Are you addicted to your smart phone?
It's OK, this side of Swifties and Donald Trump apologists/antagonists, there may not be a bigger collective group in America than those addicted to their smart phones.
Need proof? Just take a look around wherever you may be.
Jay GreesonWork. Home. Restaurants. Barber shops. Wal-Mart check-out line. Post office. Your kids' sporting events. Concerts. Protests. Classrooms, for Pete's sake. Everywhere this side of church - and believe it or not, I've seen it at church - you can pick a place, and that place is filled with people swiping at the screens of their iPhones.
It's understandable, of course. Everything - and we mean everything - is at your fingertips, and that kind of access can become addictive.
But how addicted are you?
Well, here's your chance to find out, state your case and maybe make six figures in proving otherwise.
Earlier this week, two professional gamblers made a bet that one of the two could go 30 days in a darkened room with no human contact or access to technology.
Yes, a month in isolation for $100,000. Could you do it? The pro gambler made it 20 days before the other bettor bought out the wager for more than $62,000.
But a month is not a year, and that brings us to a fun offer from Vitaminwater.
Vitaminwater claims that one out of every two people say they can't live without their smart phones, and they are willing to bet that whomever they choose can't go a year without their device in 2019.
The bet? That's right, $100,000.
If you are interested in giving it a go, find Vitaminwater on Instagram or Twitter - use the #nophoneforayear and #contest for quicker access - and tell them why you are the person who can go smart-phone free 24/7/365.
The contest entry will be closed on Jan. 8, and here are some of the non-legally binding guidelines from the website about the differences between smart phones and old-school wireless, flip phones (and yes, you can have a call-only phone during the year of the contest, just not a smart phone):
» You may not use any smartphone for 365 days. If texting is a pleasant experience or you can get the internet, it's probably a smart phone;
» This means you may not physically operate, caress, hug or otherwise be physically affectionate with anyone's smart phone;
» If you're lying in bed and miss your phone, do not attempt to sneak a midnight scroll just close your eyes and dream about Vitaminwater.
» Vitaminwater will pick a participant who will swap their smart phone for a 2000s-era call-only phone. If the participant lasts six months they get $10,000, and if he or she makes it for the full year it's worth $100,000.
So there you go. Can you go a year without your smart phone with $100,000 on the line?
Who knows, maybe the break from all the distractions could be the smartest move of all.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and 423-757-6343.