How to Break Up with Your Phone

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Having graduated from Yale University and UC Berkley’s School of Journalism Catherine Price has found her niche in writing about topics she’s passionate about, travel, nutrition, food, science, and health. In her newest book, How to Break Up with Your Phone, Catherine’s goal is to help readers wake up to the damaging and addictive qualities of our mobile phone while providing practical tips on how to do it.

In the Amazon review, it suggests this book is the essential, life-changing guide for anyone who owns a phone. Who doesn’t own a phone? Anyway, what’s important is that we crack the code to our phone addiction. Have we all indeed gone so far of tracks with love for our phones that it’s affecting the quality of our life? Catherine’s research suggests that yes, it has!

The stats are alarming! Some figures suggest that we are spending more and more time on our phones, up to five hours a day. We also know that our phones are designed to hook us. Notifications, like buttons, and many more tricks of the trade, as Price highlights, have us in constant anticipation. Searching for connection in a falsified digital world has our dopamine chemicals rushing. It’s become bloody hard to put our phones down for more than a few minutes at a time.

So, what’s the big deal? Well as Price points out using numerous scientific research and relevant studies, it’s sucking our lives away, one minute at a time and on top of that, it’s changing our brains. We are developing a decreased attention spans, memory, cognitive ability, problem-solving skills and what I’d consider the most fundamental, an ability to interreact, nurture and nourish quality relationships. Intangible facets that give our life its highest meaning.

If that doesn’t sound detrimental enough what about the research suggesting, it’s affecting our mental and physical health. Through additional stress, lack of sleep and poor health choices, both in what we physically and mentally consume we are sure to live with more dissatisfaction. And the cycle is vicious. Lacking meaning, poor health and no satisfaction have us picking up the phone more and more, continually craving that next dopamine fix.

In Part 1 of How to Break Up with Your Phone Price highlights the research and science behind why our phone has us addicted and the detrimental effects this is having on our lives. In part 2, she highlights a 30-day plan designed to free us from our phones and get back our lives. Although not all the research Price identifies in this book was new to me, I found it refreshing and enjoyable to read. It was also very purposeful, without the need to go to deep. And I did pick up a few interesting snippets that got me wondering.

The second half was less for me. I guess I have bigger demons to face, but in truth, I have already removed myself from the addiction I previously had with my phone. The tips, tricks and techniques Price shares I am familiar with and in most part already implemented.

My suggestion would just be, switch it off! A phone is a tool designed for efficiencies and specific purposes. If the way in which you use it serves no significant purpose or is sucking up time for no apparent gain, delete, turn-off, escape. It’s an ideal tool when used as it was designed to be used.

In summary, if you have an addiction to your phone characterised by an inability to avoid it and continuously craving the next time you log on, then this book is for you. Price has put together an easy to read to help anyone get control back over their relationship with their phone. Putting you in control, not the phone and tech gurus in Silicon Valley. It may not be life-changing, but it will make you think twice.

If this book sounds of interest you can purchase How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life here.

Please leave your thoughts, comments & questions below.

Peace, passion and purpose…

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