Ashish KothariMake flourishing your competitive edge

The Alarming Habit We All Share #shorts

31 Jan 2025 · 1 min

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0:58

A short, first-person reflection (by Ashish Kothari) contrasting social behaviors from around 1999–2000—talking with neighbors in lines, being present on hikes and at restaurants—with contemporary constant phone use. The speaker describes phones as having become like "oxygen" for many (creating anxiety when absent) and urges listeners to recognize that we can live without constant phone use.

Questions this video answers

1997

Around 1999–2000

Chapters

I remember it was about 20 years ago that I first went to a Six Flags. I had moved to the US in 97, around 99, 2000, I had a chance to go to Six Flags and I loved it. But one thing that was very clear when I was there, I reflect back on that moment. They have long queues. And what did we do when we were standing in queues? We looked around, we talked to the neighbors behind, we exchanged stories. We connected. We noticed the beauty around us when we went for a hike outside. Yes, we had to carry extra cameras because our phones didn't have cameras, but we were present when we went out to restaurants. We could connect to our spouses, to our kids, because there were no iPads and there were no iPhones. That took our attention away. But now, even when we wait for two minutes in an elevator night up, we pick out our phones. When we wait at a red light, we pick up our phones. In fact, a large number of adults, actually, and teenagers are so anxious if the phone is not with them. It's almost like they've become like our oxygen breathing devices. We can't survive without oxygen. But friends, we can survive without phones.