With online media more prevalent in our lives now more than ever, there’s one motto to live by: everything in moderation. Yes, we’ve been told countless times how detrimental media consumption is for us, whether it’s a negative body image because of social media or a sedentary lifestyle from watching too much television. However, in such a technology driven and reliant world, there is essentially no escape from the screen. While it would be hard to go completely off the grid, there are more than enough ways to maintain a healthy relationship with media by decreasing screen time.
1. The culprit–social media.
I single handedly blame social media for the majority of my screen time. It’s so easy to get lost for hours in the simple act of scrolling, whether it’s through pictures on Instagram, memes on Facebook, or tweets on Twitter. This is easily everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure, but the first step is recognizing how much time we spend staring at disadvantegous content. To limit yourself, go on a social media cleanse, even if it’s just for a day or two. Trust me, your life will change–you’ll realize how much more time you have to go out and actually do things, whether it’s taking a walk or catching up with a friend–in person. After your cleanse, keep yourself signed out of the apps when you can. It’ll reduce the trigger finger tendency when you find yourself bored and on your phone.
2. Keep work at work; don’t be constantly checking your emails.
As a student, the majority of your emails are probably from the university or shopping websites, so this might not apply to you just yet. Once you enter the work force, however, your emails become your life–it’s how you communicate within the business and with clients. It’ll be tempting to clear everything off your plate by replying to an email as soon as you get a notification from it, but that can leave you obsessively refreshing. There’s a fine line between being able to be reached for work emergencies and being a workaholic. Don’t be the latter!
3. Download the Moment app to consciously track how much you’re on your phone.
While it doesn’t block you from accessing any site or app, you’ll see that the meter goes from green to orange to red when you’ve reached a certain screen time. This subconsciously tricks our brain into decreasing the time on your phone because we want to keep the meter in the green. This app does a great job at reminding us of how much time we essentially waste on our phones.
Image via inthemoment.io/
Regardless of what habits you implement into your life, be conscious of how many hours you spend per day in a virtual reality. Remember to put down the phone once in a while and be aware of your real, physical, and amazing life!