Pavlov’s smartphone

This editorial ran in the Charlottetown Guardian:

Christmas is a hectic time: bedevilled by great expectations, limited time and plenty to get done, many are girding for the three busiest weeks of the year — followed almost immediately by the inevitable post-holiday letdown. But it’s also the perfect time for a little test, and one that might startle you.

If you’re in a line at the mall, arms full of potential purchases, find a way to reach your cellphone. Take it out, hold it obviously in front of you (you don’t even have to turn it on), and look at the people around you. As people glance over to see you holding your phone, you’ll see them take theirs out, too. The little blue glowing masters of our lives will have their due, even if there are no new messages, no tweets or emails or Instagram messages to be found.

We’re conditioned, and not in a good way. We’re eroding our ability to concentrate on anything but the shortest of communications. We’ve created a monster of constant contact.

The thing is, your cellphone addiction is just one thing that will ramp up the stress of the holiday season. The effort of juggling all sorts of demands will not be improved by permanent attachment to the unblinking eye of instant messaging. So maybe instead of letting your phone wind you up, try putting it down. It’s not easy — anyone who spends time with a smartphone knows that you get an almost visceral urge to check the darned thing, as if its contents are so important that something like the meaning of life might be hiding in there.

And maybe, when we actually reach the real Christmas season, you’ll be able to find the strength to send a few Christmas messages, and put the thing aside altogether.