Logically, cellphones should make our existence more efficient and knowledgeable. But like everything else, they only accomplish positive goals if they are used correctly. Presently, in our day, for the most part, cellphones allow us to order our personal world according to our most base desires. No matter who we encounter throughout our day, we don’t have to acknowledge them because we can talk to someone else that we prefer to have a conversation with in the moment. And this enables us to forfeit any respect for others as individuals and even disregard their safety. What’s more important? Having a conversation with someone while driving, or the safety of others? Texting is bad enough, but we woefully underestimate the danger of splitting our focus between driving and having a conversation on the phone, while our eyes are, in fact, on the road. A couple of years ago, while going for a walk in Xenia, Ohio, I was hit by a minivan on a crosswalk while the driver was looking directly at me. I was in her line of site, but not being processed by her mind because the phone conversation was dominating the process. This whole idea that we are good multitaskers is an annoying trend that began in the 90s. The following AI overview explains the history of the annoying and ignorant trend:
The idea of multitasking began trending in the 1990s and early 2000s, driven by the proliferation of personal technology and a desire for increased productivity. While the term originated in 1965 to describe IBM computer capabilities, it became a popular human workforce “badge of honor” decades later, heavily supported by smartphones, laptops, and digital, fast-paced work environments.
Key details on the rise of multitasking:
Technological Shift (1990s-2000s): The rise of digital devices and the internet created an expectation of constant connectivity, fueling the belief that humans could function like computers, handling multiple tasks simultaneously.
Workplace Trend: During the late 90s, “multitasking” became a highly desirable skill listed on resumes (emphasis mine).
Myth Debunked (2001): Despite the trend, research in 2001 using MRI imagery showed that human “multitasking” is actually rapid “task-switching,” which can make people less effective…
…because, the mind does not multitask, it switches focus back and forth, losing data from each element in the process. As a nursing educator, I stress this while instructing medication aides. Let’s say a medication aide is at the med cart preparing scheduled medications for Sally Smith, and an aide approaches the tech stating that Molly Murphy is in the dining room and wants her AM medications. The med tech heads to Sally’s room with the medications, but now has Molly on the mind and sees Molly as she is passing the dining room on the way to Sally’s room. Guess what happens next? Right, Molly gets Sally’s meds. When my research helped me to understand this, as a nurse, I changed my medication administration completely. Actually, standard medication administration principles are based on understanding how the mind works and should be strictly adhered to prevent medication errors.
Multitasking Behavior is Disrespectful, Rude, and Narcissistic
Before we talk about the practical reasons to rein in cell phone use, we want to discuss how cellphones have created a culture of narcissists, particularly among our young. People talking to others on their phone via Bluetooth is a good example. Yesterday, a lady was ahead of me checking out at Office Depot, while talking on her cellphone via Bluetooth. Her multitasking was not going well, and she was taking a long time; a total disregard for others waiting in line. Furthermore, the young man working the register was attempting to further accommodate her professionally by asking her questions about customer preferences, while she totally ignored him. When she was done processing the payment with the card machine, he handed her the receipt and said, “Thank you for your business, and have a great day.” She totally ignored him and walked away. This is disgusting, rude, narcissistic behavior.
Furthermore, again, people are engaging in a conversation via Bluetooth, and completely ignoring the world around them. As a nurse, I asked an aide about a resident as she walked by, and it isn’t that she completely ignored me, but was simply unaware of my existence in the venue. And harkening back to the customer at Office Depot, I don’t think she deliberately ignored him, I think she was simply unaware that he said what he said due to focus. Study after study verifies that the human mind primarily focuses on thing at a time.
At any rate, the allowance for this kind of behavior in long-term care is utterly shameful.
Whatever Happened to Therapeutic Communication?
In probably one of the most important books ever written about healthcare, Communication RX, the authors make the case that therapeutic communication is central to patient-centered care. There is only one thing worse than being sick: being cared for by a clock-punching, task-oriented caregiver on any level. No care plan is complete or adequate without empathetic caregivers. Empathy potentiates the treatments. Obviously. Fact: in long-term care, residents will languish in pain and need if certain aides or nurses are on duty. People who need care do not want to be cared for by people who are inconvenienced or put off as demonstrated by tone, quality, and indifference. And nothing demonstrates indifference more than being on your cellphone while conducting care…obviously.
With this being said, we are a paperless society, so how do we practice active listening and subsequent concern while documenting with a laptop? In Communication RX, it is recommended that we look up and make eye contact periodically, and say things like, “I am sorry I have to use this laptop and I don’t want to miss anything. Could you tell me more about…”
Please note: multitasking, particularly with a cellphone, is the extreme antithesis of active listening, and only active listening displays empathy, respect, and importance. Multitasking with a phone displays indifference, disrespect, and low priority. In fact, multitasking is a way for many in our narcissistic society to display open contempt in a nonverbal way, and has become a mainstay for pushing back against authority.
Leisure Work
Allowing multitasking with phones has created a common oxymoron in our day; leisure work, the idea that we can combine leisure with work. Fact is, the vast majority of cellphone use is leisure. Again, the following AI overview using references from sources like Elsevier and NIH explains this:
Studies indicate that a significant portion of daily cell phone use is dedicated to leisure, often reported as 70% to nearly 90% of total usage time, particularly among college students and young adults.
Key Findings on Cell Phone Leisure Use
Percentage of Use: A study of college students found that 70% of total daily cell phone use (which averaged 380 minutes) was for leisure, while 21% was for school and 9% for work.
High-End Estimates: Other research indicated an even higher amount, with 88.2% of participants reporting using their cell phone primarily for leisure.
Adults (18-80): A study focusing on a wider age range found that adults categorized 61% of their total daily cell phone use as leisure.
Sedentary Behavior: A significant 87% of participants reported that their leisure cell phone use occurs primarily while sitting.
Time Spent: High-frequency smartphone users can spend over 10 hours a day on their phones, often for leisure-related activities like social media and streaming.
Key Activities Defined as Leisure
Social networking/socializing
Streaming videos and watching TV
Playing games
Texting and surfing the internet
Contextual Data
Youth Usage: Young people (aged 25 and under) spend about 35% of their total leisure time using devices like phones or tablets.
Phone Addiction: Roughly 6.3% of smartphone users in the US are reported to have a phone addiction.
Impact on Activity: High rates of leisure cell phone use are often associated with increased sedentary behavior rather than physical activity.
Long-term care has always struggled to maintain a high quality of care, and the success regarding improving care is obviously diminished if leisure has been integrated with healthcare work; this would seem evident. So, why do long-term care managers capitulate to cellphone use during working hours? One reason follows: the low percentage use of cellphones is used for excusing carte blanch use to the degree of being ridiculous. Because something bad might happen, which would require someone to contact me, I have a right to be in possession of my phone at all times. Yes, life does happen, but healthcare workers can be contacted through the facility’s primary phone line in case of an emergency. As far as nurses and medication aides needing drug information, all electronic MARs have access to the internet. I can tell you that as a nurse, my cellphone remains in my nurse bag or in my car while I am on the floor.
In addition, regarding nurse aides, their work is NEVER done. If they are partaking in cellphone leisure during non-break times, care is diminished…period…end of discussion. Idle nurse aides = diminished care ALWAYS. And by the way, how is billing for healthcare services mixed with leisure not medical fraud?
However, the primary reason long-term care managers allow cellphone leisure and subsequent lower quality of care follows: it is a gross underestimation of the true nurse aide heart and nurse aide identity. Thousands of CNAs that are the real deal pass their state exams daily, but only remain in the profession a couple of years and have to be replaced. Why? Due to low standards and expectations, the profession does not supply the self-actualization they were expecting. Low expectations eliminates real aides, while those who are mere clock-punchers remain. Real aides are looking for a profession that is bigger than them, while pseudo-aides think the axis of the world runs through their back yard. Low expectations diminish the prestige and equity of the job for those who care about that, and they will move on to something else.
Nursing Education
Allowing cellphones into the educational environment is counterproductive in all ways. Obviously, a single focus is required to maximize learning, and instructors expect active listening. As a nursing instructor, I can tell you that administrators are often perplexed by the failure of students to follow through on clear instructions. The reason is simple: they didn’t hear the instruction because their focus was elsewhere. And by the way, formal education is hard work and has nothing to do with leisure.
The Answer
The answer is to stop capitulating to clock-punching pseudo healthcare workers and believe quality caregivers are out there because they are. The people you want at your facility will accept your cellphone policies, and they are being added to the healthcare workforce daily. Identify who they are and build your healthcare team around them. However, people who are addicted to cellphone leisure go hand-in-glove with narcissistic behaviors, which will poison the whole lake.
Dare to do what is right; it will create an environment that will attract the right workers with the right heart, and will put the career they chose on full display.
Therapeutic Soul Home 
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