​Tuning Out

By Daniel Tipton, MA

Do you ever find yourself looking at your phone and not knowing why? Increasing accessibility to screens and technology has provided us with a means to escape reality, essentially any time we want. Screens and the programs running on them offer us distraction and pleasure that is difficult to beat. "What if I miss something?" You might say.
Putting the phone down is a mindfulness practice within itself. Life presents us with challenges and we look for ways to escape, even for a moment, whether it be with alcohol, food, social media, crossword puzzles, video games, gossip, or other things that help us avoid the present moment. We forget to tune in and see all the wonderful "distractions" that are available with a little attention.

This is not another article calling you to put your phone down. I struggle with the same problem daily. My call here is to simply notice. Pay attention to how you feel when you are in each of these scenarios:

• On the phone
• Wanting to reach for the phone
• Off the phone for a short period of time
• Off the phone for a long period of time
• When you are around others and on your phone
• When you are compelled to reach for the phone when driving

Something I noticed is that I have to have a pep talk with myself in order to put it down. I say something like, "Daniel, you are going to be okay if you put the phone away for a while. 99.9% of notifications that come, you can respond to later. If there is an emergency that you can do something about, you will know in enough time. Remember how good it feels to give your attention to the present moment, even during challenging times."

This little affirmation helps me a great deal.