Guess The Addiction
Review the comments from these individuals and see if you can determine their addiction [or near addiction]:
- I get anxious if I don't have it
- I feel like I'm missing something if I can't do it
- My mood changes for the worse if I don't do it on a consistent basis
- I could never go more than an hour or so without it
Smoking? Caffeine? No. Texting. When I saw the interview on TV I wanted to be shocked and surprised, but it really affirmed much of what I see every day. To be honest, the interview involved teens, but we see much of the same behavior showing up in adults (and what will it be like in 5 years as these teens enter the workplace?)
As I interact with many people these days, I AM surprised to find that they will literally hold their phone in their hand or put it on the table between us so they are ready to text or e mail someone the second they get a message. Conversations with such individuals are disjointed, shallow and lack real value. It screams to me, "The person who is absent right now is more important than you." Unless they have a family emergency or major life event about to occur, their abuse of technology highlights their lack of discipline-a major contributor to any kind of addictive behavior.
The upside of this new addiction in our society is that it creates an even easier way for individuals to make a lasting positive impact on others. Turning the phone off or even leaving it in a car, bag or purse while talking with someone says to that other person, "You have value to me. I want to really listen to what you have to say. You are important." Those conversations have a much better chance of becoming rich, productive exchanges that bring about results.
Those are timeless values and benefits that will serve us much better in getting along with others at work and in our families than our ability to send a text message to someone anytime we want-just because we can. lol
