My iPhone is My Phone.

Phones are a touchy topic as of recent years. They came out in the early 2000s and have catapulted into relevance to a point where the majority of people have them or something similar. Now, we have reached a point where they have started to become a highly debated topic. Many people believe that they are the best thing that could have ever happened to us, connecting the world in a way that was never thought possible by our ancestors. It is the way to learn, grow, and explore without having to put in the strenuous effort of doing them yourself. Other people believe that humanity is losing itself in our phones, like a parasite that steals our focus, time, and attention away from the more important things in life. I am somewhere in between these two extremes, as most people are.

Recently, a teacher of mine decided to give my class a challenge. He likes to offer weekly challenges about exercising or talking to others, but this new one was a heavily debated topic in our class. He had multiple levels of challenges, but the highest one was to give our phones to our parents and pledge to go a full week without them. I thought it seemed like an irresponsible challenge because of all of the things we use the phones for. I understood that he wanted us to get off of social media and platforms like that, but going without my phone seemed irrational. My parents wouldn’t be able to reach me, I wouldn’t be able to see the news, or even clock in at work. There was a tense discussion about them, and I was left annoyed about my teacher asking for such an extreme. Then I started to contemplate my time on my phone and how I feel about it.

My view on phones is that I love mine and feel connected to the world when I have it, but I do spend a lot of my time on it. I love listening to music and do it often, so having Spotify available lets me add some emotion or feeling to what I am doing, whether that be walking, driving, or working out. My phone is my connection to my friends and family, allowing me to discuss what they are up to and see how they are doing. I can send my friends funny videos or message them to connect over shared interests. As more and more of my friends have moved away to attend various colleges, my phone has been a way to keep those relationships alive. I also love video games and books, so playing games or reading on my phone is an accessible way I can do it all in one convenient place. I think that my phone is a reflection of me, like a mirror showing my favorite things and hobbies all in one chunk of metal.

But with all of those positives, there are some negatives. I spend a lot of time scrolling through social media and feel myself getting lost on pages and pages of content, just to forget what I just watched. It feels like I am not watching for enjoyment and enrichment, but just for the dopamine hit of scrolling and scrolling. Sitting at home and doing nothing but scrolling is not good for anyone, but I hear about people doing it all the time. Another issue with phones is more attached to social media. There are negative effects of those apps, like cyberbullying, compared to false lives, and spending your time on something that does not matter. If my phone is a mirror of myself, I feel like there are times where my reflection tries to pull me in, as if my other self wants to hold me there in its glass, suck me there with nothing to do but scroll and waste my life away.

I believe that there are positives and negatives to almost everything in this world, with phones being no different. Phones are a hot topic right now, and I think that inviting friendly debate is important to our society. I will be keeping my phone close as always, but try to be mindful of my time and energy, as well as making sure I can reach my goals with my time, and not getting sucked into the little glass screen of my phone.