Healthy Cell Phone Usage Tips

3 Healthy Cell Phone Tips

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/theprinciples/9970/3-healthy-cell-phone-tips

Posted by Patrick Moore
on Thu, Aug 30, 2007, 11:31 pm PDT




Like many people, I find that I use my cell phone more and more. There is no denying that this device has changed the way we live.
However, not all of these changes have been for the better. It is clear that cell phones have changed our behavior in ways that impact our emotional health and our interactions with other people.

Let's take a look at three areas where cell use can be detrimental and three tips for a healthier relationship with technology.

Dependence
We used to be quite content spending time alone, walking down the street or waiting in a coffee shop for a friend. Now, however, many of us seem to feel the need to be constantly connected to another person via a digital device.
No moment can pass without the emotional security blanket of holding on to another person electronically. This is a kind of dependence that tells us that it is not OK to be alone, that we are somehow lacking without constant connection with another person.

INDEPENDENCE TIP - Try being alone for a few hours. If you are shopping or walking or driving, turn off the phone. See what it feels like to simply be on your own without giving in to the habit of carrying around all of your friends and family via the cell phone.

Selfishness
This is the area where new technology is busily eroding the social contract that makes it possible for humans to live together peacefully. Not a day goes by where I don't witness a confrontation over selfish cell phone use.
Whether it is a dangerous driver chatting away or a gym-goer screaming into their phone while on the treadmill or the blinding glare of an electronic screen in a darkened movie theater, these tiny devices can cause giant conflicts. Because they focus our attention and block out the outside world, cell phones reinforce selfish behavior.

POLITENESS TIP - Just think of others and get real about your needs. Is there truly a call or email that cannot wait until the movie is over or until I leave the gym? If there is something that important going on, then perhaps it would be better to stay at home or in the office.

Fear
Many people depend upon their phones for help. But it was only a few years ago when most of us did not have a cell phone and we seemed to survive. Yes, terrorism has scared (and scarred) us, but realistically, if a nuclear bomb hits Los Angeles, my cell phone is not going to do much to help me.
We have become irrationally attached to these devices as a way for us to deal with fear in the modern world. I will be the first to admit that a mobile phone is useful in a situation such as a car accident but, for the most part, our magic little devices are not going to protect us from a big, scary world.

FEARLESS TIP - Practice being without your phone for a day and see what fears come up. Are you afraid that a loved one is in trouble or that something bad will happen to you? At the end of the day, ask yourself if those fears were real or just a habit.

As modes of digital communication become more and more powerful, the time is right to use this new technology in a way that is not only convenient but also emotionally healthy for everyone.

I don't mind turning my cell phone off at all. I would almost rather only use it for out going calls anyway. But if everyone had that attitude then nobody would be able to call anyone else.

I always turn off my cell phone in a movie, or concert/play performance, and certainly during church.

The only time I feel vulnerable is when I am driving without my cell phone. I just know one day I am going to forget it (wich I sometimes do) and I will be driving through the worst part of down, when my car breaks down. I'll be stuck begging bus fare from the Crips & Bloods.

Just ask to borrow their phones. They could probably "find" you one from some unexpecting pedestrian nearby.

Personally, I would prefer not to have a cell phone at all. They ring at the most inconvenient times, and most everyone just uses them to keep tabs on you. "Where are you at?" "What are you doing?" Those seem to be all most anybody wants to know when they call. Occassionally I use mine for something productive, but most times it is a wasted expense.

I only have a cell phone for the kids so they can call me then there's a need too.
I only can call with my cell phone I don't have a camera or a MP3 player at my cell phone.
I can live without that cell phone thing.

I guess some of us (ME) are just junkies.

I have on my phone:
MP3 Player/Downloader
Camera
Video Camera
2 GPS Units
Text
Internet

I COULD live without it if I HAD to, but in my line of work I sure wouldn't WANT to.

You have a special cell phone sabidoo.
I think you need this one because you are often from home and then it's cool to internet with your cell phone.
Or do you have a sabidoo special cell phone?

avdb11 wrote:

You have a special cell phone sabidoo.
I think you need this one because you are often from home and then it's cool to internet with your cell phone.
Or do you have a sabidoo special cell phone?

Well, you know me, only the best will do.

Actually, it is a run of the mill phone with all the regular features. Most phones have all that mine does, people just don't know it, or won't accept the features because they want an iPhone.....which is what iDiots use.....

I just don't see the sense in texting. Also, I'm not allowed to have a camera phone at my job. And, in a noisy factory, the built in MP3 player wouldn't do me much good either.

I think I'll just stay with my regular old boring phone.

Sabidoo do you have a Black Berry cell phone.
That is a cool cell phone you even can buy a GPS for the car for that thing.
My husband is using one for work.

I still have my old boring cell phone too.
But was a cell pone created to call and send text message?
My kids have very complicated cell phones.

I'ma sure Chris the many machines in the plant make it impossible to listen to music on a cell phone.
Can you listen to music while you work or do you have to wear ear plugs to protect your ears to the "rockin' sound of the machines there?

For now, we can listen to music. We all have our own radios/CD players.

But, Oct. 1, they are making us take them out permanently. Evil Japanese!!!

Does that mean you can't listen to music or CDs anymore at work?

That's what it means!

That's not fair you can't listen to music anymore in October.
Why they decided that?
It must be cool to listen to music during the long shifts.

My cell phone does more stuff than I am capable of understanding. But I did figure out how to check my e-mail from it. Free mobile to mobile rocks. My wife calls me when I'm out in the studio,,,,,from the living room. About 75 paces away. But hey, its free so why not.

My wife does the same thing, Tink. We used to use some wireless intercoms that I bought years ago, but now we just use speed dial on the cell phones across the backyard.