Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Hey, Guys, Keep iPhone Out of the Bedroom

By Will McCahill, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 20, 2009 7:15 PM CDT

(Newser) – Her boyfriend’s obsession with his iPhone drove Lisa Katayama to lay down some ground rules, she writes for Boing Boing. “Rule #1: It’s not romantic to have an iPhone in the bedroom.” She elaborates: “Brian once said that every time he goes online, he feels like he’s meeting a bunch of friends. Well, I don’t want a bunch of friends in our bed.”

Katayama got fed up, she writes, after she tried to “let him get the lust out of his system instead of trying to stop the inevitable. I pretended not to care while he lay in bed smoothing his finger across the unlock bar”—a phase that lasted nearly 2 years. “I don’t mean to sound like a Luddite,” she concludes. “I just think that for a relationship to work, we can’t forget to make real human connections.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

In this product photo provided by Unlike, an Apple iPhone running the Unlike App is seen. (AP Photo)

"I get it. It's exciting to be in love with something new," Katayama writes. "But ... I started to question whether something was being lost because of my boyfriend's intense iPhone infatuation." (AP Photo)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

He tried to use the "my phone is my alarm clock" excuse, but it was worth investing $10 in a cheap alternative at Walgreens not to have a phone in the bedroom, especially one that commands so much attention. - Lisa Katayama

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Luddites Didn't Hate Technology

They were actually just labor protesters with pizazz

(NEWSER) - The word “Luddite” is bandied about a lot these days, usually to denote someone steadfastly opposed to the march of technology; it’s “simultaneously a declaration of ineptitude and a badge of honor,” observes Richard Conniff in Smithsonian Magazine . There’s just one problem: the real Luddites didn’t hate technology. They smashed machines, sure, but the machines they smashed weren’t especially new, and most of them were quite skilled at operating them. More»

Verizon Gets Cozier With Apple, Will Sell iPads

Customers can bundle it with MiFi wireless device

(NEWSER) - Verizon delivered a surprise today with the announcement that it would start carrying the iPad in its stores later this month, Electronista reports. An optional deal would bundle the iPad’s standard Wi-Fi model with a Novatel MiFi 2200, allowing users to share a 3G connection with other devices. The move firms up those still unconfirmed reports that Apple will begin offering iPhones on a Verizon plan, ending AT&T’s exclusive hold on the smartphone. More»

Parents Crack Over 'Broken Glass' iPhone Fight Game

'More blood' in latest version of slash game

(NEWSER) - An iPhone video game application that features virtual fighting with broken glass bottles and gushing blood is eliciting screams from parents. "Swing to slash! Thrust to stab!"players are told as they "break" bottles with a flick of the wrist and get down to it, reports the Telegraph . The updated Broken Bottle 2 game delivers even "more blood and a bigger variety of breaks to the bottle," points out one reviewer. One incensed dad called it "totally sick." More»

Goodbye, iPod; Hello, Portable Computer

Single-purpose devices' days are numbered: Manjoo

(NEWSER) - After yesterday's announcement that the iPod Nano now has a video camera, Apple's future direction is clear, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. Eventually, every iPod will be what Steve Jobs calls a “general-purpose device,” aka a small computer—a music player/phone/camera/web browser/GPS. Sure, Apple still sells dedicated music players. But its runaway hit is the multipurpose iPhone, the App Store is its most popular feature, and "tech is always getting cheaper and smaller," Manjoo observes. More»

Families' Mornings Start with Tech Check

Families boot up computers, phones on waking

(NEWSER) - When it comes to morning routines, the modern family has a new set of priorities, many of which require a screen, the New York Times reports. “It used to be you woke up, went to the bathroom, maybe brushed your teeth, and picked up the newspaper,” says an expert. Now, “I’ll be the first to admit: the first thing I do is check my email.” More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website