***Are You Too Dependent on Your Smartphone? by Judi Moreo

Smartphones are certainly a great invention that save a lot of time and keep people connected in ways thought of only in movies and TV shows like Star Trek. But, most people aren't captains of space ships. They're average people with normal jobs using smartphones for entertainment purposes.

Here are signs that it might be time to cut down on the amount of time you spend using your smartphone.

* You Check Your Device First Thing Do you wake up and grab your smartphone before you even get out of bed, so you can check up on your friends and see what they're doing? If you're signing on to Facebook before you even get out of bed in the morning, you may have a problem.

* You Don't Pay Attention during Family Meals Do you have the opportunity to spend time with real life family and when you do, you're always looking down at your phone? Do you continuously share images of your food, and other things without fully being present with your family? If you do this, you're too dependent and maybe even addicted to the continuous stimulation of technology.

* You Don't Fully Participate in Events You are invited to a live ball game, a live play, bowling,or to do things that you (in theory) enjoy doing, but you're not paying attention because you're too busy with your smartphone. If you;re not taking the time to fully participate with people when they're right with you, and in doing events without the intrusion of electronics, this is a sign you're too dependent.

* You Use Your Device in the Bathroom Ever wonder why so many people drop their phones in the toilet? Well, that's because they're using their phones in the bathroom. Unless you're out and about, there is absolutely no reason your phone should be with you in the bathroom. If you're out and about, the phone should be stored someplace safely so that there is no chance for it to fall in the germ infested toilet.

* You Report Daily Minutia to Everyone If you're taking pictures of every meal you eat (not just a special occasion meal), and you're not a food blogger or a travel blogger, then you might not actually be enjoying your food as much as you could if you didn't do that. You don't need to share every aspect of your life with everyone. No one cares if you had Campbell's soup for dinner.

* You Refuse to Turn Your Phone Off at Night Getting a good nights sleep is imperative if you want to be able to function properly during the day. But, many people are so dependent on their smartphones, they dont even turn them off while they're sleeping. This is terrible for your ability to sleep peacefully in the night. Even if you don't consciously remember hearing the phone, it still adversely affects your sleep cycles.

* Your Eyes Hurt Many people today suffer from seriously dry and painful eyes due to spending too much time in front of screens. Screens like TVs, smartphones and computers put off blue light that is damaging to your eyes and can affect your circadian rhythm, causing many people to have serious sleep disturbances like insomnia at night and sleepiness during the day.

* If It Breaks You Can't Find Your Mom's Phone Number Many people have their entire lives inside their smartphone. If they lose it, they don't even know their mom's phone number. If you have that problem, you need to be sure to back up any information to the cloud, or on paper so that you won't be stranded if you find yourself without a phone in a strange place.

These are all signs that you may need to find a way to take a break from your smartphone. Of course, everyone needs their smartphones these days for traveling, to be able to call for help and even for banking or work. Therefore, you don't need to get rid of it entirely. However, you should find ways to use it appropriately so that you're not totally dependent on your smartphone.