Well, I am one!
When you will meet me, I may appear very normal, very regular to you. I have perfect manners, oh, well almost. I know when to laugh, what to say when you are sharing your child’s achievements in the potty training and when to simply listen.
And then a few minutes later, I’ll hear a ‘pure bell’ notification sound which emanates from my phone, oops smartphone and I’ll instantly reach for it. I’ll check the message that’s flashing on the screen. Aha! It’s an email news letter on ‘Natural Health News: What You Need to Know About the Mediterranean Diet’. I’ll open the newsletter and send it to the trash bin without reading it. Check a few tweets and then look up, to see that you are either frowning at me or have taken out your phone yourself and are fidgeting with it too.
If it is the latter, it is a godsend response for me. Because, this will give me a fab opportunity to see the number of likes and comments on my latest post on Facebook, forward some really silly jokes on WhatsApp or play some word game or smile at some funny tweets.
And God forbid, if I see you frowning, well, I have the grace to look sheepish and I do make an effort to carry forward our conversation. Another ‘pure bell’ notification, I grab my phone instantaneously…
Well, when the smartphone beckons, I have to go running to it! 
I use my smartphone compulsively. Whether I am at the doctor’s waiting room, or at the airport, or in the bus, I have to use the various apps that I have downloaded. Last week, I was travelling in a bus on NH 8 which is a straight highway between Delhi and Jaipur. There are no twists, no turns, and the bus doesn’t stops anywhere and I have traveled on this highway a million times and still I had kept the Navigation App on, on my smartphone and continued to look at the blue moving arrow with fascination.
I can’t visit the loo without my phone. No, I am not expecting some exciting email about a ‘5 million package job offer’ or a message regarding ‘your account is credited with INR 10000000’ during that time, but it’s just to make the best use of the available free time!
My phone is always in my sight, within my reach. I carry its charger always in my bag and look for charging points wherever I am. I remember, once, the phone’s battery died on me and I nearly died of anxiety and boredom.
I am ashamed to realize that I should be giving undivided attention to my spouse than to smile at the tweets of some strangers. I am embarrassed to see myself bumping against a parked car as I was texting while walking!
I am amazed that how a sensible, mature person like me has become a slave to this smartphone in such a short span of time.
I must realize that there is a beautiful and a wonderful world outside my smartphone and I must discipline …. one second… I’ll be back in a moment. Ah! I had to check the smiley that I received in response to my PJ from a friend…. myself and curb my urge to touch my smartphone.
Are you addicted to your smartphone!
Linking this post to the Ultimate Blog Challenge and October’s NaBloPoMo.
Images Courtesy: Google Images. Images are linked to their original source.
50 Responses
Oh I am very much in the same boat.. and hey, get a portable charger.. the type which u can charge and then keep with u. Its really much better than hunting for plugpoints.
– Fellow smartphone addict.
Wow! Good to know that I am not alone 😀
Portable charger… it’s on my mind… will go for it soon. Thanks buddy 😀
PS: I am actually trying to mend my ways and this motivation is no good for my resolve 😀
Would you believe this, everytime I travel from Jodhpur to pali (my in laws place) I am always on with my google maps. Everytime! And the “notification fits” are a common sight on my side too 😀 😀
I am a smartphone’s idiot addict. 😀 😀
Et tu, Richa! 😀
That’s not at all me. I am the HAPPIEST when I don’t have my phone :).. Many time I leave it far away from me or just switch it off.. The real world and my “own” world is so so so much better and beautiful, in contrast to the virtual world.. That’s just me :).. Nischala
Wow! Admire this attitude. Hats off to you, lady! 😀
LOL. I have a Windows 6 smart phone – yea, the phone which was ‘smart’ in those days when there were no apps! The trouble is, this HTC phone is just not breaking down so that I can buy the latest micromax android! Besides, I am addicted to its cousin – the laptop, and hence I don’t want another addiction 😛
Destination Infinity
Breaking a phone is so easy, all you have to do is… throw it 😉
I am addicted to my laptop too. It is like, I clone screen and move to another! 😛
Interesting post. It is not just you. Almost all people are like this.
Thanks SG. Aah… so I am not alone! 😀
I thought I am the only one…
LOL 😀 Looks like we have big tribe of smartphone addicts 😀
I am no phone addict but carry newspapers and books but have seen people talking continuously in restaurants (less eating) , walking on pavements and crossing roads. I hate this sight. While travelling I prefer to watch the Nature or observe people .
I know, people busy with their phones is a common sight everywhere!! And you are doing such a fab thing! Thumbs up for that 🙂
Lolll Shilpa.. phone in the loo… that’s me!! Of course we’re just trying to make the best use of free time… And I thought I was the only one. Otherwise I’m not as bad.. but I’m getting there!
Aha!! You too 😀
Let me tell you, if you are not that bad then it is the right time to stop yourself from getting there 😀
LOL, rest assured you are not alone. I think a lot of us would be lost without our smart phone. Checking emails, the weather, face book, and listening to my favorite tunes…I think I would be lost without it. It is also my lifeline to my husband when he is on the road and I am so glad to have it. ♥
True, the smartphones have make our life so easier and brings the world in our hands and we are loving it! 🙂
As much as I love my smart phone, I am not as much as an addict. I use it when I need it, else it keeps lying around in my house. Especially when I am with someone conversing I like giving them due respect and attention so the phone never comes in between. I cherish human contact more than virtual.
Wow!! You are inspiring me, Kajal. I must truly mend my ways! 😛
That is interesting.Phone in the loo! I am not so much addicted to my phone,but Laptop, it is always open.
Wow… my laptop is on from morning to night too! 😛
SG, the picture you posted tells everything about the Smart phone generation.
Myself, well not an addict but I guess i would not let it make inroads into .
Ah! You mustn’t!! 😀
LOL…I couldn’t stop nodding even once. 😀
The only difference with me being: my smart phone is always on silent mode and my spouse is a level higher when it comes to phone addiction. 😀
Wow…. Both of you!! It must be a sight… both of you busy with your phones 😀
Same to same Shilpa. In the loo too! These days I keep the phone on mute when in company. But the Vibrations cause serious palpitations in my heart if I don’t check it. 😀
Jyothi, I can soooo relate to the palpitations when I am not able to check my phone often! 😀
I love my smartphone too and it is so addictive. I’ve set some rules for myself at work. Check stuff only during the lunch break and I only take calls if it’s from my kids or my mom. But it’s a great “friend” on a long and lonely bus ride.
Glad to know that you are so disciplined… thanks for giving some wonderful pointers. Agree… a smartphone is a good ‘friend’ when you are alone somewhere!
My smartphone isn’t very smart, or maybe it’s me. 😀
My smartphone is a pain in the arse. But now after reading this, I think it’s for my own good. 😛 😛
Good that your smart phone isn’t so smart…. you are not missing anything!! 😛
I would not know even if I lost my phone. It always sits on the desk at office or bag or table at home unless someone calls 🙂 I only use dropbox and watsapp (where a ‘SHs’ group chat and ‘siblings’ group chat is only active and am the least active group member 🙂 ) and ya also official email. I feel I don’t deserve smartphone 🙂
A smartphone for only these things!! OMG!!
I agree with your conclusion 😀
haha…that was a nice ‘phonaholic’ post 🙂
this would surely be an inspiration to apple / samsung / whoever 🙂
nice read !
I guess, they already know that that is why they are launching newer phones with some more fab features every now and then! Thanks Sreeja 🙂
Aren’t we all slaves of our smartphones?..life is incomplete without them. I never knew I could get so attached to an inanimate object 😛
You too!?! 😀
Oh am thoroughly utterly fully smartphone addict.But gotta three months break as its not working here on ship.Poor baby is just lying at the corner and only being used as alarm clock…:(
Aww!! A smart thing and just a alarm clock… terribly sad! 😀
I’m guilty of peeking at my phone during boring office meetings :P, but not to the extent of addiction thankfully 🙂 It is not quite evil but can be irksome addiction
Good to note that there some sane people around too 😀
Am I addicted?
After I bought a smartphone,I seem to have become less communicative with people around me as I find spending time on phone more productive than just talking.
But,it is not fair,it is unsocial.of which I have been made concious of.
True, when we are with family and friends, we must certainly avoid using it!! 😛
I was till a few months back. I was so addicted that i often checked the updates on twitter and other sites. my daughter one day when she found checking my facebook updates asked me “Ma, are you so jobless”?. I will write a post on what happened and how i went off whatsapp and other apps. I still do relapse only to get back into normal mode.BTW have you heard about FOMO syndrome?
Oooh!! Looking forward to read your post about this! 😀
Yes, I have blogged about FOMO here… http://shilpaagarg.com/2012/06/facebook-ke-side-effects.html
More than once I have missed the bus stop on my way to work due to some serious things like playing temple run on my phone . Then suddenly I would realize that I am in a totally unfamiliar route , alight at the next stop and take a taxi back or walk an extra mile unnecessarily! Oh no, I am not addicted 😉
LOL 😀 No, you are not addicted to your smartphone 😀
i must belong to the stone age yaar!! my phone is like an anathema to me….i always have lots of missed calls and people cursing me when they eventually manage to get to me….
Oh my!! 😐