Adult ADHD and the "Benefits" of Smart Phones
Until I got a smart phone, I was 100% anti-smart phone. I've had one for over a year and I'm still pretty anti-smart phone. The intention of one of these magic devices is to help us all to function better. Our calendars are at our fingertips. We can make phone calls by simply speaking someone's name. We can check our email or facebook on the go. Those things are all true, but are they all good?
Smart Phones and Adult ADHD Focus Problems
Several of my non-ADHD friends are looking more and more like me all the time, under the guise of being technologically savvy. When I'm out to lunch with pals, someone checks their phone for something. We use imdb.com to find out who that person was in such-and-such movie or we check our email to see if our weekend plans have been made yet. Instead of focusing on the here and on the now, we're constantly looking forward or looking back at our favorite enemy's facebook album of their latest vacation. She got a little fatter, right?
Yes, I should have grown up in the 1950s. I would have been much happier there without all the bling. I love black and white movies and tv shows. It would have been simpler. But, it's not the 1950s. It's now and it's time to find a way to focus through the fog of gadgets.
If you're someone, like me, who gets distracted by the fun games on her phone or the constant possibility that she has a new email, it's time to do something. How can we be expected to focus when we're already at a disadvantage attention wise AND you add our smart phones on top of it. I say this: put the phone away. Turn the ringer off and only allow yourself certain times to check it. Smart phones are not making us smarter; they just give us an excuse to not focus on the task at hand. I know, I know, they have their place. I just say - leave it there.
APA Reference
Prager, E.
(2013, August 19). Adult ADHD and the "Benefits" of Smart Phones, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, November 24 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/livingwithadultadhd/2013/08/adult-adhd-and-the-benefits-of-smart-phones
Author: Elizabeth Prager
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