Don’t Be a Zombie (i.e. Forget about your smartphone)

<Misc>  Looks like I am creating a new <Misc> category, for topics that don’t necessarily fit under the categories of <Personal Finance>, <Career>, and <Gaming>.  Because I’ve got lots to say about a lot of topics!

First topic is a bit controversial, seeing as most people love their smartphones, however I do want to vent some hot air, and hopefully stimulate some new thoughts on the subject for my readers.  To set the groundwork, it’s obvious, smartphones have taken over the world, and they are not going anywhere anytime soon.  And there are a lot of great benefits – New friendships, expanded perspectives, and just cool technology.  That being said, I see a lot of excess and a lot of negative effects – Just my observations, but whether it’s friends, family, or even complete  strangers, I have witnessed folks absolutely glued to their phones.  And when your glued to your phone you’re missing out on what’s right in front of you.  As we are all entering this smartphone era together and it’s brand new to all of us, I would simply recommend setting boundaries – Keeping in mind too much of anything is not good, we all need balance.  And it’s not easy to set boundaries, in fact the world (and the corporations profiting from smartphones – Manufacturers, social media sites, etc), all build apps specifically to draw you in.  To get you hooked, primarily so they can make advertisement profits (which I think is ridiculous, who has ever even bought a single item from a FB ad…?  I’m talking about the ads on the sidebar, not the posts boosted in the newsfeed as those do have merit).  Everything about Apps on our phones is meant to get the user to check and re-check and re-check for new content, which is just plain ridiculous.  It’s an obsessive-compulsive disorder and the proprietors of social media literally introduced the disease of ‘smartphone addiction’ to this world, without providing any guidance on how to keep things in check.

A few rather pointed suggestions:

• When you are at work, focus on your work.  Don’t be peeking at your newsfeed every 10 minutes.  You are not getting paid to check your phone and be a social butterfly.
• When you are out to dinner with the family, put away the phones.  Take 1 hour and connect with your family and really talk to them, there is zero reason to be on social media when you are at a family dinner.  It is not about the food, it is about the conversation.  In the ‘old days’, that kind of thing would result in discipline, it is called manners…
• When you are driving, don’t even think about texting.  You’re not that popular or important, it can wait.

So those are the hard suggestions, although I stated them a lot more mildly than I am actually thinking, but you get the point.  As I mentioned the decks are stacked against smartphone users, however here are a few more mild suggestions to help you find the balance that we should all be seeking:

• Turn off notifications.  No need for a ‘ding’ when someone tags you on FB, turn all notifications off.  If someone has something important to tell you they will call.
• Check your phone once or twice a day at set times – Lunch break at work, or in the evening after unwinding from work.  10 – 15 mins max per day.
• Slow down.  Take it easy and breathe and focus on one thing at a time.  The world is trying to force everyone to be multi-taskers.  In fact, it is not possible to focus 100% on more than a single item at a time… the more things going on, the more a person’s focus is scattered, which leads to lower quality results.
• Focus on your goals.  Every minute of the day you can be pursuing your goals and dreams and improving yourself and the lives of others.  When you get the urge to look at your phone, think about what you want to accomplish today and push forward with that objective.  Get it done.

Ah man I am getting stressed just typing about this!  😛  I just don’t like to see people acting like zombies, staring at their phones all the time.  Remember, you control your phone, it does not control you.  Be present in the moment, don’t let the devices take over.

<Gaming>

Speaking of zombies, I have been playing The Walking Dead: Season Two on Xbox.  OH MAN!  This game is brutal!  It follows a typical zombie apocalypse storyline, however really gets deep into the character development.  The main story is centered around a little girl, Clementine, who happens to find herself in the midst of all the crazyness happening around her, and she finds the strength and perseverance to be the strongest survivor of them all.

I haven’t watched The Walking Dead TV series which has been so popular for years, however I believe that this game adaptation follows some but not all of the storyline from the show.  The game is developed as part of a TellTale Series, which means that the player makes choices and decides on actions as part of the gameplay, which in turn affect the actual storyline and what happens in the game.  Not for the faint of heart, it is everything you’d expect from a zombie game, and then when you throw in the excellent character development, it takes you for an emotional ride as well.  Great quality all around, I would highly recommend checking it out: