Smartphone Junkie

It's a tool, not life.

A smartphone is a tool, not life. I’m rarely on my phone these days, but that wasn’t always the case. Like most folks, I used to think I couldn’t function without my cell. I was a smartphone junkie. But, seven years ago everything changed when my life was flipped upside down. I lost everything, or so I thought. In reality, I actually ended up gaining Life itself. I won’t go into everything that’s changed, but there’s one thing in particular that’s made a huge difference in my day to day life. Something I have noticed a number of other Substakers talk a lot about recently; Smartphone use.

Until the bottom of my world fell from underneath me, I was completely and utterly addicted to my phone and social media. I not only ran a retail business, with both a brick-and-mortar storefront and an online store. But I also headed up the Facebook page of our local high school’s Touchdown Club, which included live streaming games and special events. Sound familiar? I now estimate that I easily averaged more than 10 hours per day engaged in social media. So in reality, a large part of my life was filtered through my smartphone.

Looking back now, I see that stepping away from the smartphone was key to my personal transformation. I now know that having no device to scroll continuously is at least part of the reason I found books. Therefore, it’s the reason I found writing! And to quote one of my favorite Substackers, “Reading books is the ultimate cheat code for life.” Thanks Friend , I 100% agree!

I’ve just now started to re-engage in social media. I avoided it like the plague for over six years. Honestly, I was afraid to jump back in because I know how swift the current is. But I also know that in today’s new technological world, social media is a necessity if you want to succeed in any business. And I do want to make a living from my writing, so I sucked it up and joined LinkedIn, Instagram, and X back in October, a month after I launched my website. It wasn’t until months later that I came across Substack, and while this isn’t a ‘How great is Substack’ article….I’m just saying, “How great is Substack!”

Substacker, Austin Schrock, is attempting to live and write about how much more fulfilling life can be when one is not controlled by a device. His newsletter, The Undistracted Life is a great example of how rich life can be when you stay mindful, and try to limit your smartphone use.

Sean Dietrich, another one of my favorite Substackers is on his sixth week of “using a dumbphone.” I truly admire his bravery! Sean gets it, or is beginning too. He’s mentioned more than once that he’s seen a major boost in creativity in these past six weeks.

My mentors are constantly reminding me of the fact that the joy in life is found in the moment. And that the only way to find such joy is to be fully present in the now.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so, wants nothing.” -Seneca

How can we “enjoy the present” while staring at a phone screen? Doesn’t “anxious dependence upon the future” precisely sum up the endless scrolling of social media?

“As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease.” -Eckhart Tolle

Happiness is in this moment. It’s right here in front of us right now. It’s the person sitting across from you at dinner. It’s your friends and family, it’s what’s presently happening to you. It’s not what’s on your smartphone screen happening to someone else. I’m not saying that we should go full “dumbphone” like Sean, although maybe that’s what it takes to break the cycle. But what I am suggesting is that maybe if we just use it as a tool, and not filter our entire existence through it, we can be a bit happier.

It’s a communication device, a map, a library. It’s a calculator, a news source, a clock. It’s a camera, a wallet, a calendar, and a weather forecaster. It’s a tool. Can’t we just leave it at that?

Thanks for reading! How do limit the amount of time you spend on you’re smartphone or social media? I’d love to hear your tips and thoughts in the comments.

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