The other day I posted a poem describing my smartphone, most people thought I was referring to Habeebee. I wasn’t really surprised because it proved the great deal of love and importance we all attach to our smartphones, albeit, adversely affecting our relationships with the “real” people around us.
Few years ago, life happened and my husband and I were separated by distance for a whooping 12 months! Those were the most trying times of our marriage. Our smartphones became our lifeline. We kept in touch via several apps- WhatsApp, hangout, Imo, Skype, Telbo, messenger – in addition to phone calls and text messages whenever internet was not accessible.
But that was the good news. The bad news was that we (especially I) became addicted to our phones. It took time to get used to being back together. I’d become so lazy that, instead of walking from the living room to the other room to tell him something, I would just open WhatsApp and type it!
To fill up the loneliness, we made other friends and chatted with them simultaneously, but those friends could not be dropped off just like that. The result was that, we continued chatting with those friends (often at wee hours of the night) while we ignored each other. Intimacy soon became affected because oftentimes, we would sleep off with the phone still in our hands…
One way to solve such problem is to agree on a time when all devices, including phones, laptops and television must be switched off. Phones should be left in the living room when retiring to the bedroom at night. Devices should also be kept away from the living room, or switched off during mealtimes. If you have children, gather them at bedtime and tell them beneficial stories or teach them one or two things from the deen.
A timely phone call can save a marriage and a wrongly sent SMS can break another. I don’t support spying on your spouse’s messages, but I believe that couples who are best of friends should have no problem sharing access to each other’s phones. Of course, there are obvious exceptions. For example, a doctor/lawyer who receives confidential messages from his/her clients is expected to limit access to his phone.
In conclusion, modesty should always be our watchword in everything we do. We should all strive to be loyal and trustworthy bestfriends and never allow a mere piece of device to destroy our homes.
AskDoctorKT 