I recognize that technology has an influence and impact on my daily life. In my daily life, I use many different websites, apps, and online platforms for personal, work, and school use. My phone has an average screen time of about 5-7 hours a day. This is also not including any time I spend on television or my laptop. My most frequently used apps are TikTok, Instagram, Twitter (X), YouTube, Apple Music, and Snapchat. These are not primarily related to my academic use. However, whenever I do homework I often listen to music in the background, which would explain why I have such a high number of screen time for Apple Music. I love Google apps such as Google Docs, Sheets, Tasks, and Calendar for my school-related work. I use these daily on both my phone and computer to complete my school work and time. When I am at work, I also am on a computer or have access to my phone. At my workplace, we use Google apps to complete tasks. Google Calendar and Chat are the primarily used apps because they keep track of the schedule and booking for the day. We use Google Chat to communicate with each other as well and let each other know when someone has arrived for their appointment.
As I mentioned above, my favourite apps for staying organized and productive are Google Tasks, Google Calendar, and the Apple Notes app. I love Google Tasks because I can make a section for each class I have in the semester and add all the assignments, due dates, percentages, and readings for that class. Once I have completed the task I can mark it as done. This also makes me feel accomplished and like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders once I see it’s marked as completed. Once it is marked, it is filed away so the list becomes shorter over time. In addition, you can star things that are important or worth a lot of marks. I also love sorting all of the tastes in each section by date so I can see what is coming up. The amazing thing about Google tasks is once you add a date to each task it will automatically add to your Google Calendar. If I open up Google Calendar, I can see all of my due dates for the day, week, or month. I also love using my notes app for any additional reminders of things I need to do during the week or that day. I also use this to make grocery lists, notes for school, gift ideas, and more random stuff!
TikTok is my most used app, and not the most beneficial. Although I sometimes use it for school, it is not enough to justify the time I spend on the app. Sometimes, I will be scrolling and not even realize what I am doing until I snap out of it! I believe it is a dangerous app because I will be scrolling for 20 minutes, and the next thing I know, 3 hours have passed by. I have been trying to lessen my time on this app every day and I think I have made progress compared to before I tried. If I wanted to take it a step further, I could go onto my Screen Time in my phone’s settings and set a time limit on the app. I have enough self-restraint to not get to this point! However, this is an option if I find it necessary.
I think have a relatively healthy balance between personal and school use of technology. Anytime I am on my laptop, it is for school work by using educational websites, apps, and platforms. My biggest issue is with my phone because it is so easily accessible. My phone is much easier to get distracted with and not even realize how much time has passed. One of my strategies is being aware that my laptop is mainly for school and my phone is for personal. That being said, when I am really busy I sometimes set my phone somewhere not within arms reach. This allows me to focus on the task at hand and not get easily distracted.
Technology has both pros and cons but it is important to find a healthy balance between the two. It is okay to use social media platforms such as TikTok, but as long as you aren’t doing it in an unhealthy manner. In addition, many different technological resources are beneficial for both personal, work, and school reasons. I am excited to learn about some during this course and be able to apply it to my daily technological use!