If you were born between 1980-96 you are a millennial, from 97-2010 you are Generation Z. What do these two have in common? Apparently, we’re both addicted to our phones!
My phone has my life on it, I won’t lie. I would be lost without it. It contains my contacts, my photos, my music, my entertainment, my communities. I’m also proud to say I can remember a time without smartphones when mobile phones were far and few between. I didn’t have iPads around me growing up and our boxy computer just about let us load The Sims. I got my first mobile at 11, so I could walk to and from school and be able to contact my mum. The phone was a tiny pink flip up, it had one game and the text limit was about the size of a tweet. It did not have the internet and everything was paid for via credit, so I didn’t have unlimited use on the little pink device.
So I didn’t spend a lot of time with technology as a kid, which means I did end up spending a lot of time with books. With no Netflix as entertainment, no iPad to fill my time and no phone to be glued to, I was left to spend a lot of time with the fiction in my books. Fast forward fifteen years and I’m surrounded by smart technology, phones, iPads, laptops, games consoles. All activated with just the press of a button. and the effect of having all of this tech an arm’s reach away? I tend to find myself reaching for my phone more than my book.
Across June I decided to consciously put down my phone more, in favour of picking up a book. So far, when writing this, I’m halfway through the month and have already finished four books. Which is usually the max I would finish over a month, let alone halfway through. What am I doing differently? I’m literally just ignoring my phone more. Whether I’m leaving it in a separate room, setting it to ‘Do Not Disturb’ or just ignoring any buzzes it makes. I am for sure seeing results from this, I’m feeling more creative, calmer and I’m enjoying my books more.
I think it’s easy to enter into a reading slump, even when reading an amazing book because sometimes you’re distracted from actually picking up said book. Sometimes it takes me weeks to finish books I’m enjoying, just because I’m not picking it up enough to read. I had this revelation when it was sunny a few weekends ago because I finished two books over the bank holiday weekend. My method? I sat outside in the sun on my swinging chair, I left my phone in the house, it was just me and my book.
I’ve also felt massively motivated at the moment to read more because I rearranged my bookshelves and reminded myself of all the amazing books I still wanted to read. I take inspiration and motivation from others too, so watching new BookTube videos and talking to people about books to read for YALC, both got me excited to read more. It also helps that I am reading some really brilliant books at the moment. I also know when to DNF a book and accept that it just wasn’t for me.
This is probably all fairly obvious, but it took me kicking myself up the butt to actually get on with it. So why not set yourself a challenge in July to put down that phone and pick up a book! If you don’t trust yourself, then there’s an app called Forest that lets you build trees the longer you don’t touch your phone. If you exit the app during a ‘do not touch’ session, then you kill your tree. So if you’re happy to traumatise your brain with a digital forest, this could be a good threat to not pick up your phone.
Of course, this isn’t to say phones totally hinder our reading progress. With the introduction of apps like Audible, we’re now able to listen to books on the go using our smartphones. Similarly, we can download eBooks directly onto our devices and have them with us anywhere we go. I certainly see the merits of phones and reading, but overall my phone is a distraction. It holds so much on it that can suit my brain’s seemingly shrinking attention span, that it is the default choice of entertainment. I’m reconditioning myself to pick up books as I did as a child, it’s tricky, but I’m getting there!
I agree with this 100%. I am a GenXer but my life now centers around my phone and my FOMO. I am terrified to go anywhere without it because there may be an emergency and I won’t be on hand to get the message without having my phone with me 24 hours a day. It causes me a lot of anxiety to be without it, however, I am going to grow my trees with that app you suggested. I am also making a conscious effort to read real paper books and steer away from the e-books as I get more enjoyment out of the paper books and truthfully, paper books are more convenient for me because I never have to plug them in to charge.
I agree about trying to read more paper books. That’s always my preference, certainly helps me switch off from technology!
I was born in 1994 and my family was kind of poor back then so when people started having phones, we were still with a beeper. We were always behind. And that helped greatly at the time. But now, I hate to admit that I’m addicted to the phone and it’s bad. A few weeks ago, I gave my phone to my husband for various days and it was so freeing! I need to do it more often!
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
It is always quite freeing to be without it for some time, I agree!
I agree and I have to make an effort to not touch my phone or pick it up and scroll through Instagram. I have an iPhone and you can have a time allowance on some apps so I find that helps a lot!
Those kind of apps are very handy!
I completely agree with this. I think we’re about the same age, as I also remember a time when we didn’t have phones, and the internet was only something you could enjoy at home after finishing your homework. I have also made an active choice to try to put down the phone and read more. It was quite hard at the beginning, but like every other habit, it’s a muscle and needs to be trained.
Is it easy? No, it’s not. Distractions are everywhere, notifications are always there to remind you to check check check!
It takes a bit of willpower, but it’s possible.
Thanks for your post.
Maggie
It’s definitely possible with some will power, we just have to really stick at it!
I couldn’t agree more with this, as soon as I read the title I thought ‘yes’. At the same time though, I’ve discovered so many amazing new authors and books thanks to the likes of Goodreads and Bookstagram, so it’s definitely not all bad. I just wish I didn’t have the constant ‘FOMO’ feeling!
Evie x | http://www.eviejayne.co.uk
Haha, I know that feeling!
I use my phone to check the time and I’m one of those people who checks what time it is A LOT, but I find myself detouring into other apps quite frequently too. I’ve been thinking about getting a watch to curb this habit. I totally tried your suggestion with the Forest app today and it worked! It actually even helped with interruptions. My husband came home and started talking to me and then he noticed that I was trying to earn a tree and respectfully quieted so I could read. Haha. I totally agree that TV and phones take away from reading time. I need to disconnect more.
I love this post so much! Thanks for writing it!
Ahh I’m glad you enjoyed reading it Stephanie! I’m also glad the Forest app is working for you and your husband is respecting your little digital trees!
Great post! Haha, I’m GenX, and spent all of my childhood without tech. I love my tech, but I have noticed more and more I’m distracted by phone games 🤣 I may have to check out that Forest app!
However, one of the best investments I ever made was my Kindle. I actually have taken to reading on my walks. (Yes, I stay safe and aware)
It’s scary how addicted we can all get! Kindle is fab for being portable!
Phones are definitely a distraction, not just from reading but for life in general as well. Though I do use my phone regularly, I know I’m not addicted to it thankfully. However, I do know a lot of people who can’t function unless their phone is in their hand and they are actively acknowledging it, which is kind of sad. Yes, phones give us the world at our fingertips, but there is more to life than just a screen. That’s great that you were able to get so much reading done by simply ignoring your phone. Back at the end of 2018, our family decided to start reading daily after dinner. We read for about an hour every day and it’s amazing how much of a dent we have put into the books we own. Even my husband, who really isn’t a reader has gotten through so many of his books. During our reading time, no phones are allowed to be within reach, just to eliminate the temptation of picking them up. I think we all need to set time aside each day to ignore our phones and do some reading or something else.
What a great post, Beth! Although I’m still pretty young, most of my childhood wasn’t spent with a smartphone in hand. I didn’t receive my first phone (a Blackberry) until I was 13, and didn’t have a smartphone until 16. Because of this, I’m proud to say that I’m not *highly* addicted to my phone, yet I find myself reaching for it more often than I would like. What I do to make sure I read more (instead of being distracted by my phone), is turn off all my devices before heading to bed. If I can’t sleep, I’ll pick up a book rather than browse instagram for 2 hours! 🙂
Totally find sometimes I could be reading but I spend hours scrolling, trying this month to make a conscious effort to pur my phone down and read more
Great post!! I’m not too bad at getting through books because of my commute but I can’t remember the last time I lost myself in it for hours without picking up my phone – definitely something I need to change. You’re making me feel very inspired now – thanks!
I try to be good. I never understand why people constantly have their data on and people do spend way too much time on their phones. I’ve noticed I get sucked into the internet and I’ve tried to cut my usage down but I still could do with doing it more often
This is such an interesting topic! I was actually thinking about it the other day when I read that someone could manage to read 20 books a month. I wondered it without my phone I could read more. But these days it’s so hard to not be connected, even if I don’t understand people who spend their whole free time on their phone, I just hate it when I’m with someone who is distracted by their phone all the time. Anyway, I’m sure our phones are not great four our reading time, but being conscious of it might be the first step to read more books and be less on our phone…
I’m a xennial and this is still so true! I read a lot of ebooks as a blogger and it’s so hard not to go down the rabbit hole of twitter!
Great post! I write notes for book reviews on my phone but every time I pick it up to write a note, I get lost in twitter or Instagram and I waste so much time!