How do we break free from the ‘power’ of smartphones?

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But if you look deeper, the answers also included “I can’t imagine life without walks”, “without exercise” and “without nature”. And 28% of respondents said they could not imagine life without a smartphone with internet access.

Here is what Justyna Rogowiec of the DKMS foundation has to say on the subject:

“I think I identify with the part of the younger generation that puts animals, our four-legged friends, very high on the list when it comes to everyday life. But at the same time I believe family is value number one.

“Maybe age matters here too, because if you look at the age groups in our study, I no longer fall into the youngest one. But yes — smartphones, the internet and all the technology that surrounds us are very important too.

“And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. On the contrary, analysing the results, we can see that people still come first. But technology matters too, and it brings a lot of benefits.”

When you hear the question “What can’t you live without today?”, it seems simple, even mundane. Yet being able to answer it sincerely — whether the answer is family, music, a pet or the smell of morning coffee — points to something deeper. It is a sign that there is something in your life to lean on, a sense of meaning, something important that gives you a feeling of stability and inner balance.

“It’s not just a list of things or people without whom it’s hard to imagine everyday life. It’s a kind of anchor that holds us in life, gives it meaning and fills it with emotion,” the authors of the study explain.

“Yes, and here the results turned out to be quite interesting. It emerged that most of us — or, more precisely, one in three Poles — think about the meaning of their own lives. And interestingly, the tendency was strongest among younger respondents.

“The study found that only about 4% of respondents had never thought about the meaning of life at all. As for why, there could be any number of reasons: personal circumstances, life experience, one’s outlook on the world, or simply the stage of life a person is at.

“Even so, the results clearly show that the overwhelming majority of people really are searching for that meaning. We reflect, we analyse, we want our lives to carry weight and our actions to leave something good behind.

“And this, especially in today’s world, so full of uncertainty and rapid change, can be seen as a sign of hope. Because the desire to live not just ‘somehow’, but with a purpose, with a wish to do good, is a very optimistic sign of the times.”

Edyta Daszkowska, a digital hygiene educator and trainer at the Digital Citizenship Institute, talks about the impact of technology:

“Today we can be honest with ourselves about these things, because there is already a good deal of research analysing digital hygiene — that is, our attitude to new technologies, smartphones and social media. This research, as well as simple self-assessment tests, clearly shows that we are very attached to our phones, apps and electronic devices. And for most of us it would be really hard not just to live without them, but even to give them up voluntarily.

“And that’s no surprise, because technology doesn’t exist for nothing. It was created to make life easier, to give us tools for work, for communication, for meeting our needs, both practical and emotional. You could say that today we have become bolder about admitting that we can’t imagine life without new technologies. The smartphone is no longer just a handy device — it has become part of our everyday reality, a bridge to the world.”

Edyta Daszkowska also explains how to tell when technology is starting to dominate your life:

“The things that may point to addiction are these. You notice that the phone gets picked up the moment boredom sets in, while watching a long film or during a not particularly interesting conversation. It’s at moments like these that you begin to sense that technology may be starting to steer your behaviour, that it is becoming a kind of ‘lifeline’ against boredom or discomfort.”

Even at school you can see that children, even when they are not looking at their phones, feel the need to touch them. The phone has become almost a reflex, while radio or television no longer grabs attention so intensely.

“Sometimes it’s good to make a conscious decision not to take your phone, to go without it for a while, feeling that you don’t need it right now. It lets you enjoy a walk, nature and talking to people face to face,” says one of the station’s listeners.

In today’s world, where smartphones and the internet have become an integral part of life, only 28% of people say outright that they cannot do without them. By contrast, 48% of respondents feel they cannot live without their family. This underlines that human values and the need for those closest to us remain a priority, even in the digital age.

“We millennials have been a bit swamped by new technologies and all the possibilities they open up. But our basic human needs haven’t really changed since time immemorial. We still need live contact with another person,” the speaker stresses.

It is particularly interesting that in the youngest age group (18–26), 30% of respondents feel their lives would be worth almost nothing without their family. For many, the notion of “family” also includes their pets.

Author

Dr. Myroslav Trofymuk

Born in Lviv. Designer, director, musician, researcher, founder of ZEMLA STUDIO. Master of classical philology and digital marketing, PhD in the history of Ukrainian literature. Member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. Since 2022 he has authored the CENTRUM MUNDI audio show for Polish Radio for Ukraine, continuing the same research into the contemporary music scene in Ukraine and Poland.

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