Four reasons to ditch that iPhone…for a bit

This morning I was talking with my roommate/best friend as we simultaneously brushed our teeth and checkout ourselves in the mirror. We realized that we have few minutes like this in our busy days where we just stop and have to time to be alone with our thoughts. It actually took me a minute to realize that I was even brushing my teeth. My face became pale as she told me this was her first moment in the past 3 days where she was actually mindful with what she was doing…and without her cell phone.

I felt my life flash right in front of me as I walked through my daily routine in my head. Rarely do I unplug and let myself just breathe. If I’m not in class, at lacrosse practice or taking a break to eat, then I am on my phone or listening to music. I don’t walk through campus without headphones and really soak it all in.

I want to change that. I want to be more appreciative of the little things, which is something that I think all of us have put forth as a goal before, but being present in the moment is one of the hardest things about life.

Though technology has many obvious benefits, the connectivity that we have acquired has ironically disconnected us from the real world. Here are some reasons to stop and unplug, which I think you already know by now!

1. Connection. The more time you are apart from your cellular device, the more you are open and able to associate to the special people in your life.

2. Mindfulness. You miss things when you are constantly on your phone. Think about all of the times when you were bored and instead you turned to your phone. Look up from your phone and put it away! You will be so surprised at how many more things you appreciate.

3. Mental Clarity. When you put your phone away you instantly feel this burden is lifted from you. I find that all my obligations towards other people sort of float away and I can really focus on myself.

4. A Waste of Time. In the end of the day, cellular communication is for just that — communication. We live in a world where our connectivity somehow seems to determines our self worth. It almost is perceived that if other people aren’t constantly surrounding us and not on social media then there is something “wrong” with us. That is where we are wrong. Social media and communication are useful tools, but we should never forget that real life connectivity is the healthiest.