On average, people are checking their smartphones 150 times each day. This is a reasonable number, considering that they get multiple notifications about social media updates, text messages and phone calls. It would mean that people check their smartphone about ten times for each of their waking hour. This makes the most frequent tasks people do, more than using the bathroom, eating and driving, or even talking to others. Not only that these smartphone multitask, users are also required to multitask. Our brain will be required to do many things at once. We are forced to think about two tasks at the same time and one of them often includes smartphones. In reality, there’s no real multitask, human brain and body could only switch between tasks back and forth rapidly.
In reality, smartphones could represent more danger for drivers than alcohol. Smartphone-induced road accidents are at an all time high. This is unavoidable fact, despite intense encouragement to stop driving when using a smartphone. People are constantly interrupted, including when they are driving. They can’t force themselves to put their smartphones into airplane mode when driving, because they are afraid about missing important calls and text messages. When their phones are beeping, drivers would try to grab their phone to check the notification. Many cars are equipped with cradle to secure the phone on the dashboard, but reading the smartphone screen briefly while driving is also as dangerous. Some cars are equipped with integrated hands-free system for both iOS and Android devices; with buttons directly on the steering wheel.
However, not all cars are equipped with this important safety feature. People would be forced to look at their devices repeatedly, including 5 times during a 30-minute driving. In general, smartphones are supposed to boost our productivity, not to harm us. If car owners could survive for decades without smartphones, modern drivers could actually do the same. Callers should understand if we can respond to voice call or reply text messages quickly enough because we are driving. In general, our habits shouldn’t harm us, because we want to stay updated and be more productive. We should be aware of added risks associated with continuous smartphones usages. We should come up with proper solutions. We should ensure safe smartphone usage habits and reduce the number of times needed to check the smartphone.
When driving or at work, we should put our smartphone out of reach. The habit of looking at our smartphone repeatedly can force us to keep on doing it. In general, no smartphones in meetings and others. It is hard to stay productive and be fully engaged with others around us if we continue holding our smartphone. In fact, some studies show that people are disconnected from the Internet and smartphones during workday could have their productivity skyrocketing immensely. Smartphones are great tools, but we should try to use them correctly and safely. We should challenge ourselves about the proper usages of smartphones. This will ensure that we can become much more productive.