Last week, i activated the “Do not disturb” function on my iphone and i set it to be active all day, 24 hours.
I realize that my smartphone is a very powerful tool that i should master on my own terms.
In the last years, very subtly, my iphone has taken over the control of my mind and of my focus. I feel that a part of me has become enslaved to this tool that is supposed to serve me and keep me informed.
With a continuous barrage of endless notifications for emails, messages texts, facebook message, etc…etc… i was no longer the master of my attention. Multiple times per hour, my phone would signal me like an annoying brat who constantly says : Hey! you got something important here! Have a look!! Ding, ding ding!!! Most of the time, it would be nothing important but i could not resist the urge to check, just in case… And when my phone was silent for over an hour, the withdrawal symptoms would kick in and i compulsively checked my phone, just in case…. I would eventually become technostressed by the constant pressure to instantly respond to all requests, emails and messages.
In the last 7 days, my life was different. I decide when i need to be informed about what’s going on in the social – professional – personal spheres of my life. I did not know that i was technostressed before this pressure was removed from my life.
From now on, when i am with you, i am really with you. It’s not me, you and the phones between us…
From now on, when i am working, i am really working. It’s not me, my work and the phone that buzzes every 5-10 minutes.
When i need to check my email or messages, i do it when i decide to do it not when my phone tells me to.
If you have an emergency, try talking to me, i will accept phone calls.
Otherwise, if i don’t answer instantly to all requests and messages, you must understand that it’s not you, it’s just that I am busy focusing on life, work and people.
Martin Pham Dinh 