I was traveling on an Amtrak a few weeks ago and I got an unexpected boost. The train station was full of people traveling in every direction. Some were sitting and waiting, some were standing and walking, but what most people had in common was that they were on their phones. Most people were not talking on their phones, but looking at them, swiping and tapping.

I had a few minutes until my train was due to arrive, so I took out my flip phone and called my mother. We spoke for a few minutes and then hung up. A middle-aged man, not Jewish, gave me a funny look and approached me. “That is so beautiful,” he said, shaking his head from side to side. I wasn’t entirely sure what he was referring to, so I just looked at him blankly. “You have one of those flip phones! Everybody around is just swiping and swiping, but you aren’t. You aren’t busy with your phone like the rest of them all the time!” He actually started to tear up and said, “It just makes me so happy inside to see someone making that choice.” I stammered out a thank you and went to catch my train.

As I found my seat and settled down for the ride, I couldn’t help but marvel at how emotional the man had been. He was inspired by the fact that someone was making the choice to be in control of their time by refusing to use a smartphone. The tool that is designed to save us so much time is truly the biggest time waster ever invented in the history of mankind.