Are you overinvested in your iPhone?

A few weeks ago I was scolded by a woman at a bus stop, for being on my phone when I could have been talking to my boy. Usually I'm politely dismissive of unsolicited advice but I had to admit that this woman had a point. I realised that rather than being a tool of communication my phone had become my friend, a beacon of hope in the ocean of motherhood. The next day I decided to leave my phone at home, just for an hour, to make sure I was completed engaged in parenting. I was astonished by how hard it was and how many potential disasters I envisioned occuring in those sixty minutes. In the end I had to shake it off and discovered that sometimes ignorance is bliss. If you're reading this and think you might need a phone sabbatical, here's 7 signs you might be over invested in your mobile.

- You've ever panicked about where your phone is and then realised that you're talking on it

- You look at your phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night 

- You feel anxious if your phone battery is low whilst you're out

- You've ever checked your phone in company without excusing yourself first 

-  If your kid does something cute and the first thing you do is reach for your phone 

-  If your phone has more accessories than you 

- You use your phone as a source of comfort, for example if you're alone at a party or in a restaurant

Any of the above might be a sign that you're letting life pass you by. Don't wait for a lady at a bus stop to knock some sense into you. Why not try a data detox with the following: 

- Don't have your phone in your bedroom at night 

- Leave your phone at home when taking short trips 

- Turn your phone off for specific periods of the day when at work or engaging with your children

- Turn off notifications when in company

- Have set times for checking social media on your device 

Let me know what you think makes for healthy phone habits. Sometimes I use my phone to upload pictures to instagram

Advice From The Heart
                                            photo credit: My 3GS. via photopin (license)


  1. Guilty! Sometimes my phone keeps me sane and helps me get through my day but I am too reliant on it and now that Baby Girl is so impressionable I need to be careful. I love your idea of leaving the house without your phone. I may just have to try it X #fromtheheart

  2. Argh. I couldn't agree more. Since I've recently embraced social media in all its forms I've developed a love/hate relationship with my dear Samsung. Love it when I'm out and about and forget the phone even exists...

  3. I completely agree!I would love to leave my phone at home but if I am out while my husband is at work I have to have it with me as he never knows what time he will finish until that day, and I pick him up so need to be in contact! However if we are just going to the shops as a family then I do leave it at home :) I usually ignore it unless the hubby rings when I am with baby but I do check it when I wake up and when I go to sleep!xxx

  4. This is some excellent advice. I was very late to the smartphone party when I dropped my old brick on the road late last year and it was run over by a convoy of 246 trucks... pretty much the only way it was ever going to break. Then I sort of got shamed into it at the phone store when I said I just wanted one that I could talk on and that's it and the guy said "well this is the simplest model I can recommend. It's the one I got for my mum who doesn't know how the internet works." I never thought I'd ever use my phone for anything other than as a phone so I've been surprised at how addictive it can be. Luckily I'm also very irresponsible and absent minded and I hardly ever know where it is. Almost nightly when my husband gets home from work I have to get him to ring it so I can find it! :) #fromtheheart