Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about the variety of ammo choices available when it comes to self-defense. If you missed that article, I will leave a quick link to that article right here for you guys. This week’s topic is a bit different since it’s fairly easy to get distracted and sucked into distractions that ultimately could allow you to be put into difficult situations. With everything available at our fingertips in society, it can be easy to get distracted on your phone rather than paying attention to your surroundings. Let’s take a closer look at dangerous distractions in our world.

Concealed Carry Corner @ TFB:

• Concealed Carry Corner: Important Ammo Choices
• Concealed Carry Corner: Pistol Type Reliability Over Time
• Concealed Carry Corner: Consumable Carry Items
• Concealed Carry Corner: New Dry Fire Methods

The Number One Distraction

So what do you guys think the number one distraction is in our society today? it’s not your nagging significant other or your kids asking questions but your cell phones. Cell phones have given us the power to look up any information we need at a moment’s notice. They allow us to be in constant contact with friends and family but all this information can cause real issues with your personal safety. Cell phones have become an escape for people whether it’s avoiding interactions with strangers on a plane, or avoiding your family members at holiday dinners, having a cell phone allows people to focus on the screen instead of what’s around them.

Technology-Based Tunnel Vision

Some of you may see technology-based tunnel vision and not understand what exactly I mean. Tunnel vision is a flight or fight response where your vision closes in to see only a fraction of your field of view. This was the natural response to look for obstacles when the sabertooth tiger was chasing our ancestors 10,000 years ago. Even today, tunnel vision is something to keep in mind for law enforcement officers and active duty military. It’s incredibly easy to develop tunnel vision in a high-stress situation, but moving your head more than 80 degrees can break tunnel vision.

This is why most firearm instructors teach their students to move their heads from side to side in order to break tunnel vision and gain their field of view back. So what does technology have to do with tunnel vision? Having your cell phone in your hand at all times while you’re out in public will give you the same effect as having tunnel vision. Staring at a phone screen when carrying a concealed firearm should never be a combination you find yourself participating in when out in public.

I was recently traveling across the country with a buddy of mine. We are both conceal carriers and while traveling, he had his face buried in his phone. Anything going on around us, he was completely unaware. There was a car burned out on the side of the road from a fire and he completely missed it because he was so focused on his phone. Riding in the car and looking at your phone as a passenger isn’t much of a big deal but when you’re out in public that’s a much bigger issue.

Real World Examples

About 7-8 years ago there was a series of robberies around Virginia Beach at ATMs where a group of younger individuals would wait around the corner and ambush people with a handgun in order to have them withdraw money from their account.  One of the most well-known parts of this case was the fact a woman was stunned because she said the men came out of nowhere. She said they randomly showed up out of nowhere from behind and pointed a firearm at her.

Police pulled the ATM video footage and realized she was so caught up in her phone that she simply didn’t see the 4 men standing around the ATM as she walked up. A few weeks later a concealed carrier saw the men and parked his truck with the headlights shining on the men until they got into their vehicle and left. As they were driving away, the police pulled the license plate off the car and ended up catching the man. The takeaway point is to see just how limiting your phone can be for your situational awareness and how important just looking at your surroundings before heading inside a store or somewhere else. The new trend of having people buried in their phones is a really terrible choice when it comes to personal safety because you lose all perspective of potential risks.

Overall Thoughts

I can hear my older readers saying how ridiculous this article is and how they don’t need to stare at their phones all day. I agree with that and I honestly believe that’s true for the older crowd here. The big problem with this concept is when it comes to younger conceal carriers who picked up the habit of being on their phone and as a result, they tend to lose their situational awareness putting them at a fairly large disadvantage. The best piece of advice I can give you guys is to put your phone away and only take it out for 5-10 second intervals. I recently started limiting my screen time in public and as a result, I tend to catch way more than I would if I was just simply walking around with a phone in my hand.

Situational awareness is one of the most important things you can talk about when it comes to carrying a concealed firearm. Seeing a threat or potentially dangerous situation before you have to react will save you from having to ever draw your firearm. More and more people are stuck in their phones and as a result, are losing their greatest tool for avoiding threats.

What are your thoughts on phones when it comes to carrying concealed? I made it clear I think it should be in your pocket unless you absolutely need it but is there a benefit to having it out? Let me know your thoughts down below in the comment section. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

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