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My lack of boundaries with my phone is causing me problems.
I’ve always had this sort of… pride… around texting back immediately. I don’t know if it’ a reflection of my insecurities, my terrible memory, or my need to please. But it is really, really bad.
It could be due to being unpopular in high school and wanting to preserve my friendships. Perhaps it’s because my chronic tendency to people please. I could put it down to my inability remember to text back later if I don’t text back now. Maybe it’s because I live 10,000 miles away from my mum and I want to make sure she knows I care enough to get back to her no matter what I’m doing.
But I’ll tell you what… it’s a real buzz kill.
I could be in the middle of watching a movie with my partner, and my phone lights up or vibrates, and my hand goes straight for the phone. It’s barely a conscious choice anymore. The next thing I know, I’ve missed 5 minutes of the most crucial part of the movie and my attention is lost because I’m now thinking about what to say next when the person replies.
I tried to curb this a couple of years ago by ensuring the notifications on my phone didn’t show any detail so I could train myself out of needing to instantly get back to someone. It worked for a while. And then it stopped working. My…
