This can’t be real, right? I mean, wouldn’t a rotary phone need to be connected to a wire?? P.S. I totally remember using rotary phones when I was kid. I’m that old. I also had a pager in college. I’m that cool.
Mexico overtook the US as the fattest nation on the planet. Scientists finally made good on their promise (threat?) to grow meat in a test tube with a burger built from stem cells. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s doctor extraordinaire, admitted to smoking a joint and endorsed medical marijuana. And – focus, people – the cronut officially overtook the macaron as the new cupcake! (Did that last sentence make sense to anyone but me? I love food fads so hard.) Man, I go away for one week and all the fun happens!
But as I sorted through my six million (yes that’s the exact number) e-mails, press releases and Feedly reader* stories, the news story that really caught my eye was about the problems with cell phone useage. That might have been because I was reading all of this on my cell phone. I’ll admit it: I am addicted to that thing. And I’m not the only one. At my recent family reunion (which was SO fun! Even if two of my kids got diarrhea on the way home forcing me to put them in diapers which forced them scream bloody murder across three state lines) my tech-head brother insisted we all put our cell phones face down in the middle of the table while we had an hour of Quality Family Time. The first person to pick up their cell phone had to buy pizza for everyone else. My dad lost. It took about 30 seconds. (Joke’s on them though: My cell was completely dead! Because I’d already used it so much that day! So… take that!)
It turns out that smart phones may not be so smart. And it’s not just quality family time that suffers. (For a really poignant post about the consequences of trying to raise young kids with an iPhone, check out this beautiful piece by Hands Free Mama. It actually started its own movement.)
1. They make you weak.
A recent study by Dr. Andrew Lepp of Kent University found a significant negative relationship between cell phone use and physical fitness. People who didn’t use their phone much (defined as about 1.5 hours/day) way out-performed people who used their phone a ton (defined as about 14 hours per day). Dr. Lepp explains, “One important finding from our study is that the ever-present cell phone, with all of its temptations (streaming video, internet, Facebook, email, texting, games, …) seems to encourage sedentary behavior and reduce physical activity.”
(Side note: The table in the report showed that the average study participant sent nearly 300 text messages a day. And I thought I texted a lot! Seriously, college kids? Seriously??)
2. They give you cancer.
Turns out your paranoid friend who refuses to use a microwave and only wears organic cotton might not be as kooky as you thought. At least when it comes to cell phones and cancer. In a new study done by the University of Tel Aviv scientists compared the saliva of people who used their phones 8 hours of more per month (per month?? I might do that per day. Oy.) with deaf people who never used cell phones and found evidence of “higher oxidative stress, a major risk factor for cancer”, in the saliva of cell phone users. Gonna be honest, I’m not exactly sure what they mean – are they measuring cortisol? If so, there are plenty of other variables that could cause the stress hormone to skyrocket. Like living in Tel Aviv, for starters. But according to the people who know such things, this is the first study that definitively links cancer to cell phones. I tell you what: Imma get cancer of the right butt cheek if this is true.
3. They mess up your sleep.
Red light, green light! Any light but blue light! At least when it comes to sleep. Researchers from Ohio State University found that the color of light you are exposed to at bedtime has a significant impact on your mood. Hamsters exposed to blue light had the worst depressive-like symptoms, with white light being the next biggest bummer. Do you know what emits lots of blue and white light? Cell phone screens! (And computer/TV screens. I’m screwed.) The fun finding however is that red light seemed to boost the little rodents’ joy meters. So turn off all the screens at least an hour before bedtime and then stare lovingly into your laser pointer** as you slip into sleep. (True story: I had an alarm clock as a kid that had red numbers on the display. That thing freaked me the heck out. I thought it was the devil staring at me. I begged my parents for a blue-light one. Maybe THAT explains all my issues!)
4. They cripple you.
There’s no science here but I can tell you that since I got my smart phone, my right hand gets painfully crampy from all that swiping action. It hurts. Sometimes so badly I have to do finger calisthenics. Feel bad for me. And of course there’s the study showing that the more time people spend on social media, the worse they feel about themselves. I might be emotionally crippled too.
Phones can’t be all bad! Jelly Bean and I amused ourselves for half an hour taking funny-face selfies! I can see up your nooooose!
Commence Rationalizing
But! I would like to point out that I do use my phone for several active activities! I have Run Keeper on my phone and even though it’s horribly inaccurate and tells me I’m running depressingly slow, I still use it sometimes. I also have Fit Day, Map My Run, Tabata Timer, P90X, Gym Pact and My Fitness Pal apps on my phone – all of which I use with varying consistency. Also, as of this writing, my right butt cheek is no bigger than my left one. Although it’s hard to tell from this angle. Last rationalization: I neeeeed my phone. I’d die (literally, in a ditch) without my GPS app. Having that camera handy means I take way more snaps of my cute kids than I would if I had to find my real camera. It’s my tether to my family – my kids’ school can reach me anytime. It’s my safety net – we don’t even have a home phone anymore. I need it for work. Important e-mails, new assignments, interview time changes. Plus, how would I ever find my way in the dark?? And all of that can’t wait until I’m home to check my computer!
Or can it?
I think I might have a problem. Hi, my name is Charlotte, and I’m addicted to my smart phone.
What’s your philosophy on cell phone use? Any tips for me on how to use it more moderately? How much do you use your phone? What fitness apps do you have that you love? Anyone tried a real cronut yet?!?!
Plus, I used my phone for the very righteous purpose of snapping this shot of the adorbs vintage dress I found on my vacay! Yes, I just used this as an excuse for a gratuitous dress shot.
*Since Google killed off my beloved Google Reader, I’ve switched to reading blogs in Feedly. And, dare I say, it’s way better than Reader ever was! So if you’re still reader-less, definitely check them out! Love!
**Don’t do that.
My philosophy: if you’re with other people, be with the people you’re with, not with the ones you can reach on your phone (including peeps on the internet). And don’t walk/drive/ride/take part in traffic in any way & text. That’s about it. It’s easier for me, though: my phone isn’t smart so there isn’t much I can do with it, and it only ever rings once a week, if that. I don’t make a habit of leaving it at home but when it happens – nothing happens. I do envy the people with quick access to maps and timetables – less planning needed in advance – but other than that? It’s sitting glued to my laptop that I should worry about.
I am far too addicted also. I know it makes me feel crappy and distracted and tempted and I don’t focus on the important things in life.
Help!
Perfect timing! Going through phone withdrawal at the moment while in Canada since I’m too clueless to be able to figure out how much my roaming charges would be and am just assuming “astronomical” as a rough estimate. Am using it just as a camera, but I still find myself reaching for it constantly when we’re out and about to check.. what?!? I end up turning it on just for the fix, taking a look at the last blurry photo I snapped, and turning it back off. Then reaching for it again 15 minutes later. Pathetic! 🙂
I can no longer say that I don’t own a cell phone. Now that I live far enough away to bike to work (at 5am in the morning) my husband makes me take one with me; it’s a cheapy $20 model from Target. If I ever want to use it, however, I’ll need to ask a total stranger to remind me how to turn it on.
Hmm. I just got a smart phone a few months ago, but I think I use it less than a lot of people. I do, however, spend way too much time on Facebook, and that’s definitely something I’m trying to work on.
I’m not a phone person. At home, I will avoid making phone calls/answering the phone if I can get my husband to do it. Most of the time I don’t hear my cell phone ring because it’s in my purse. That said, I do love the smart phone more than any other phone I’ve had. Texting is convenient. I can play Sudoku or read something if I’m stuck waiting somewhere. I do have Map My Run and My Fitness Pal apps on my phone, along with a sleep analyzer app that I tried out briefly (the best part was the alarm that sounded like bird song and sent the cats tearing around the bedroom, trying to find the birds).
Meh, seems like most of that stuff has been said about computers, laptops, video games, TV, etc. And I like to think the word games I play on my phone are decreasing my risk of Alzheimer’s, so…
In regards to the cancer study, without actually reading the paper, I don’t buy it. Seems like terrible methodology. It’s likely that the oxidative stress has nothing to do with the phone, but rather the person using the phone, such as a stressed out businessman living in a relatively dangerous city. Or an isolated mother using her phone for some contact living in a relatively dangerous city.
For lent a few years ago I gave up all the features of my phone but the actual calling. It was enlightening to see that I could do it. I really should do it again because I’m totally addicted. To the point where my thumb hurts from the swiping. This is a big deal because I’m a pianist and I have some major performances this month! Gah.
I really think my next cell phone needs to be devoid of the smart capabilities.
Yeah, when I think I use my smart phone a lot I just look at what they call “average useage”. Seriously. I send maybe 3 texts a day. My husband and I are on my parents family plan which works great because of 4 out of 5 people having smart phones, we still use less than 4gigs of data a month, which is pretty much below the lowest tier plan. Crazy. I use my phone for looking up the occasional thing, checking my email, and Feedly (yes, it’s awesome!). I talk to my parents most days and that’s kind of about it. I have noticed on ocassion my husband and I will be out to dinner and both on our phones but we talk so much, all the time I don’t even worry. And I love the games when I’m waiting but I only play them when I’m bored.
Just FYI – the cell phone-stress study measures oxidative stress – the production of peroxides and free radicals which damage DNA and proteins. It has nothing to do with “life-stress” or cortisol production. That doesn’t mean the study is completely accurate, or that their methodology isn’t somehow flawed.
This sounds like cell phones are the new Internet are the new video games are the new TV sets are the new comic books are the new books.
Every sedentary hobby or pastime that the Older Generations do not deem Worthy is going to get blamed for basically everything wrong with modern society. Google Glass will be the next one, mark my words, because people will think it turns you into perpetually multitasking gargoyles (cyberpunk term: people who wear their computers and are always plugged into the net) that will run into trees and wreck cars and have no ability to maintain a single train of thought ever.
Except every generation gets over this. We got used to people being on the Internet a lot to the point where not checking your email every day is seen as some kind of sin. We got over watching TV indoors as a nightly activity instead of going and playing ball with the kids or something. We got over Game Boys being held instead of books, and ages ago, we got over reading books instead of going and doing some good old fashioned manual labor or helping dad in the fields or something.
We’ll get over this, too. Smartphones will become accepted, and I’m guessing that Google Glass and whatever the future holds will, too.
I was listening to a discussion about this on NPR the other day, and they came to the exact same conclusion. Except that Google Glass users are apparently referred to as, um, “Glassho**s.” 🙂
The other day I left my phone at home and, for the first hour, felt as if I were missing a body part.
Luckily my kids were with me. If I don’t have my phone AND my kids are at school? I convince myself they’ll get food or ptomaine poisoning/a bomb will drop on their schools/scary clowns will invade/at the very least, we’ll have a horrible earthquake & I’ll be unable to reach them by phone. Which, given the fact that there’s usually no cell service after a bad earthquake, I wouldn’t be able to do anyway.
I try not to use my phone too much. But…
I don’t know what I’d do without my phone!! I would be so sad without MapMyRun.
Love the gratuitous dress shot.
This is the exact reason my husband and I have not upgraded to smart phones yet. I KNOW I would get addicted! I already spend plenty of time on my laptop… I can’t imagine having the internet and apps at my fingertips 24/7. It IS possible to live happily without a smart phone… but I feel like once you have a smart phone, it would be very, very hard to give it up and still be happy!
I think social media, technology can all support a healthy lifestyle or hurt it depending on how YOU, the USER, use it.
Let’s face it…If we sit all day on our phones instead of going outside, isn’t there a good chance we would just find another excuse, another activity to keep us sedentary and inside all day?
And I have never heard of a cronut…Googling now…Probably on my cell phone…
I remember using rotary phones when my kid was a kid. My mom, still alive enough to bicycle every day, remembers when phones didn’t have any dials at all and you were connected by nice lady named “Central.”
Yer not that old yet. Give it time.
With Australia and Mexico passing the US in rates of obesity I’m not even sure the US is in the top 10 anymore. It was never the fattest. The top several fattest nations on Earth are all Pacific Island Nations which have been held to “not count” in order to make the US the fattest.
Nauru is 94.5% overweight and 71.7% obese.
I pay way too little attention to my phone mostly. People know to call my husband and not me if there is something time sensitive. However, it is nice when I’m waiting at the doctor’s office/dentist/for takeout/etc to kill some time instead of touching those germ-ridden magazines (oddly, I’m not much of a germaphobe, I probably created the 5 second rule, but being around sick people makes me sketchy).
Also, cute dress! You wear vintage well, my dear. 🙂
I just have some food for thought on that write up about light color affecting mood. I’m not familiar with the actual scientific study as its pretty far outside of my field, but I do know that rodents, likely including hamsters, have a different visual light spectrum than do humans. Rats, and after a quick Google search it seems that hamsters also, do not see red. Thus, it would make sense that the hamsters were more normal in the red light overnight because they are nocturnal and the red light would appear much darker for them than would white or blue light. Similarly, we would actually use transparent red plastic huts in the lab for our stressed out experimental rats because they find them dark and comforting.
But there is something to this – blue light wakes us up and prevents production of melatonin, a hormone associated with circadian rhythm regulation and which is produced when light levels drop and makes you sleepy. The melatonin story adds to the sleep issues associated with staring at computers, smart phones, and televisions before bed.
Anyway, not my area of research so I may be way off in this assessment, but I’m going to guess that humans would not find red to be the most mood enhancing color 🙂
Thanks for another stimulating post!
Just had to chime in to say that I am another displaced Google Reader user now using Feedly and it is AWESOME. And I finally broke down and got a smart phone about 2 months ago after my old dumb flip phone finally croaked. Meh. I could do without, however I work from home and am rarely separated from my laptop so I’m probably not a good judge of their usefulness.
I used to think this way too, but now I embrace my phone. The benefits (of which there are many, including and not limited to those you mention….and WHAT?!?! A P90X app!?!) FAR outweigh the potential negatives, in my mind.
When I say that I can’t imagine my life without my phone and people make me feel like some sort of weird technology snob/somehow beneath others who don’t use it as much, I try to remind myself that 1) they are probably just projecting their insecurities on my use and 2) they are going to benefit from me having my phone at dinner. I was that snob for a long time who was all haughty and “I don’t need a cell phone”, but guess what? If I needed to call someone? I’d borrow someone’s cell phone. Just like now, when someone who doesn’t have a smartphone wants to get information on the go, they ask me to use my phone.
Haughty, indeed!
Now….that P90X app…
If I could have my BlackBerry surgically attached, I probably would. I know, it’s sad, but true.
I also wrestle constantly with what it is likely doing to my brain. I put it on speakerphone all the time, but still have to hold it close to my mouth to talk to people.
Good/bad/neutral….everything in moderation?
Sure, cell phone use can take away from relationship time. On the other hand, by being able to email and catch up on blogs while I’m commuting, I’m actually FREEING time for my family in the evening.
I’ll admit to not scrutinizing the study, but correlation doesn’t = causation. I’m not sure cell phone signals are GOOD for us, but I’m not convinced they’ve been proven to be BAD.
Who sends 300 texts a day? Even communicating with family, friends, AND clients, I NEVER hit the triple digits. Yikes!
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