The Electronic Leash
In a world where a phone in every hand is expected, this Pavlovian behavior is stealing more than our attention.
It’s 4:18 AM, and I wiped the sleep away from my eyes. I reached for my phone. I had awoken twenty minutes before my Apple Watch alarm was scheduled to go off. I generally get up every weekday morning and head to the gym, which opens at 5 AM.
I could have used my spare twenty minutes for something better.
I could have meditated.
I could have lain there and listened to the gentle breathing of my bride lying next to me.
I could have simply allowed my body to wake up, slowly, purposefully.
Instead, I reached for my phone, which had faithfully been charging on the nightstand next to me.
I hit the headlines on Apple News first. Then I launched into the myriad of social networking sites—Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. This is a ritual repeated virtually every day. I do it without thinking, and between you and me, I hate it.
But somehow, deep down, I must love it, right? Otherwise, why do I do it? Why is getting that Dopamine hit so damn important to me? Perhaps there’s something more at work. An actual addiction propagated by the phone manufacturers and the app developers we’ve let into our lives. Living rent-free in our minds, forever altering our brain chemistry and literally addicting us to these unconscious actions.
As we build up our July 2025 Ripple theme, Going Deeper, I realized this seemingly harmless and habitual behavior is profoundly disruptive. It interrupts our ability to be with ourselves. That initial urge to check in with the digital world prevents us from checking in with the world within. Over time, this damages our internal compass. We lose track of what we value, what we feel, and even who we are.
Why does this matter?
Presence is the foundation of deep connection.
When we start our day by consuming content created to manipulate our attention, our minds become reactive instead of reflective. We absorb stress, envy, outrage, and comparison before we’ve even taken a full breath. It sets a tone of disconnection, not just from ourselves, but from others. It becomes harder to be patient with our kids, fully engaged with our partners, or genuinely curious with a friend. Our brains have already been wired for speed, not depth.
Studies from neuroscientists and psychologists continue to highlight the link between excessive screen time and increased levels of anxiety, depression, and even sleep disruption. The blue light exposure is one thing, but more insidious is the constant mental overstimulation. Our nervous systems don’t get the chance to reset. And without rest and reflection, we lose our capacity to feel deeply.
This daily routine of endless scrolling trains us out of intimacy, not just with others, but with the world around us. The sunrise goes unnoticed, the softness of the sheets, the miracle of waking up at all—missed. Replaced by algorithms and a bottomless feed that’s neither nourishing nor real.
The cost is a thousand missed moments. The opportunity to ground yourself in gratitude. To observe your own mind. To build intention into your day. To create space for spontaneous creativity, emotion, and clarity. Those things don’t just ”happen.” They require silence. Boredom, even. But silence is now a threat, because gadgets have taught us to fear the void.
If we want to reclaim connection with ourselves, our environment, and those we love, we have to examine these unconscious behaviors. We have to pause long enough to notice when we’re reaching for distraction instead of presence. We have to choose, again and again, to wake up to our own lives.
And maybe, just maybe, tomorrow at 4:18 AM, I’ll leave the phone on the nightstand. Maybe I’ll listen to the rhythm of my own breath. Maybe I’ll just be.
And maybe that will be enough.
I see you’re still scrolling…
But I hope you got something out of this blog! It’s not a sin to consume content with moderation. Maybe after reading this, you’ll put your phone down and connect in unimaginable ways that will deepen your attachment to the world and to yourself.
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