What have you been missing? Perhaps it is time to turn off your cell phone and go play for a while. Photo credit: CarolinaJG from morguefile.com
Studies show that humans need to interact with each other in order to have healthy growth and development. We know that human beings are meant to form relationships and emotional and physical bonds with each other and that when we do, we are much happier. Happier people live longer.
The problem is that often, too much technology distracts us from enjoying precious time with our loved ones. Constant use of cell phones is becoming more widespread especially among young people, which inhibits the natural face to face interactions with family, friends and others around them.
I recently read this article in the Telegraph
Happiness; Why You Should Turn off Your Cell Phone Regularly
People would be more content if they turned off their mobile phones and spent time concentrating on their friends and family rather then checking their emails or text messages, an expert on happiness has said.
Professor Paul Dolan, of the London School of Economics, warned that the extraordinary popularity of smartphones meant that users were constantly having their attention drawn to the devices rather than to the people around them.
Enjoying human company is more worthwhile than repeatedly looking at your phone, he said, calling on people to alter their behaviour before they start to suffer from mental illness as a result.
“We’re constantly having our attention drawn to our mobile devices, not always in ways that are good for us,” he told an audience at the Hay Festival in Cartagena, Colombia.
“There is now a new mental condition which is internet addiction. There’s also ‘Phantom Vibration Syndrome’ where you have a phone in your pocket and you think you’ve got a text message and you go to check and there’s no-one there.
It’s not just young people that seem glued to their techy devices, adults are guilty as well. Professor Paul Dolan recommends turning off your cell phones, ipads and laptops regularly. Then look around and connect with others around you in some positive way. You will all feel less stressed, more balanced and happier.
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