Lately I've been so addicted to my device and when I'm not on my device it just feels strange as if I'm not doing something right. Well, it's quite understandable why it's that way for me because almost everything I do and need to do is online and that means I have to be on my screen almost 24/7. Surprisingly it hasn't always been that way, I was never an avid phone presser not until I joined Hive and I got to see so many opportunities on the internet.
The truth is, no matter how anyone or myself tries to avoid being on their screen most of the time it is not so easy. Sometimes you don't even know when you just pick up the phone again after saying you won't press it for a period of time. Due to all of these things, we just have to find a way around it to give it a little balance so it doesn't have a bad effect on us. Be it your PC or your phone, there is definitely going to be an effect if you always have a reason to stare at it for hours.
There was actually a time I struggled with putting my phone down, the only time I just do that is when I want to go to worship or take my bath, other times it was hard. Sometimes I might stay the whole day without going to bed, like it was that serious. I knew it had to stop or else I might pay dearly for it. I enjoyed my time online trying to learn, make friends, make money and grow but then I struggled with finding a balance.
Nowadays I spend close to 15 hours on my phone daily (of course there are breaks). Lately I've been trying to manage it and it's working a little but then it's mostly because I don't have the electricity to always keep my phone on so I have to manage my phone's battery life. I've tried so many ways to help me reduce the time I spend on my device but they just never work for a long time. It only works very well at that moment.
I easily know when I'm staying too long on my phone because so many things around me will tell that to me. Things like my stomach, my eyes, my environment and most especially my phone's battery, hehe. Most times I try to ignore all of these things even after all the warnings they've given to me and it's just crazy. I will keep shutting them out because I think I'm in control until when everything just gets more serious.
The only way I get to regulate this is me just putting off my data and drop my phone and then start doing what I have to do without really planning for it. Most times this becomes a problem because I might be doing something important at that time but then I will stop everything because I know if I go on like that I might not get most of the things done. Staying on my phone has become something that I feel I have to do daily and finding the right balance has not been easy so what I do is just tell myself to hold up!
Most times it works while other times it doesn't. As a person, no matter the advice we get from people on how to regulate our time with our devices, we are still going to do exactly what we want to do. The only thing that we listen to is when our body takes control of itself and that's one thing nobody wants. Our bodies know when to shutdown when necessary just so we don't overstress it more than we should and that's the only time we really get to listen and not just hear.
This is my little response to the last topic for this week in the Hivelearners community on "WHAT'S YOUR SCREEN TIME".