Are you addicted to your phone?

 15th April 2015    PR Guru 

The problem with our always-on PR culture is that you can never switch off. Switch off the mobile that is. I know that I feel uncomfortable if my phone is out of my sight, and as for turning it off … don’t be ridiculous!

 My wife tells me I have a problem, and that if I don’t sort it out she will leave me. Though she worries I might not notice she has left, unless she texts once she has gone. Here are some tell-tale signs that your relationship with your phone is stopping you from engaging with the real world.

1. You can’t look anyone in the eye. Because if you looked away from your phone’s screen you could miss something important.

2. You text in meetings. The whole point of meetings is to engage with the people in the room, not the ones out of it. Though to be fair, there isn’t any point to a lot of meetings.

3. You tweet about everything you do. You may think you have an exciting life you have to share with everyone, but actually, you aren’t doing anything remotely interesting, because you spend all your time tweeting.

4. You pick up your phone the minute it makes a noise. And that includes stopping in mid sentence when you are briefing a client or journalist. Your phone is not your baby for heaven’s sake, it doesn’t need constant attention!

5. You have bought a special cover for your phone that cost a fortune. And more than the amount you last spent on your partner’s birthday present.

6. You have recurring nightmares that you lose your phone, and feel sick when you misplace it even for one second.

6. You kiss your phone goodnight. What’s the next step in this relationship I wonder?