Lately I have become quite disturbed by society's phone fixation. The masses have become obsessed with the digital world and the portal to it typically clenched tightly in their needy hands at all waking hours.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist or I would pontificate tangentially about all the risks this poses. I would connect it to the second gunman and cite Pink Floyd's prescient incantation that 'we don't need no thought control".

But I'm not going to go there. For I too am hooked. Not in an absurd Pokeman Go fashion. My addiction is largely limited to the need to incessantly check emails and whatsapp messages. Twitter too now invades my reality albeit to a lesser extent. And, most recently, I have added 'steps' to that list.

It started when I accidentally pummeled my last iphone into such a state of disrepair that I had to replace it. On my new phone I noticed a heart icon. Typically I don't experiment with too many buttons but I pressed it and voila...a world of health care opened up before my eyes. Most of the functions remain inactive but I quickly noticed steps and discovered I had accumulated what I then thought was quite an impressive number.

Turns out it wasn't. But that, combined with a competition that coincidentally was taking place at my workplace, did get me to pay attention to it. Many of my colleagues were participating. Weekly totals were reported and team rankings posted prominently in the office.

I was out of the loop. But as I had recently been on a bit of a health kick I noticed my totals weren't wildly off the mark. Soon, I fell prey to the lure of the step counter, monitoring it regularly. More importantly I stepped up (sorry) my walking regimen to reach new heights.

Most days I take my dog Molly for a walk after work and on weekends. As she is ageing (she's 11 years old), in Dubai's hot season I have had to dial down the walks to about half the length they used to be.

On one memorable occasion last year she stopped walking in the midst of a particularly long stroll...panting excessively. I had to carry her to a nearby metro station (air conditioned) and sit with her for about 20 minutes until she cooled down. It scared the hell out of me. I almost killed her. So I have been quite cautious ever since. Now, thanks to the step fixation, I walk her and then do a 'part two' walk to get my numbers up.

Turns out before I discovered this little motivational phone button, my step count was only 8 K or so. I subsequently learned it should be over 10 K. Now I average about 13,000-14,000. That hardly makes me an Olympian, but it does help. My best score so far has been over 20,000 and I hope to set new highs when the temperatures drop a bit.

My current routine takes me to the local parachute club (Skydive Dubai) and back. I then set out along the Dubai Marina Walk. That weaves its way along the marina canal up to Marina mall and back. Most of it is conducted in the 40 degree heat of a Dubai summer.

While it's only about 6 kms, in that heat you certainly feel like you've done some physical activity. Thankfully there are a few bits that are indoors...one in the mall below the building I live in.

Another brief break from the heat takes the form of Dubai Marina Mall.

Anyway, I don't have much further to add other than to say while the phone fixation is disturbing on a societal level, I am kind of pleased that I am currently hooked on steps.

Thanks as usual for reading.

Take care,
Lorne