With the advanced technology that we have in our society today, it’s become easier and easier for us to hide behind a screen for hours each day, without even realizing how much time we actually are spending on our phones.
Although social media has made communicating across the world a lot easier for us, there are definitely some disadvantages to the easy accessibility to the internet through our phones. If you have an iPhone, have you ever checked your screen time at the end of every week? Personally, my time has gone up to almost 6 hours a day. THAT’S A PROBLEM.
After seeing my screen time for the first time, I realized how much time I spent on my phone, whether it was for communication, GPS, entertainment or school work. From that moment, I thought back to all the times that I could remember when I was on my phone without a specific reason. I would spend hours on Instagram and SnapChat watching everyone’s stories and seeing everyone’s posts for no reason whatsoever. I would find myself watching Netflix and Youtube videos for hours instead of doing something productive. One day, something clicked and I knew that that was not a healthy way to live and spend my free time.
Once I started my new job, my screen time started to go down and I made it a mission to keep that time down. I started spending more time outside, spending more time with my friends face-to-face and having actual conversations rather than conversing through text. I spent more time with my family, and tried to remain as present as possible when we were together.
After spending the beginning of the summer trying to stay off my phone as much as possible, it started to feel almost natural to not look at it as often. At work, I spent my entire day off my phone and only checked it every so often throughout the day. After work, I’d go home to my family and talk for hours, whether it was about our day, we’d get into some political conversation, sometimes we’d watch a movie- I was present the whole time.
The best times and memories come from being present with whoever and whatever we are surrounded by. Our phones and whatever apps are on them can distract us from so much from the second we hear that notification tone. Our phones and social media have the power to capture our attention and keep it. It’s important to take time everyday to put the phones down, close the laptops and enjoy the company of each other. Spend time with your friends and family, have true, meaningful conversations, take a drive or a walk and observe your surroundings. You never know what you can be missing out on until you look up from the screen.