There used to be a time when "I didn't have my phone" was a valid excuse for ignoring someone, but society has a reached a point where it's hard to truly trust people who don't get incredibly anxious when they are forced to be apart from their cell phones for an extended period of time.

It's kind of like what I imagine having a baby is like -- if you were allowed to drop your baby on the floor repeatedly with no real repercussions.

It's hard to count the number of times my phone has come to my rescue since I unconsciously decided to become cripplingly dependent on technology many years ago, but I know I can always count on it to be there when I'm at my most desperate, which has historically been whenever I'm faced with an awkward social situation.

This is only a short list of the many scenarios where your phone can become your personal savior, and they'll probably make you wonder how people managed to survive when they didn't have a screen they could conveniently use to block off the outside world.

1. When you get one of the talkative Uber drivers.

2. When you show up fashionably late to meet someone so you don't have to stand awkwardly by yourself, only to discover you're somehow still the first person to arrive.

3. Every single time you poop.

4. When you go home for Thanksgiving and accidentally walk into the bar where everyone you went to high school with decided to get together.

5. When that relative decides to explain why Donald Trump is the only person who can save America at the dinner table the next night.

6. When you're walking down the sidewalk and notice there's someone in a matching hat and shirt holding a clipboard just a few steps away.

7. When your phone dies on public transportation, but you still need an excuse to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

8. When you decide to be the third wheel, and the other two people decide there's no better time to figure out what's really wrong with their relationship.

9. When you go to a bar by yourself because it's just been that kind of day.

10. When you realize you're walking the wrong direction but don't want to do a sudden 180 in the middle of the sidewalk.

11. When you're in an elevator with one other person.

12. Whenever the cops are around -- even if you're not doing anything wrong.