There are over 4 billion mobile Phone users on the planet. However, there are only 3.5 billion toothbrush users.

Doesn’t that say something?

Just a decade ago, the idea of having a powerful computer that could fit in your pocket was quite laughable.

Today, it is unimaginable to live your life without a Smartphone, or a personal device such as a tablet. It all started, as most already know, with the launch of the first generation iPhone in January 2007, which sparked amazement, controversy, love, hate… you name it.

At that time, the 3.5 inch touchscreen was considered HUGE, and critics believed it would never catch on with consumers.

Boy, were they wrong.

Nowadays, screens are getting bigger and better, and we couldn’t survive without a screen any smaller than 4.7 inches (which is the size of the iPhone 6). That’s all well and good, however, the main point of this article is not to compare screen sizes.

It’s to compare how we were before smartphones and how we are now.

I want you to take your phone out of your pocket. Right now.

I’m being serious.

Take it out of its case, if it has one. Let it breathe for a couple of moments.

Examine it closely. Look at every single side, edge, and corner of it.

Your phone is millions of times more powerful than the hundreds of computers used to send Apollo 11 to the moon.

Is that shocking? Maybe you already knew that.

This is the first point I want to get across – the power, speed and capabilities offered by these devices immensely improve our standard of living. In this tiny device you carry around in your pocket, you can buy virtually anything you want online, surf the web, play console-grade games, communicate with anyone at any time in almost any place, take photos which you can mistake for professional photographs, listen to music, check bus and train timetables… the list keeps going on.

But because we are able to do all these things on our phone… are we getting distracted from our lives?

Smartphones have become so ingrained into our daily lives that, like I mentioned before, we can’t imagine living without them. It’s just the convenience offered by them that we find hard to resist.

Need directions to someone’s house? Use Google Maps.

Need to quickly read a document before a meeting? Don’t worry, just download it and read it on your phone.

However, it’s the small things we don’t consider. These small things keep adding up and engulfing your life, until they end up suffocating you.

Sorry, was that too jarring?

What I mean is, that we miss the details in our life when at the most important times, we are using our phones. Consider this example:

I was at a friend’s house one night for dinner. I was excited to meet up with his family and ask about what they did.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. My friend’s father was checking his emails and surfing the web throughout dinner, while the mother was on her tablet looking for movies to rent. I sat next to my friend awkwardly as his parents disappeared into their devices, immersed in their own cyberspaces.

It is these kinds of scenarios we want to shun, to avoid potentially seeming awkward and strange even though we are not the culprit. The guilty party, in this case, is the person who uses their phone or tablet during a social event or gathering, therefore avoiding talking to others, as well as discouraging others to approach them. You don’t really want to be this person. If you find yourself in a social situation where you will use your smartphone, try to engage in a conversation to avoid it. From my own experiences, I have learnt that many opportunities to make friends and discover new things can be missed if I use my phone, so I try to avoid it where I can.

As I notice people’s profile pictures on social networking sites, more and more people are opting to put photos of them using a smartphone, and not even looking at the camera…

Why…

Are these people serious?

Firstly, the photograph is obviously taken against their will, because I doubt someone would actually say:

“Hey (insert best friend’s name), could you take a photo of me while I use my phone?”

Secondly, why would the person using their phone ask their friend who took the photograph, to send them the photo so they can put it up as their profile picture?

Are they proud that they are using their phone at a social event, or when their friend is with them?

This is the kind of thing which shows that more and more people believe that Smartphone Usage in any place is normal and accepted.

It’s not really. In fact, using your smartphone in the company of others can be very disrespectful towards them – especially if they are speaking.

I just want to advise you to turn your phone off when it’s not necessary for you to use it. As well as saving a lot of battery, it will allow you to communicate and listen with others more effectively.

It will help you notice the details that matter. Not liking something on Facebook. Not playing that game to avoid talking to people.

As a final note, I leave you this amazing video which changed my view on smartphone usage. Maybe it will change yours, too.