“Melinda Gates’ children don’t have smartphones and only use a computer in the kitchen. Her husband Bill spends hours in his office reading books while everyone else is refreshing their homepage. The most sought-after school in Silicon Valley (the Waldorf School of the Peninsula), bans electronic devices for the under-11s and teaches the children of eBay, Apple, Uber and Google staff to make go-karts, knit and cook. Mark Zuckerberg wants his daughters to read Dr. Seuss and play outside rather than use Messenger Kids. Steve Jobs strictly limited his children’s use of technology at home. It’s astonishing if you think about it: the more money you make out of the tech industry, the more you appear to shield your family from its effects.”
— Alice Thomson in TheTimes
The following tweet was attached to that quote: “The fat tech cats make their billions off you giving your children the latest tech gadget while they fill their houses with books.” https://twitter.com/Miss_Snuffy/status/10337480778…
Isn’t that a shame?
But that practice doesn’t end with smartphones.
If we all know we’re supposed to be long-term with our investments, why do brokerage firms give us buckets of commission-free trades, and encourage clients to check portfolios throughout the day on their smartphone apps?
And channels like Bloomberg and CNBC run “market updates” 24/7 around the clock — even when the market is closed?
These “tools” chip away at decisions you have already made (like, the decision to invest long-term). These tools are eventually going to grind down your emotions and possibly force you into making mistakes. “More information” is not necessarily a good thing… it just may be “more information.”
Like it or not, “checking your account” is habit-forming. And borderline addictive.
And it becomes a “daily vote” on whether you made the right move — or not. You may actually be (unintentionally) second-guessing yourself often, by checking your account so frequently.
Now, there’s only one way to stop an addictive habit. Stop.
Stop doing that.
Stop checking your account every day, or four times a day. Stop.
Check in every month? Sure.
Check in quarterly? That’s a good practice.
Pick up the phone and talk with us? Even better.
But checking every day? Not necessary.
And might possibly produce some negative outcomes.