Can’t Imagine Life Without a Cell Phone? Read This Now

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Jennifer Latkiewicz

Even though it was only a few years ago, life in the year 1999 B.C. – Before Cell Phones – is difficult to imagine now. More than a platform to play ‘Bejeweled’, cell phones have become an essential tool for communicating in today’s modern world. With text messaging, e-mail and even Twitter now used as vital modes of communication, life without a cell phone seems little more than a a Yakov Smirnoff “In Soviet Russia…” joke — or if you’re truly tech-obsessed, a total nightmare.

But even with the added convenience and ease that a cell phone brings, there are some definite downsides. Some experts believe excessive use can cause us to become more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even more narcissistic, reports The New York Times. A recent poll conducted by the paper found that people think cell phones are intrusive and increase stress levels. 1 in 7 married respondents said the use of devices was causing them to see less of their spouse. “The technology is rewiring our brains,”  said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists. Clifford Nass, a communications professor at Stanford adds that such heavy technology use can diminish empathy by limiting how much people engage with one another, even in the same room. “The way we become more human is by paying attention to each other,” he says. “It shows how much you care.” And this is on top of the dangerous accidents caused by cell phone distraction, some having deadly consequences.

A few more ugly cell phone facts from The New York Times:

-”Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.”

–”A study at the University of California, Irvine, found that people interrupted by e-mail reported significantly increased stress compared with those left to focus.”

-”Researchers worry that constant digital stimulation like this creates attention problems for children with brains that are still developing, who already struggle to set priorities and resist impulses.”

-While most Americans say devices have made their lives “better and their jobs easier, some say they have been intrusive, increased their levels of stress and made it difficult to concentrate. Younger people are particularly affected: almost 30 percent of those under 45 said the use of these devices made it harder to focus, while less than 10 percent of older users agreed.”

-”Researchers say there is an evolutionary rationale for the pressure this barrage puts on the brain. The lower-brain functions alert humans to danger, like a nearby lion, overriding goals like building a hut. In the modern world, the chime of incoming e-mail can override the goal of writing a business plan or playing catch with the children”

-1 in 10 of those polled said they spent less time with their children under 18. Almost 40 percent check work e-mail after hours or on vacation.

Yet in spite of its arguably adverse effects, this “electronic appendage” is now as vital to life as a healthy, beating heart. You could survive without an arm or leg but no cell phone — no way. The majority of Americans were still living cell phone-free just a decade ago yet nowadays, some people hear the ‘ping’ of incoming texts in their sleep. Have we been lured in by Top 40 ringtones and the promise of an easier and more convenient life, only to become full-blown cell phone addicts who can’t even put the CrackBerry down during sex? (We know Paris Hilton isn’t the only one.)

Yes, say Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum, the marketing duo behind Offlining, Inc., a new initiative urging people to take a break from the technology-obsessed world and devote some real attention to “the people who matter most in life.” This epiphany came after DiMassimo and Yaverbaum, who also co-founded the social campaigns Read To Vote and an environmental movement called Tappening, “made a mistake” by looking away from their computer screens long enough to notice they had wives. And children. Full lives outside the digital world and both men soon realized that these things could no longer compete. They hope that Offlining, Inc. will help foster a balance between technology and humanity by encouraging people to incorporate traditional communication modes into their everyday lives. This, coming from two New York “Mad Men” who have spent nearly twenty years convincing people to log on and go digital? “We’re still doing that,” says DiMassimo, CEO of ad shop DiMassimo Goldstein. ”But now we’re also going to be selling the ‘OFF’ button.”

Opting out of a plugged-in existence is more than an opportunity for quality time with loved ones, it’s a “pretty serious power move,” according to my colleague Joel Stein. In a recent Bloomberg Business article, Joel points out that despite the prevalence of cell phones, even two of the world’s wealthiest individuals – Warren Buffett and Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian entrepreneur and New Jersey Nets owner  - both conduct their business sans cell phone. “Not having a cell phone is a way of getting the world to run on your time,” he writes.

Power play or not, DiMassimo and Yaverbaum’s simple idea raises a philosophical question: Is living your life chained to a smartphone really living at all?

While a completely cell-phone free existence may not be realistic for everyone, having turning the devices off for a few dinners is. Offlining, Inc. is asking Americans to pull the (phone) plug and commit to ten no-device dinners between now and Thanksgiving Day 2010. Urges Yaverbaum, “… you use some of the time you would have spent online to really notice and engage with the people in your life – sans technology.”

We’re challenging geekGLOSS readers to take the Offlining, Inc. Pledge, too! Sign up here and once you’ve tried a device-free dinner, leave a comment telling us about one of you experiences. In addition to enjoying a few happier, less stressful hours with those you love (we hope), you’ll be entered to win an awesome prize from us, too! (Ends September 30 at noon ET.)

Unplug and enjoy a dinner free from buzzes and bells. Besides, it’ll just give you more things to Tweet about later!

For more information about Offlining, Inc. visit their website here.

geekGLOSS’ Jennifer Latkiewicz is an 10th Level Apple fangirl who loves robots, “Star Wars,” Rickrolling, Wikipedia and “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.” She currently resides in Los Angeles and remains undecided about The Singularity. Reach her via e-mail at geekgloss@mygloss.com or on Twitter at @gloss and @geekgloss.