Regrowing the Umbilical Cord

Its a Saturday afternoon with nothing to do, Feranmi is seated at his work desk staring into space but fully aware of the location of his smart phone. The phone dings and his neck twitches, but his gaze unfazed as though he remembers.

"Guy ignore the phone"

"Addiction no be only cocaine o"

"See as your body dey shake"

"Oya stand up give me 3 reps of push ups"

Feranmi and his inner voices have condemning and uplifting conversations.

He quickly jerks up and hits the floor and while on the second rep, another ding sounds simultaneously with a ring at the door. He quickly jumps up and runs to the door muttering "Thank you Jesus" under his breath.

"Guy how far ?", its Jonathan his accountability partner/fellow phone addict/best friend

"Omoooo, this thing hard o. How did we get here? Where your own phone Jona?" Feranmi asks

"Ah, I leave am for house, I buy one small kpalasa, see am", Jonathan says as he flashes his 2-day old feature phone, "at least for calls and texts. To think that it took your niece to let grown men realize their addiction" replies Jonathan.

"Again I ask, how did we get here?" Feranmi asks as they both sink into the sofa in Feranmi's living room.

Just then a very faint ding rings, vaguely audible to the human ear but deafening to the new rehab patients. Simultaneously, they both twitch their heads, look at each other and burst into a hearty laugh.

"Why you never off that thing?"

"I don try but what of Cynthia"

"Wait, you didn't tell her? You didn't tell your fiancée that you were going on a screen fast? Even now that we're here, if she's indeed the one sending that message, are you supposed to answer abi you're now telepathic. Wow, Glory was right, your sense don reduce."

"Na your own sense reduce" retorts Feranmi

"But honestly though, you should have told her, you don't just go off on women like that, if she's anything like my sister, she go don think plenty scenarios full her head. You better call her."

Feranmi gets up to get his phone but is pulled back by Jonathan as he hands him his own phone, he dearly beloved kpalasa.

The above scene depicts the sad yet common realities of a lot of adults in todays generation. Even more sad is the fact that only very few admit to the truth of addiction to their devices. It's as though, over the years and with each 'brilliant' app launch, we weave a new umbilical cord tied to our phones.

If as adults, we become addicted to our devices, how then can we be able to help the next generation. Research has shown a plethora of information on the dangers of excessive use of smartphones, but with the debut of every 'life-changing' app, it becomes more and more of a necessary evil.

The aim of this post isn't to demonize smart phones but to highlight what the good Book says, 'Let your moderation be know to all men.'

PS...Isn't it ironic that you have to read this on a smart phone, lol. Remember however, that the same snake that bit the Israelites in the wilderness is the same that had to be molded for them to gaze upon to get their healing.

Ihunaya na Ihe (Love and Light)

Yours in recovery,

A.D