I use technology both in my personal life and my academic life but I am not the biggest fan of it. I think technology has its place, in both your educational and personal life, but I do not like how reliant I, and society, is on it. I do think balance is key, but on the other hand it can be hard to stop yourself from using technology.
I use Tik Tok, Snapchat, Facebook, Netflix, Audible and Google Chrome on a daily basis. Google Chrome definitely takes up most of my time because I use it for educational purposes whether I am studying or using it during class. However the rest of them are for personal use. Tik Tok could almost be tied for first place; it is the first thing I open when I wake up in the morning and I am constantly on it throughout the day. I use Netflix and Audible when I am doing daily tasks that I cannot listen to music; so doing laundry, cooking, and light cleaning. Facebook on the other hand is not something I can multitask. I have an addiction to Facebook Marketplace, I am not proud to say it but it is true. I will shop for hours looking for the most random things from old trucks and cars to turn into projects, old furniture that I could upcycle, to hunting for vintage PYREX for my future home.
I do not really use digital apps to keep myself on track. I have ADHD, so I find it extremely difficult to remember to add things into a calendar that is not right in front of my face. I need physical pieces of paper to look at which is why I use a physical paper planner. I have it open on my dresser for the next date so I know what I have to do that day. However, if there is a day where I know I will be doing a lot of homework tasks and possibly be out of my house, I use the app called ToDoList. I find it great because I can easily add and delete tasks from a specific day. It even has a dragging feature that allows me to drag tasks from one day to another.
As I have previously said, Tik Tok, Facebook and Snapchat take up a lot of my time. I find these apps to be the most disruptive for me because I get notifications from them all day long so anytime I look at my phone I feel the urge to check what someone has said, if there is a truck worth buying, or who is liking TikTok’s I have reposted. I find that putting my phone on do not disturb works pretty well. However something, that is not so commonly talked about, that I do is to be harsh to myself about it. Granted it may not be the best answer but I find that it is the most effective. I tell myself little things like “if you keep staying on your phone, your vision will start to go,” or “do you really want your future kids to become iPad kids?” This is also how I balance my life with technology. During the day I tell myself I can either be outside in the sun, or studying and when it is later in the evening or even at night I can either read a book or go do an activity because being on your phone is not a hobby.
