Slowing Down: Why We should be Mindful of our Phone Usage

How often do you use your phone?

According to a study done, the average smartphone user clicks, taps or swipes his phone at least 2600 times per day! Before we think, wait...that cannot be us, let us stop and examine how much we use our phones.

There are many issues that can result from indiscriminate phone usage, and I will be dealing with them over the course of the next few weeks.

SELF-AWARENESS
Today, it will suffice to start becoming self-aware of your phone habits.

I was just reading a blog the other day, and the author was discussing why people often fail to keep their new year's resolutions. And she said this which greatly intrigued me: "They are not really aware of their patterns of behaviour."

I mused for a while, and found it very true.

Generally, people do not know how they actually behave.
They would have a vague idea, but it is often a skewed or erroneous one. (A little knowledge is dangerous.)
Hence, they are unable to analyse their present patterns of behaviour
and modify certain aspects in order to attain a desirable goal.

If we are not aware of how much and for what purposes we use our phones,
it would be very difficult for us to have control over our smartphone usage,
and relegate them to a proper place: as our servants.

HOW TO BE MORE AWARE OF YOUR PHONE USAGE

Think about
the number of texts and images you send per day through Telegram (did we forget to mention cute stickers?) and Whatsapp,
the length of time you spend just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling through your FB and Instagram feed,
and the moments where your phone overheats in your palms from excessive use.

If you are really minded to do so, actually record the times you spent on social media, or browsing aimlessly on the internet. Putting the figures down in ink helps a great deal.

Just don't be too surprised at the numbers on the page.

Note: All images in this post taken from Pixabay.