My technology use on a day to day basis varies heavily on how busy I am during the day. I find on the days where I am sitting around doing nothing, I am endlessly scrolling on my phone. The apps that I use the most frequently are definitely Snapchat, Tiktok and Instagram. I go on these apps purely for entertainment purposes, it is very rare that I encounter something academic related. However, during my internship, I did find myself exploring other teachers Tiktok accounts from different parts of the world. Whether it was classroom and lesson ideas or something funny that I can relate to, it still kept me entertained. Additionally, these apps are a main way that I communicate with my friends. We are constantly sending each other videos and pictures on these apps.
In terms of staying organized, I prefer to not use technology to keep track of my schedule. I find that having a physical agenda and writing my assignments and due dates by hand, helps me keep a better track of what I need to have done. To stay productive, it is very simple but very effective, I turn my notifications off for social media apps. I keep my alerts on for text messages and phone calls in case of emergency, but I found myself getting distracted every time one of my friends would send me something. I would tell myself that I would quickly check it, but then I would just find myself sitting on there for way longer than I should have.
In order to establish a healthy balance with technology, I have established that my phone can be used for entertainment purposes, and my laptop is used for work and I can only use one at a time. Therefore, when I am on my laptop doing work, I cannot be using my phone. This works very well for me because on my laptop, I do not have access to the apps that keep me distracted such as Snapchat, Tiktok and Instagram. I have set very strong boundaries for when I can and cannot be on my phone and I found with time it just got easier and easier not going on it. I can confidently say that compared to a couple months ago, my screen time on my phone has gone down significantly.
Hey Camryn,
Thanks for sharing! I have a similar approach to my technology use. I usually only use my laptop for productivity work and my phone for entertainment. I found that my screentime went down a lot during my internship as well and that there were some things that were easier to keep track of and stay organized through having a hard copy. I also found that sometimes the amount of tabs I had open could get out of control!