I Am An iPhone Addict (please help!)

by redpillpapa · 3 comments

in Character,Technology,Toys+Products

My wife and I are trying. She has her own fashion business and I work from home. As much as I hate to admit it, my iPhone is usually on the floor next to me while playing with our daughter. I check it at red lights while driving. It’s on the table at restaurants and nearby at the dinner table. I wake up to my email in bed and go to bed reading the news or playing a game. I listen to music on it and I listen to audio books. I watch movies and YouTube videos on it and am always looking for the perfect app to make my life feel complete (I’ve found some pretty good ones, but I know no such thing exists!). My wife has an iPhone and a Blackberry and an important email takes precedence no matter where we are or what we are doing. We no longer have uninterrupted time. I hate this about us, but I’d also hate to miss an important email or call. I know that boundaries are important and I know that Olivia is seeing us check our little screens regularly, so needless to say, she enjoys holding our devices and getting in a game or looking at photos whenever she can.

Red Pill Parents, what are we going to do about this? I am embarrassed. This is my call for help. Giving my daughter my undivided attention is my primary concern, but I have been weakened by my addiction to immediate information.

Who has conquered this nasty habit and is ready to share? I know so many of us are facing the same temptations to sneak an email/Facebook/Twitter check when we are playing with our kids, dining, driving, in bed, etc… If we are behaving like this, how do we ultimately protect the next generation from being even more glued to their screens? And this will surely come at the expense of being able to focus for prolonged periods, listen attentively to conversation and function in a way that we would regard as ‘normal.’

The article below goes more in depth on this topic:

Click here to read “Increasingly, the rarest experience in family life is undivided attention” courtesy of guardian.co.uk

Please, let’s discuss…

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Anastasia January 13, 2010 at 7:54 am

My sister has an iPhone, and I often joke that when I see her, I see more of the top of her head than her face (as she crouches down over the latest email).

Honestly? I think you have to go cold turkey. Just turn it off, and don’t look at it until you’re not busy with something else (I know, I know. We’re always busy with something else).

My email is up all the time at home, and I check it almost every time I pass by my computer. The most success I have had ignoring it is when I make the conscious decision to set aside 15-20 minutes later (like when my kids are napping or when my husband gets home), to get done whatever I need to get done.

Sharon April 13, 2010 at 11:04 am

Hi RPP…Dining with two work colleagues last week, I was left entirely out of the “conversation,” which consisted of them comparing and showing off their iPhone apps and singing the praises of this life-encompassing gadget. I was so disgusted I…went out and purchased a Droid!!! I now understand the seduction. Let us all fight and stay strong! Until these devices can breathe, sweat, whine, joke and kiss, I think we have a fighting chance.

Red Pill Mama April 16, 2010 at 2:08 pm

Sharon, so glad you’ve joined us — stay strong!

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