When asked to look at my daily use of technology, I realized my life could be separated into many categories and it would be crucial to do so in order to accurately look at my use of technology. These categories are separated into: mom life, me time, work, and school.
Mom Life
There are some moms who limit technology for their kids and therefore for themselves as well. I find with how busy of a schedule we run in our house, even if we were to set a limit on the day- most days we wouldn’t even come close. That being said, I am a firm believer that a “movie day” every once in a while never hurt. The apps I use mostly in my mom life are google (is this normal? What age should she be doing this? What does it mean if her poop is this colour?), YouTube (Ms Rachel is a frequent distraction for road trips!), and streaming platforms such as Disney+ and Netflix. While most of this screen time is just for fun, I find the educational videos I find on streaming platforms and YouTube help me as a mom to point out educational milestones and ideas on how to help my daughter learn.
Me Time
Who am I kidding… I am a mom. What is “me time”? All jokes aside this category is taken up mostly by social media. Instagram and TikTok are a majority of this category, as well as online shopping. This category is limited by my busy schedule, and I further limit it by setting a time limit on my phone to how long I can be on the two apps listed above. Technology in my personal time also includes watching movies and TV shows with my boyfriend before we go to bed. We use technology as a way to connect every evening as we watch a show together.
Work
For me, this is the toughest category when I look at my full time job. We use technology everywhere, but it is such different programs than my day-to-day life that I have a hard time naming or comparing them! Computers are used to run every area of the OSB mill and are crucial to our success! On the side I run a photography business to which technology is vital! Technology allows me to have a camera that captures beautiful photos, and the program Adobe Lightroom which covers almost all of the editing I do! Lightroom also has a mobile app which allows me to edit pictures on the go which lately has looked like a lot of editing in the combine having date nights with my boyfriend!
School
Technology has a huge role in education and has gotten an even bigger role since the pandemic. This is such a blessing for me as I am able to take my schooling fully remote for now, and spend more time focusing on the school work and my other responsibilities as compared to spending that time on the road! For me, technology has made going back to school as a mom and a full time employee possible. I use a lot of platforms on my smartphone which allows me to do my schooling anywhere. Whether that be on my breaks at work, listening to recordings of class as I drive home, or typing up a blog post as my daughter is playing toys at my feet.
In conclusion, there is a very large push to limit technology in today’s society. This makes sense with the vast amount technology has taken over our day-to-day lives. As with any change, there will be some push back. For me, I am so thankful technology is where it is today as it allows me to have the full schedule I do!
Hi Brianna!
I love how you broke this into categories – it totally makes sense!
You definitely sound like a busy gal juggling work, school, photography, and mom life!
It sounds like you have a very positive outlook on your relationship with technology which I love to hear 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment Jaylyn! I definitely find being as busy as I am breaking things into categories is the only way I don’t get overwhelmed! 😂
I can definitely see why people could have a negative relationship with technology but I find for me it’s just a tool to help!