Today I read an article in the weekend paper in New Zealand about something called iGuilt. I had not heard of iGuilt; maybe I have seen iAnger having previously been mildly addicted to using technology, but not guilt! This addiction was relatively short-term, and occurred when I upgraded my phone to an Android version of a smartphone last year and was able to access my emails. It almost drove my husband mad, as every time the phone beeped to let me know I had a new email, I just had to see who it was from. I don’t even have paid employment any more, but could always find a reason to answer it. I was behaving like the younger generations and the ‘Corporates’ where I had to check my phone and emails even during dinner, ‘just in case’, and had been told off by the boys a number of times during our family dinners. When we went to the UK, I decided it would be sensible disabling our phone internet access to ensure we didn’t overspend on our phone plans. Gosh, I didn’t realise I would have such a problem with withdrawal from what I realise had become a mild addiction. It seemed my world was almost barren, as I could only check emails when we were online in our hotels. Well, there were a few positives from this withdrawal, and not just my husband loving the fact he had me to himself again without interruption, but from within myself, starting to love the peace and quiet, and lack of constant interruptions. It took a trip overseas and the thought of excessive bills to make me see sense, and to take my own advice! In the article I read today, there was a list sourced from handsfreemama.com called ‘How to miss a childhood’, which went something like this; 1) go to your child’s sport and miss his or her goal because you are on your iPhone, 2) keep it turned on at all times, so that it interrupts them mid sentence and they always feel like it takes priority over them, 3) check your phone first thing in the morning, even before you say hello, give your kids a hug and kiss, or tell then you love them, 4) take your kids to the park or zoo, and spend most of your time on the phone so that your kids wish their parent was the one nearby playing with their kids. You get the drift…  it really is a fact that we have become so enchanted with the idea of always being available to someone, somewhere; a boss, a colleague, a lover, a friend, or even a stranger, that we forget to focus our attention on the people we love. Have a look at the parents at a sporting event, or in a cafe or restaurant with kids, and see how many of them are on their iPhone or iPad. Even in the UK at the concerts we went to, a significant number of people attending were online in some way before, during or immediately afterwards. Adults, supposedly relaxing with their loved ones. There were times I nagged my kids to put their phones away, and we have all willingly banned them at our family dinners, but I wonder if the younger generations are merely copying their parents, who are either engaged 7 days a week in their work now because of technology, and who justify it by saying they have to be available. We must be stupid; no matter what our salary or hourly rate is (or was), almost no-one gets paid enough to reasonably be expected to work 12-16 hour days, 7 days per week and to keep the phone turned on at night ‘just in case’. Just a thought… Since we’ve been home from the UK, I have not bothered to enable internet on my phone again, and I truly love the peace and quiet. I’m pretty sure when I am finally on my death-bed, I will wish I had talked more to my family and friends, and loved and laughed together more as one.