Hello Steemians,
Picture this - you are at the doctors in the waiting room - what would you do to pass the time? I imagine, even if not consciously, most people would grab their device - play Candy Crush, read the news, check Facebook or Instagram…… the choices are endless - our devices give us access to endless amounts of information. Next time you are at the doctors take a look around and I can guarantee most people will be on some type of device. What amazes me is that some of these people have children - they could be spending that time being present with their child.
When I joined Steemit just over a month ago one of my first blogs was about the key lessons from my digital detox. I spent a week completely free of technology and it was amazing how much more time I seemed to have, and how much more ‘present’ I was - not constantly being distracted by my phone.
What I have found, however is that over time my technology use is starting to increase again, and become unhealthy. Although I don't feel like I need another technology free week I feel like it is time to revisit what I learnt and to set some ‘rules’ around technology use.
I think that technology is such a great tool, but as a society I do think that the way we interact with our technology is becoming more and more unhealthy - alot of people arent very ‘present’ as they are more engaged in their device than in conversation. This is definitely true for me - sometimes I will be out for a coffee and find myself checking my phone! I have seen groups of four or five people out for coffee and all on their phones - they are probably on social media, and being social in the digital realm rather than being social with the people right in front of them!
‘Immediate gratification and response from available technology is affecting our attention spans and our ability to be present’ - Pyschcentral
This quote ring very true for me - it seems to be that I am back to the point that any spare minute I get I am checking my phone - whether its waiting at the doctors, walking to the gym or even eating lunch! We are in the age that we can be mindful simply by disconnecting from our devices and being ‘in the moment’. There is also an effect on our concentration - during my week technology free I could read books for hours, but now when I read I have a constant distraction next to me which I often check for no real reason. So with this in mind I have revisited and revised my technology rules:
My technology rules
- No phones while eating/drinking coffee
- No phones in the bedroom
- No phones in the toilet
- No phones in the street - e.g. while walking to the gym
Once my printer has some more ink I am going to print these rules and stick them on the wall where I can see them (probably next to the TV), as a reminder. I find that over time it is easy to forget so having it in view my view will be constant reminder.
If you need any more convincing that the way we interact with our screens is unhealthy then consider the following quote:
‘Similar to chemical dependence, technology and its built-in gratification are hard to resist. We simply can’t stop ourselves from compulsively checking our texts and scrolling down our social media feeds’ - Samuelmerritt.edu
This suggests that screens affect our brains in a similar way to drugs and alcohol (and there is research to support this). So I think by being aware of this and setting some boundaries and rules we are alot more likely to be mindful of our technology use and use it more productively
Conclusion
The way that we interact with our devices can affect many areas of our life such as our social skills and our attention span. After revisiting my digital detox I have revised my ‘technology rules’ to encourage more healthy use of technology.
I challenge you to analyse your technology use - you might learn something about yourself! I’d live to hear from you in the comments - and whether having some technology rules could be beneficial for you.
References
https://psychcentral.com/blog/lamenting-the-allure-of-technology/
https://www.samuelmerritt.edu/news/2017/5-ways-technology-altering-our-brains