Unglue

UCLA graduates couldn't put down their phones.

That horrible moment: as you are heading to class you realize that you left your smartphone in your room and think: Oh crap. What do I do now? Do you risk being late for class in order to retrieve your phone? Do you continue on without it and risk going through withdrawal?

Odds are this has happened to you. But what do you do? Your answer to this may be influenced by your dependence on your phone. Some people may not be able to last a day without it, while others may enjoy the peace and quiet of ungluing themselves for the day.

A 2011 study found that 35% of American adults own a smartphone; that's over one-third. This is a rather large increase from the 21% found in a study done just two years earlier. Times are changing as more people (myself included) find themselves glued to their smartphones day and night. 

However, this dependence may actually lead to distractions in your everyday life. An article from the Herald Sun states "The psychologists found that some users become obsessive and upset when they do not receive notifications, such as Facebook or Twitter alerts, and email." They may repeatedly check their Facebook, Twitter, Email, and text messages in hopes to find something new, which just adds to their distractions. 

With so many apps available to download to your phone, it is easy to become distracted and lose track of the real world. An app even exists to help you see where you are walking while texting. This shows that many people don't want to put down their phones long enough to walk to their destination. Microsoft Corporation made fun of this fact with a series of commercials for their Windows Phone.

With so many apps available on your smartphone, you may feel that you have everything you need in the palm of your hand. It may be convenient, but think of the things you are losing out on: quality face-to-face conversations, going outside instead of checking the weather on your phone, or being at an event rather than hearing about it in text messages and Facebook statuses. Think of all of the memories you are losing out on by being permanently glued to your phone.

So how could unglue and become independent from your smartphone? Next time you find yourself:

• holding a phone conversation with someone while using the restroom,
• forgetting where you parked only to be reminded by your phone, 
• running into a door you didn't see while texting, 
• losing your phone and having an instant panic attack,
• realizing that your whole life is stored on that one small device 

Put down the phone; shut it off for the night. Interact with people. Trust me, people can be more fun to spend time with than your smartphone. And once you learn to let go, forgetting your phone might not be that bad of a thing after all. Who knows, you might even end up paying attention in class.