Technology is all around us! We can’t escape it so we just have to learn to embrace it, in moderation…
I use technology from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. The online platforms that I use would depend on the device that I am using.
For the most part, the apps and websites that I visit on my computer are for academic purposes. If I am on my computer, I am really only using it for Google Chrome, Word, and Outlook. I spend most of my time on URCourses (on Chrome) because that is a major part of my schooling right now and I need to be active on it. When I think of my computer, I don’t think of it as a fun device but rather a work device. I rarely am on YouTube for anything other than trying to understand a Physics concept which is not fun to me.
On my phone, I spend the most time on Snapchat and Instagram. I don’t have Tik Tok but if I did, I know that I would be addicted to that app (which is why I don’t have it). The apps that I spend the most time with on my phone are for social interaction or just entertainment. I use Instagram as a way to entertain myself by watching reels and collecting new fashion inspiration from celebrities. I use Snapchat to keep in touch with my friends and my boyfriend. Sometimes, I use Snapchat as a way to communicate with group members in a groupchat when we are doing group projects.
A digital tool that I use to keep myself focused on my studies is called Flora. Flora is an app that can be downloaded from the App Store.
You can set your focus timer to however long you would like and it counts down for you. As you are studying, the app grows a tree. If you go out of the app to check Instagram or even send a text, it will notify you that you have killed your tree and that you will have to start your focus time all over to grow a new one. I have found this app to be extremely helpful because I don’t have the urge to pick up my phone when I know that I am in the process of growing a tree. As of right now, I have a beautiful garden of trees because I have learned self-control and have the ability to stay focused on my tasks because of that app. Another tool I use is setting screen time limits on my apps on my phone. My screen time limit for Instagram is an hour a day because I can get so caught up in watching reels for hours on end. I can still go on it throughout the day but once I have used the app for an hour, the app locks and I can’t use it until the next day. I found this particularly helpful for when I am studying for finals. I know I have to study throughout the day and only have an hour of Instagram time so I dedicate my Instagram time to the end of the day when I am finished with studying. I meet my goals for studying each day and get to relax at night watching reels in bed.
There are many tech-related distractions that I encounter throughout my daily life. Sometimes when I am on a website for research or just reading articles, I see ads for clothing or makeup. I click on those ads and start online shopping when I should be doing school work. The websites that take up my most time would be any women’s clothing store and Sephora. I could browse through clothes, makeup and skincare for hours and forget about my homework. I have never been able to mimimze these distractions but I will try an ad blocker extension that was mentioned in my EDTC 300 class. I believe that if I don’t have the ad in front of me, I won’t go browsing.
I have been able to create a balance between my academic purposes of technology and my own personal use of technology. I have been able to do this through a lot of self-control and practicing methods to figure out what before works for me to limit distractions with technology. I have begun to limit myself on the use of my phone when I know that I need to get something done (like school work). I have established many strategies like the Flora app and screen time limits set for certain apps. I have even learned about a new ad blocker that I will download onto my computer to eliminate distractions there as well. Finding a balance has not always been easy but I have found a way to limit distractions, be productive and also find entertainment through the use of technology.