How much time do you spend using your phone? How often do you check social media?

Most people own at least one smartphone today. We use it to send messages, capture or share photos and videos, purchase items, manage our finances, set alarm (or as a watch), watch videos, listen to music, socialize, and a lot more others. Smartphones have become part of our lives, and almost a necessity like air, food, water, shelter, and clothing. Without having one today, you'll definitely feel like someone who has been left out from modernization.

Well, owning a smartphone is important today as most transaction, communication, and information are digitized and accessible through a smartphone. It's a device that gives so much advantage to humanity, but also brings so much negative effects when it is used poorly by making it take over us. Technology, particularly the digital and social side, have brought so much impact to us humans socially and psychologically.

When I go out and take public transportation, there will most likely be someone using their phones. There was even one time where half of the passengers in the jeepney were busy looking down on their phones. Some are just scrolling through their social media, watching videos, or chatting. Hearing the notification sound can be distracting too.

It's kind of disturbing of how much time people spend on their phone doing unproductive things like scrolling through social media applications which only kills time and possibly cause negative psychological effects. Did you know that the social media apps we love to use causes addiction? And app developers program it in a way that is difficult to resist and will make its users coming back for more.

I am not sure if "awakened" is the correct term, but I've become conscious of my social media consumption for six months already. I do not use my phone while on a public vehicle for the fear of having my phone snatched, though I really do use my phone heavily at home. I often hold my phone and jump through different social apps until I realized I've spent hours doing nothing productive. My hand even hurt one day. That's when I realized my phone consumption is already unhealthy.

I read articles and watched videos discussing about social media addiction to help myself get out of the toxic loop our phones have imprisoned us to. One of which I have seen is the interview of a former Google product manager on the program 60 Minutes with its episode entitled, "Brain Hacking". I am honestly delighted to have 60 Minutes as part of the bitLanders' C-blogging task for I can share to you this wonderful and eye-opening episode about how our phones control our daily lives. Find that out through the Quelo chatbot below!

(image source: screenshot of Querlo chat - 60 Minutes brain Hacking by Katsanslimites)

"Inadvertently, whether they want to or not, they are shaping the thoughts and feelings and actions of people. They are programming people."
— Tristan Harris

Using smartphones is definitely difficult to refuse from using since it has become a part of daily lives. We've become dependent on it, like something's missing on our day if we haven't check on it. And it's a big problem. A global problem that is invisible too many for it blinds us of the satisfaction it provides. How much would it affect our future? Who knows.

You can check out 60 Minutes' official website and social accounts (Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube) for the latest updates.

You may also want to read my other C-blog entries:

"60 Minutes: Women-Empowering Episodes"
"The Highest-Rated 60 Minutes Episodes"
"60 Minutes: The Most Successful News Magazine Investigative Program in the United States"
"The 60 Minutes Controversies"
"Smart Dubai: Building A Happy Future"

Thanks for reading!



✧ Katsanslimites