Photos: (Getty, Apple)
In almost four decades of music-makin', Prince has won seven Grammys and four MTV Video Music Awards, but there's one top spot he'll never take: the Instagram Popular Page. In a recent interview with V magazine, the man, the legend, the symbol, revealed that he doesn't own a cell phone!
"Are you serious?" Prince replied when asked if he has an iPhone. "Hell, no." Although cell phones are commonplace, if not seemingly necessary, in today's society (last night, I used Google Maps to guide me in a straight line...and still got lost), Prince has a point. We may be too connected. Likes, loves, Tweets, re-Tweets, pins, stars, tags, bookmarks, favorites...what ever happened to good, ole-fashioned, in-person complimenting?! (By the way, you look amazing today.)
In case you are feeling the need for a mini digital-detox, here are a few tips for balancing your on and offline lives:
+ Engage
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we went on this date to play on our iPhones! (My) Studies show that people who use their iPhones on dates are 200% less likely to get laid than those who don't. When out with friends and loved ones, do your best to engage with the people right in front of you. We recommend playing the Stack game -- stack your phones in the middle of the table, and whoever touches theirs first has to buy everyone dinner! Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter aren't going anywhere, and until there's an app for makin' out, you're gonna have to put in some work.
+ Take A Break
I recently lost my cell phone. I panicked at first -- 'cause, you know, what's a moment if you can't Instagram it?! -- but eventually came to love the sense of calm that came without the constant ringing and application notifications. I was also able to have meaningful, interruption-free conversations with everyone, strangers and friends. I'm not saying you should ditch your phone, but give yourself a peaceful break from connectivity every once in a while. Plus, isn't it nice to come home to a phone full of text messages and photo likes?!
+ You Are More Than Your Media
Hate to break it to ya, but how many likes or followers you have doesn't. really. matter. (Unless they're makin' you money.) Don't let your self-confidence be determined by your social media following. You're more than a photo, or a status, or a six-second Snapchat. You're a living, walking, talking human, who ought to hang with other living, walking, talking humans as often as you can. And the fact that your iPhone can't have sex with you really should make it less of a priority than it is right now. *insert winking emoticon here*
When businessman and self-professed "most connected man in the world," Baratunde Thurston, took a 25-day break from technology, he found that his addiction to social media lead to a "lack of depth, reduced accuracy, lower quality, impatience, selfishness, and mental exhaustion." If you've felt one or more of these things, it may be time to take a step back from the hundreds of social media outlets we have access to in 2013.
"Thank each and every one of you for leaving your cell phones in your pocket," Prince said at a recent California show. "I can't see your face when you've got technology in front of it." True that.
