituted reality with virtual engagements.

As more sophisticated and the easier phone usage becomes, the more suffocated we feel, due to how we use the medium, substituting human bonds and interaction with a 24/7 internet connectivity.

Averagely, people spend three hours and 15 minutes on their phones daily. They also check their phones on an average of 58 times daily. The average Ghanaian spends more than seven minutes on phone after waking up. Phones are the last we bid goodnight to, showing the rate at which we engage with them.

Harms

Being glued to phones, according to research, harms our health and dreams. Here are some tips to get you informed.

Mobile phones are designed by computer engineers who have studied game theories. Their next inventions are designed to manipulate and entice users to stick to their products, but these experts cannot factor human dreams and aspirations into these devices.

Phones have a huge influence on users, affecting their determinism in life. Mobile phones have killed more dreams than death ever could. Sleeping with the mobile phone influences decisions, thinking and dreams.

Good habit

Ideally, a good habit is to leave your phone out of the bedroom. When you rise, engage in a morning ritual of meditation, imagination, prayer, visualisation, etc.

Journal priorities and plan your day. Your mind will be activated and your dream and purpose will be in focus.

Writing should not be a thing of the past. Inculcate the habit of using sticker notes on walls, fridges and vantage areas in your room that will serve as reminders of what to think and how to think, instead of viewing Facebook posts or WhatsApp statuses.

A timely reminder of your ambitions on your phone will help you be in control of your phone.

Learn

With no restrictions, mobile phones can access any information we want with 24/7 internet connectivity; we must, however, learn to be picky with what is consumed when finding an escape for boredom.

Entrusting feelings to how people live on “social media” is dangerous. Seek help from family or friends ready to listen and help you heal.

A good conversation with a close relative is better than an anonymous person somewhere on social media.

As humans build their cognition, explore new phenomenon and experiment. Mobile telephony is subverted, breeding isolation in society.

Mobile phones should be assistive devices; helping us achieve the very best we can. In spite of its dynamics, there is a limit to its capabilities.

There is a need for us to maintain human conversations for balance and health in all endeavours. Own your phone, don’t let it own you.

The writer is a student, School of Communication and Media studies (SCMS), UEW.