What are the effects of smartphone addiction? Utsudo noticed she was increasingly unable to put her phone down, wanting to scroll halfway through focusing on something—quietly stealing precious time. At gatherings, people stare at screens and chat half-heartedly; staying in touch has become so easy that we no longer cherish time together, and new anxieties like “read but no reply” have emerged. Most messages don’t need an immediate reply. Try putting your phone down, looking at the people and world around you, and feeling present again.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

I can’t put my phone down anymore

At some point, I noticed I was becoming more and more unable to put my phone down.

Halfway through focusing on something, I always want to scroll, check messages or app notifications—let alone when I’m idle, when I just keep scrolling. There’s endless new information and news every day. It’s really hard not to get addicted.

But I also noticed something.

Scrolling quietly steals our precious time.

What do you do when you put your phone down?

Think about it: after sitting down and ordering a meal, what do you do when you’re not using your phone?

Most people probably zone out, but some might read, think about their upcoming plans, or carefully think through how to solve a problem. Phones steal your time to “think,” making you instinctively rely on the device that brings instant pleasure.

How phones change the way people relate

Think back: before phones were so prevalent, how did you attend class? When you had dinner with old friends or family you hadn’t seen in a while, how did phones affect relationships?

Honestly, I really miss my childhood, when phones weren’t so convenient—just a portable telephone. When everyone got together, we chatted happily about everything. That atmosphere full of laughter and eye contact was wonderful.

But at gatherings now, people chat half-heartedly, mostly staring at their screens, scrolling, replying to messages, even watching videos or reading comics. I’ve even seen the absurd sight of people sitting side by side chatting through a messaging app.

We never let our phones out of reach now, but honestly, unless you’re really busy, there aren’t that many messages that “need an immediate reply.” Phones make life very convenient and offer entertainment to escape dull life anytime, but they also take away chances to quietly think, or to look at the people and scenery around us.

Thanks to technology, our lives are very convenient.

With the internet, even the most distant friends and family are just a tap away—something unimaginable to people who once waited a month for a letter.

Paradoxically, perhaps because staying in touch has become so easy, people cherish time together less. And because the “distance” between people has become too close, it sparks some resistance and awareness that makes relationships tense.

The anxiety of “read but no reply”

The most common problem is “read but no reply.”

When LINE designed this little feature, it was meant for disasters—people might not be able to reply, but the “read” mark would let others know the recipient was still alive. Yet now it torments countless people, such as couples or colleagues with work messages, which is quite surprising.

More absurdly, it’s spawned questions like “how to read a message without showing it as read.” How much people care about this goes without saying.

Put your phone down and live in the present

In any case, your phone is stealing your life.

Try putting it down, look at the world and the people around you, and feel what it’s like to live in the present again!

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #217: No Time for Good Books? Read Along with Utsudo
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.