In November 2011, an iPhone 4 fell into my little hands. Back then, this mysterious, magical piece of smart technology seemed like the gateway¹ to only fun and positive things: Words with Friends, a star chart app and an archaic² version of Instagram, at the time designed for nothing more than applying cool filters to your low-res camera phone photos.

2011年11月，我拿到了一部iPhone 4。那个时候，这一神秘的、神奇的智能技术似乎是通往有趣积极事物的大门：Words with Friends是一个星图应用程序，也是Instagram的老版本，当时的设计无非是给低分辨率的手机加个冷色滤镜。

Fast-forward six years and five iPhones later, and like so many others, I had become chained to a smartphone universe. And recent reports reveal that I'm not alone. According to a 2017 study by Flurry, the average American spends five hours a day on smart devices and about 2.5 of those hours are spent in social, messaging, media and entertainment applications.

快速推进至6年后，那段时间又出了5部iPhone手机，和其他许多人一样，我已经与智能世界密不可分。最近的报告揭示，我并不是一个人。据2017年Flurry开展的一项研究表明，美国人平均每天在智能设备上花5个小时，其中，有两个半小时都是用于社交、短信、媒体和娱乐软件。

It's hard to decipher when, during the span of these past seven years, the love and joy I felt for my iPhone turned into a crippling dependency. But now, I fall asleep to my phone every night and wake to it each morning. I check the Weather app every morning before I choose how to dress for the day.

在过去的7年间，很难破解为什么我对iPhone手机的爱和欢乐变成了一种残缺的依赖。但现在，我每天晚上都是看完手机才睡觉，每天早晨醒来的第一件事也是看手机。每天早上选择衣服时，我都会用天气预报软件查看天气。

I rely on Google Maps to help me navigate³ a city I should know well enough on my own. I update my inbox every time I pick my phone up (which is so frequent, it's embarrassing). Hell, the second I'm not near my television. The smart device that once acted as a useful tool slowly became an addiction⁴.

我依赖谷歌地图软件帮助我在城市间穿梭，而我本该对这座城市十分了解。每次拿手机的时候，我都会更新一下收件箱（拿手机的次数很频繁，尴尬了）。而且我也不大看电视了。手机--这个曾经十分有用的工具--已慢慢让我上瘾。

Just like with any addiction, my phone dependency began to impact the more personal areas of my life. In fact, my iPhone began to take the place of my interpersonal relationships. While spending time with family, I'd stare into a small screen on my lap instead of engaging at a level I would have a mere⁵ few years back. At work, my productivity levels dropped dramatically due to the constant distraction⁶ my phone provided. It was only a matter of time before it came after my romantic relationship too.

和其它瘾一样，我对手机的依赖开始影响我生活中更多的个人领域。事实上，我的iPhone开始取代了我的人际关系。和家人在一起的时候，我会盯着膝盖上的这个小屏幕，而不是像几年前那样和家人互动。工作的时候，由于手机总是让我分心，所以工作也没那么多产。没过多久，我的恋情也受到了影响。

My rock bottom, the point at which I realized just how addicted⁷ to my phone I was, happened when my four-year relationship came to an end.

我的人生低谷--4年的恋情结束了--在那个时候，我意识到自己已经对手机十分上瘾。