When and Why do we Pick Up our Phones?

Summary

This script delves into the darker truth behind our phone usage, revealing that we often pick them up not to stay informed but to avoid self-reflection. It suggests that our devices serve as a barrier to confronting our anxieties and the complex thoughts that could guide our lives. The speaker encourages us to resist the urge to check our phones and instead use that moment to introspect, asking ourselves bold questions about our lives, emotions, and goals, potentially transforming our devices from distractions into tools for self-awareness and insight.

Takeaways

• 📱 The script challenges the conventional reasons we check our phones, suggesting a darker truth behind our motivations.
• 🔍 It posits that we use our phones to avoid self-reflection and introspection, particularly when we feel anxious.
• 🚫 The devices serve as a barrier to processing complex thoughts and emotions that could lead to personal growth.
• 🤔 The script encourages us to consider why we reach for our phones and what we might be avoiding by doing so.
• 🧐 It suggests that our phones can be used as a tool to understand when we need to engage in self-reflection.
• 💡 The act of checking our phones can be an indicator of when we should be thinking more deeply about our lives.
• 🌐 The script contrasts the pride we take in the convenience of technology with the loss of opportunities for creative thought and self-awareness.
• 📚 It laments the absence of daydreams, ideas, and the novels, businesses, and feelings we might have otherwise explored.
• 🤝 The script proposes that our devices, ironically referred to as instruments of communication, can actually hinder genuine connection with ourselves.
• 🛑 The author advises that instead of using phones to distract, we should use the urge to check them as a prompt for introspection.
• 🔑 The takeaway is that by understanding our cravings for distraction, we can unlock a deeper understanding of our unexamined lives.

Q & A

What is the primary reason people pick up their phones according to the script?

The script suggests that people pick up their phones not to find out what's going on, but to ensure they are in no danger of finding out anything more about themselves, using devices as a means to avoid introspection and self-analysis.

How does the script describe the relationship between anxiety and the use of mobile devices?

The script posits that people are drawn to their devices almost always when some kind of anxiety is pressing in on them, using the devices as a distraction to avoid dealing with the anxiety and its implications.

What are the script's thoughts on the use of mobile devices as a means to block insight?

The script argues that devices are used to block insight and halt the processing of complex thoughts that could be crucial for personal growth and understanding.

What does the script suggest we might be avoiding when we use our phones to distract ourselves?

The script suggests that we might be avoiding confronting issues such as a strange comment from a family member, how to better utilize our talents, or a troubling interaction with a partner.

What does the script call the invention of a device that ensures we never have to confront ourselves?

The script refers to this invention as 'dreadfully convenient' and 'darkly ironic,' highlighting the paradox of using a device meant for communication to avoid self-confrontation.

How does the script characterize the pride people take in the time-saving aspects of mobile devices?

The script points out the irony of taking pride in the time saved by not having to consult dictionaries or atlases, while ignoring the loss of 'fruitful boredom' and the stifling of creativity and introspection.

What does the script propose as an alternative to using phones to avoid thinking?

The script suggests that instead of using phones to stop ourselves from thinking, we should use our craving for them as a guide to when and where we particularly need to introspect.

What questions should we ask ourselves according to the script when we feel the urge to check our phones?

The script recommends asking ourselves questions like 'What am I trying to do with the rest of my life?', 'What should I concentrate on?', 'What might I be sad or angry about?', and 'What might I need to tell myself?'

How does the script view the potential of our devices to become a gateway to insight?

The script suggests that our devices, which are often seen as instruments of non-communication, might actually turn out to be a gateway to insight if we use our urge to distract ourselves as a prompt for introspection.

What is the script's final message regarding the use of mobile devices and self-awareness?

The script's final message is that by recognizing and addressing the reasons behind our urge to check our phones, we can transform these devices from barriers to self-awareness into tools that guide us towards introspection and understanding.

Outlines

00:00

📱 The Dark Truth About Smartphone Dependency

The paragraph discusses the darker side of our relationship with smartphones, suggesting that we use them not just to stay informed but as a means to avoid confronting our own thoughts and emotions. It posits that our devices serve as a distraction from introspection, particularly during moments of anxiety. The script challenges the notion that smartphones are purely tools for communication, highlighting the potential for them to hinder self-awareness and personal growth. It calls for a reevaluation of our reliance on these devices, urging us to question our motives for using them and to consider the introspective opportunities we might be missing out on.

Keywords

💡Anxiety

Anxiety, in the context of this video, refers to a feeling of unease or worry that prompts individuals to seek distractions. It is central to the theme as it explains why people reach for their phones—to avoid confronting their anxieties. For example, the script mentions 'an anxiety on whose analysis and interpretation the correct navigation of our lives might actually depend', illustrating how anxiety can drive the use of devices as a coping mechanism.

💡Devices

Devices, as used in the script, primarily refer to smartphones or similar technology that people use to distract themselves. They are a key element in the video's message about avoidance of self-reflection. The script states, 'we are using our devices as an alternative to thinking about our futures,' highlighting how these tools can be employed to evade deeper contemplation.

💡Introspection

Introspection is the process of self-examination or looking inward to understand one's own thoughts and feelings. The video emphasizes the importance of introspection and how devices can hinder this process. The script says, 'we can study our craving for them as a guide to when and where we particularly need to introspect,' suggesting that the urge to use devices can be an indicator of the need for self-reflection.

💡Insight

Insight in this video is the understanding or perspective gained from deep thought or reflection. It is portrayed as something that can be achieved by overcoming the distractions of devices. The script mentions 'our instruments of non-communication might turn out to be a gateway to insight,' indicating that by resisting the urge to use devices, one can gain deeper understanding.

💡Communication

Communication, as discussed in the script, is ironically used to describe devices that are supposed to facilitate connection but are actually used to avoid it, particularly self-connection. The term is highlighted when the script says, 'we should blissfully refer to this as, of all things, an instrument of communication,' pointing out the paradox of using devices to avoid confronting oneself.

💡Distraction

Distraction is the act of drawing one's attention away from a task or subject. In the video, it is depicted as a common reason for using devices to evade self-reflection. The script illustrates this with 'how convenient dreadfully convenient that we should have invented a device to ensure that we will never have to meet ourselves again,' showing how devices can serve as a means to avoid self-confrontation.

💡Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires. The video discusses the loss of self-awareness due to the constant use of devices. An example from the script is 'the self-awareness we've lost,' which underscores how device usage can lead to a lack of understanding of one's own inner state.

💡Boredom

Boredom, in the context of the video, is portrayed as a fertile ground for creativity and introspection, which is often stifled by the use of devices. The script states, 'we haven't had the Daydreams we haven't entertained the reveries we've throttled,' indicating that the avoidance of boredom can prevent the emergence of new ideas and thoughts.

💡Craving

Craving, in this video, refers to the strong desire to use devices, which can be indicative of a need for introspection. The script suggests that 'we should study our craving for them as a guide to when and where we particularly need to introspect,' implying that understanding this craving can lead to self-discovery.

💡Reverie

Reverie is a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts or daydreams. The video implies that the use of devices can stifle the natural occurrence of reverie. The script mentions 'the reveries we've throttled,' suggesting that device usage can prevent the spontaneous and potentially insightful thoughts that come with daydreaming.

💡Unexamined life

An unexamined life is a life not subjected to introspection or self-analysis. The video encourages viewers to avoid living such a life by using the urge to use devices as a prompt for self-reflection. The script says, 'the answer can provide us with nothing less than a Royal Road into our unexamined lives,' emphasizing the importance of exploring one's inner world.

Highlights

The darker truth behind why we check our phones is not to stay updated but to avoid self-reflection.

We use our devices to block out anxiety and avoid processing our thoughts and emotions.

Devices serve as a distraction from contemplating our futures and personal growth.

The invention of devices has ironically made us less capable of self-communication.

We take pride in the convenience of technology but ignore the loss of creative thought processes.

The absence of boredom and daydreams has stifled the birth of new ideas and self-awareness.

The convenience of devices comes at the cost of unexplored emotional and intellectual depths.

We should use the urge to check our phones as a signal to introspect and confront our anxieties.

Asking ourselves bold questions can lead to a deeper understanding of our unexamined lives.

The craving for distraction can be a guide to when we need introspection the most.

Instead of avoiding difficult emotions, we should confront them to gain self-insight.

The answers to our life's questions already reside within us, waiting to be acknowledged.

Our devices, meant for communication, can become tools for self-discovery and introspection.

The act of not checking our phones can be a powerful exercise in self-examination.

The moments we feel the strongest urge to check our phones are the moments we should resist for self-growth.

The convenience of technology should not overshadow the importance of deep, personal reflection.

We must recognize the trade-off between technological advancements and our capacity for introspection.

Transcripts

there are the standard conventional

sounding answers we check our phones to

see if any messages might have come in

if someone posted an interesting film if

something Dreadful has happened overseas

but this is in danger of sounding far

too normal and far too kind to us the

truth is a lot darker and rather more

humbling we don't pick up our phones to

find out what's going on we pick them up

to ensure we with considerable

ruthlessness that we are in no danger of

finding out anything more about

ourselves if we forensically study the

moments when we are drawn to pick up our

devices these are almost always when

some kind of anxiety is pressing in on

us an anxiety on Whose analysis and

interpretation the correct navigation of

Our Lives might actually depend we are

using our devices as an alternative to

thinking about our futures we we employ

our machines to block insight to Halt

the business of processing to alienate

our minds from their most promising and

complex substrata the thoughts

attempting to break into Consciousness

might be about our mother and the

strange disturbing thing she said to us

over the lunch or about how we should

try to make better use of our talents

given what we learned in a meeting with

an old University friend or about an

unkind and sharp word our partner had

with us this morning which threatened s

to throw our relationship into question

once again how convenient dreadfully

convenient that we should have invented

a device to ensure that we will never

have to meet ourselves again and how

Darkly ironic that we should blly refer

to this as of all things an instrument

of

communication we take pride in the time

we've saved the dictionaries we don't

have to consult the atlases we can throw

away the many strange and funny things

we've discovered and yet we ignore the

fruitful boredom we haven't had the

Daydreams we haven't entertained the

reveries we've throttled the ideas we've

not hatched the novels we haven't

written the businesses We Didn't Start

the feelings we've not identifi the

self-awareness we've

lost however this doesn't have to be the

end of the story precisely when we most

want to pick up our phones we should

learn to do something very unusual pause

and ask our elves a bold question if I

wasn't allowed to consult my phone right

now what might I need to think about the

answer can provide us with nothing less

than a Royal Road into our unexamined

lives rather than using our phones to

stop ourselves from thinking we can

study our craving for them as a guide to

when and where we particularly need to

introspect we can study the times we

most want to flee to them to understand

what we should be staying put and

exploring so when our itch for

distraction is at its height we should

turn over the following questions what

am I trying to do with the rest of my

life what should I concentrate on what

might I be sad about what might I be

angry about what might I need to tell

myself the answers are all inside us

already half imploring us and half

begging us not to download yet more Norm

noise to drown them out our instruments

of

non-communication might turn out to be a

gateway to Insight after all