Friday Fun…Could You?

We experienced a couple at Cracker Barrel with their video and phone on speaker . 

It was incredibly annoying.  I wish people could sit in a restaurant and not need to talk on the phone, especially with speaker on.

I was just talking about this someone yesterday- younger people have a hard time communicating "in person" because they are always communicating via phone. I am not good at unplugging and need to work on it.

Good morning Kathy,

I've gotten much better about unplugging and have no problem doing it. It concerns me to see so many heads down looking at their devices in restaurants, coffee shops and just walking! They are soooo missing the world revolving around them.

Tough to do in our business.  I wonder how we did our jobs 30 years ago without all these electronics?????

Hello Kathy - I have unplug moments.  Sometimes intentionally but they can occur unintentionally too.  Fretting about being available or connected has not disappeared but it isn't as prevalent as it used to be.  

We used to keep our phones on all day and night, until we started getting calls in the middle of the night from overseas people who were in different time zones. We also unplug at dinner and if the kids or grandkids are over...No phones while we eat!

I always unplug when I go to the gym. So many are hooked up to the phone as they work out. Makes me sad.

I should be unplugging from ActiveRain now that I have been retired for a number of years. Old habits can be difficult to break.

Hi Kathy,
Retirement is freeing in many ways, and being able to unplug is one of them. Unfortunately, with my responsibility as a POA, I do check my phone regularly even if I am trying to unplug. I do put it on silent when I am with people or out on the golf course.

Carving out some time to unplug is so important, but easier said than done in our line of work. That being said, drawing some boundaries around family time, dinners, etc. can and should be done!

Hello Kathy and I need to unplug more on a daily bases at my age but have a hard time doing that.

Absolutely I can un plug Kathy and do so quite often.  Now not so much for many around me....constantly looking down at phones etc. Be sure to check out Alan May post today about the same subject.  Very funny!

Kathy I have to be honest and say unplugging would be very tough for me.  The last time I forgot my cell phone at home I felt naked without it.  🤪

I unplug almost never, Kathy. Sometimes I really wish I could but when you are self-employed, are the sole breadwinner, have 2 teens at home, and aging parents on another continent and in a different time zone, it's not something I get to do very often.

What I am doing is picking up a book and reading a few pages in bed vs. scrolling on my phone. I guess that could qualify as semi-unplugging? 

Hi Kathy,

I spend a lot of time on my phone, but when I am with others or family the phone is put away.  No iPhone prayer during that time.  

Kathy I do not shut my phone off, it is next to my bed and the last four weeks all I get is spam calls from 7 am to 9 am .... as to emails a few important ones from 6:30 am on and I do not reply until about 8:30am, Endre

It's extremely rare these days to see someone without their face in their phone, haha, we rely on them for so much.

This morning my cellphone informed me I had used it 4 hours 29 minutes longer than last week.  I had a serious discussion with myself.  However, to my defense, we had a lot of rainy days this week.  I need to switch more time to Netflix, so I don't get caught on my cell so much.

I left the house not too long ago without my phone. Once I realized I didn't have it, it made me very nervous. Not from an addiction standpoint. It was a safety concern. Happy to report I made it home without incident. LOL

It's a real problem.  But it's funny to watch old movies or TV shows (pre-smartphones) and see people being people again.