Today’s society has such advanced technology that everything you might need to know is literally at your finger tips. I can recall being quite young, probably about 5, when nobody had cellphones, not unless you were a wealthy business person, and it was a little brick phone with an extendable antenna.
Today however, everybody and their dog seems to have a cellphone. Not only do we all have cellphones, we are also mostly addicted to them, and by we, I mean me. My cellphone stays at my side every where I go, it comes to the bathroom with me, it stays in my fanny pack (on my person) at work, it charges next to my bed while I sleep. I have more physical contact more with my cellphone than I do with any loved one in my life. When I really think about that, it seems crazy, but in this day and age, it’s totally normal.
Typically, I use my phone for amusement only. My most used apps are Snapchat, Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook, if that doesn’t scream PLEASURE SCROLLING, I don’t know what does. I do, also, use my phone for emails, which includes work, school, and personal. I can say with a good amount of confidence that my cellphone is used 90% for pleasure and 10% productivity.
When it comes to my other forums of technology, such as my laptop, I would say its 90% productivity and 10% amusement. My laptop is heavily used for university, so you can often find me using Microsoft Office for homework, projects, and other productive tasks. I use my laptop daily for school, this includes but is not limited to research, networking, and scheduling.
One thing that I have found very beneficial in my making my time on my cellphone more productive is the “screen time” in my settings. I was able to set limits on my social media apps, once the limit is reached my phone will lock me out of the app and remind me when I try to go on it that I’ve reached my limit. It will allow me to continue onto the app but sometimes I just need a gentle reminder not to spend too much time scrolling. This has decreased my screen time by 1.5 hours a day.
While I have a good balance between my cellphone and laptop, I’m a huge TV girl. You can usually find me sitting on my couch at home watching one of my many comfort TV shows, again. I don’t think there’s been a night without the TV on in my house in years. If I’m not actively watching it, it’s usually on for my partner, our child, or even just as background noise. This makes me a little sad for myself because I wish instead of sitting around every night, I was doing something productive with my family, or even alone. I’m not sure how I can get around this one, but I’d love some tips if you’ve been able to reduce your screen time at home.