Savyasaachi

I was apparently normal a year and a half back when a drastic change happened; my dad decided that I was finally smart enough to ditch my Jurassic age feature phone and got me a smartphone.

Now, I am addicted to this soul-sucking piece of plastic. Initially, if a few hours went by without checking it, my hands would sweat, my heart would pound and nothing would ease the subtle yet unnerving feeling that I was missing out on something… and it has gradually progressed over the year to a condition wherein once I get that fix, I want another hit and then over and over again just to go on! My life has turned into a big, fat texting, emailing, Whatsapping, Instagramming, Tweeting, Facebooking mess of crazy. I am caught in between desperately craving this fake social interaction of likes and comments, and realising it is all worthless. I realise it is an absolute waste of my precious time but well, I am pathetic.

There is a h/o continuously looking for a plug point wherever I go.

No h/o personal interaction with my family.

No h/o a peaceful meal.

No h/o seeing my fancy watch when asked for time (don’t have a smart watch yet).

No h/o crossing the road safely.

No h/o the phone being more than 2 feet away from me.

O/E: Conscious to self and remote surroundings but not to immediate ones. Eyes are red, fingers are sore, wrist movements restricted and probably the heart is slightly weaker and sperm count reduced.

Investigations: CAGE questionnaire:

• my parents have told me to Cut down my habit.
• I am constantly Annoyed by them for asking me quit.
• I feel Guilty occasionally for relying too much on my phone.
• Eye opener: the first thing I do after waking up in the morning and sometimes even half-asleep, is to check my phone.

Diagnosis: Smartphone addict with Nomophobia (the fear of being out of mobile contact) with no signs of life in failure yet. So, there is hope for a better future.

We’ve all fallen hard and fast for this addiction, and it is real and it is sucking the life out of all of us. Social communication has been reduced to silly emoticons which we gobble up and spit out over and over again. Buzz! Buzz! BUZZZZ!!!

What have we lost? Eye contact, long, meaningful conversations, the sense of touch, the ability to connect with another soul without a stupid machine wedged in between every interaction. I am not even going to list the medico-psychological issues that have come up with these gadgets.

As I Swype this article on my smartphone in the middle of the night, I do believe it has made my life a lot easier, but all things in moderation, right?

First step is admitting that you have a problem. It is time we decide if we are going to let them control us or if we are going to grab them by the arm, slap them on the butt, and say, "Now listen, you are living in my pocket and I am paying your monthly service fees, so you are going to follow my rules. And if you don't, you're going to bed without a charge. We created you and we can destroy you."

Are you addicted to your smartphone? How many times a day do you check your phone? Be honest. If you are not addicted, let me know any tips for quitting. For instance, putting the phone on a table and smashing it to smithereens with a hammer! Thank you and have a nice day.