The New York Times reports that people spend close to three hours a day looking at a mobile screen—and that excludes the time they spend actually talking on the phones. In a recent survey of smartphone use by Bank of America, about a third of respondents said they were "constantly" checking their smartphones, and a little more than two-thirds said that they went to bed with a smartphone by their side.

Those habits have prompted new tech start-ups dedicated to helping people cut back. For instance, the company NoPhone offers a $12 piece of plastic that looks like a smartphone but actually does nothing. Van Gould, a representative for the company, said he and his partners had sold close to 3,200 NoPhones, which they market as a security blanket for people who want to curb their phone addiction but are afraid to leave home without something to hold on to. Even though many are doubtless bought as gags, Van Gould said, "Most people don't think about phone addiction as a real thing until you're like, 'O.K., they're buying a piece of plastic because they are worried about their friend,'" Mr. Gould said.

Possible Preaching Angles: Bondage, spiritual; Prayer; Seeking God—This may seem like a gag gift, but it does show how we're in bondage to distractions that can keep us from prayer and seeking God.