This NY Times article, called How to Break Up with Your Phone, delves into human dependency on our smartphones – cellphones are attached to us like an extra limb, always within reach. As a society, we’ve become so connected it can feel unnatural if our phones aren’t in our pockets glaring for our attention. This constant need to check in, be on call and in the know is creating a problem – an addiction. Our relationships with our phones have reached a level of codependency “the average person spends four hours a day interacting with his or her phone.” This is a huge chunk of our day spent in a relatively unproductive, lethargic way. It’s important to separate ourselves from our technology and live our lives wholly without incessantly checking our favorite social media platforms. Some tips for distancing ourselves from our smartphones include trial-period breaks, using apps like Moment or OffTime that measure how much you’re using your phone (warning! It may be waaaaay more than you think!) and trying to reframe the way you think about your phone in general. In a final attempt to wean yourself, think about it like this, “How many people on their deathbeds do you think are going to say, “I wish I’d spent more time on Facebook”? Keep asking yourself the same question, again and again and again: This is your life. How much of it do you want to spend on your phone?”