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[additional-authors]
January 7, 2014

In late August, a YouTube video went up called, “I Forgot My Phone.” Wildly successful, it has accumulated over 36 million views and garnered nearly 22,000 comments. I imagine that the general reaction to this video is, “Oh my God. I like, need to stop using my phone all the time.” The video, which is well made, is supposed to make the viewer feel guilty, assuming he or she phone binges.

Here's where this video gets it right: people do often overuse their phones, both in social situations, when it can be rude, and in awkward situations, when it serves as a distraction from discomfort.

And here's where it's wrong: in portraying all phone usage in social situations as negative, the video assumes that the alternative to the phone is more wholesome, more polite, or whatever. Let's explore how this video approaches what is a subtle topic from a binary angle. We'll walk through most of the scenes from the short, all of which feature