The Smartphone Disease
The sight of being in a crowd without people peeping into their phones is a rare scene to be noticed. Whether it be a concert, movie or even a funeral- you will likely see several people engrossed in their cell phones as if the world will end if ignored. Ringtones and message alerts are siren songs that lure them back to the world of work, no matter where they are. Thus it is not simply the addiction; but also the technology that has shifted us to use this device called a smartphone in order to save time, money and energy.
In her new book, Professor Leslie Perlow explains how a small group of consultants made an intensive effort to disconnect from their devices for a few predetermined hours. As a result they became more productive than before. She also described how the scheduled disconnecting process helped these phone-addict employees to take better control of both their workdays and their lives.
It is not just a question of being in an off mode with the world which is always running before us; rather it is about the gradual changes that can improve your work-life and your work in ways that make them notably better.
Leslie Perlow, PhD, the Konosuke Matsushita professor of leadership at the Harvard Business School, found that:
• 70% said they check their smartphone within an hour of getting up.
• 56% check their phone within an hour of going to sleep.
• 48% check over the weekend, including on Friday and Saturday nights.
• 51% check continuously during vacation.
• 44% said they would experience "a great deal of anxiety” when they lost their phone and couldn't replace it for a week.
Hence, following are the four easy ways to decrease ones cell phone usage:
Return to a landline phone
• Try talking on an ‘old fashioned’ phone plugged into the wall.
• If you like pacing as you talk, take a longer wire for your satisfaction.
• Making long conversations on a corded phone is much safer than talking on a cell phone for a longer period of time.
• Do not substitute your talks with a cordless phone as they have their own negative health impacts.
Limit the length of the phone call
• It is a human nature that cannot ignore a receiving call on your cell phone. But the duration of the call can surely be reduced.
• Also, prolonged extended use increases your exposure to the radiated signals from your device.
• So by reducing the amount of time spent on the cell phone, one can reduce the exposure to it.
• Best is to limit it to using for an emergency only.
Using a hands free device
• Using hands free allows a safe distance between the body and radiations. Thus making it much safer to use.
• Also, this device is user friendly and can be used for a longer period of time.
• Hands free are obligatory in many countries for the use of a mobile phone while driving.
• Results have proved that the accident rates have also gone down by the increased use of hands free for a phone call.
Look for cell phones with shields
• Buy cell phones which claim to have special protection shields from radiations.
• Some phones are EMF protective device which are preferable to buy.
• These are chips or buttons adhered to the phone reducing the impact of the transmitter signals.
• One of its types is a screen type shield. This is a screen placed over the phones earpiece.
