I use my devices....
....a lot.
I'll ask you a question: "Am I addicted to my phone OR is it my digital aid for daily life?"
Screen Addiction is a real problem
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that screen addiction is a problem. Just look around you. Anywhere. You will see people using their phones. What are they doing on their phones? Hard to tell, it could be virtually anything. Cellular phones and other devices are just that versatile these days.
Now I'm torn. As a parent I have continually hounded my children to get time away from their devices. You need to put them away when you are talking to other people. You need to put them away while you are reading or studying. Put them down while you are eating dinner with the family. But I think it was a losing batttle, now that they are adults they can (and do) use their phones whenever they want.
It has been said that losing a phone is as devastating as losing a loved one.
It has also been said that a percentage of people use their phone even while having sex. Check the article here if you are curious.
Seriously?
I am going to say that many people love their phones way too much.
Am I any different
If you look at my phone usage it would be easy to assume that I'm also addicted to my phone. Whether I am or not I'll let you decide by leaving a comment.
Now you might look at that 36 hours in a week and expect me to come up with a rationale why the number is so high. Nope I'll tell you that number is low for screen time. That's just the time that I use my phone. There is also the time that I use my computer, the time that I use my tablet, and the time that I use my television set.
With a number that high how can I not be a screen addict?
Well, I'll say that it is my assistant and not my addiction.
Let's look at two scenarios:
- Let's look at someone who is using illicit drugs.
Their entire life is spent using or seeking their drug of choice. They follow it to the detriment of their life and loved ones. They follow a path that is self-destructive and they have withdrawl if they do not have their desired drug.
- Let's look at a paraplegic person using a wheelchair.
They spend a huge amount of time in their wheelchair. They would be sad and less productive if they didn't have their wheelchair. They would go to great lengths to procure and use their wheelchair. However, their wheelchair enables the person to do things they otherwise wouldn't be able to do. It enables the person to go places, meet places, and do things. It is not destructive to the person's life but rather adds to it.
Take that wheelchair away and the person doesn't go into withdrawl but yes, they would have a sense of loss.
How do I use my phone?
From the time I wake up until the time that I sleep I'll usually be using a device for something.
Morning Wake Up
First thing in the morning my alarm wakes me up. When I check my phone it tells me the time, the weather, and gives me a schedule for the day.
Morning Devotions
Once I'm awake enough to function its time to have a seat and read my Bible. Now I do have a physical Bible but I find it easier to use my digital one. Moving from chapter to chapter and finding specific verses is just so much easier on my phone. A half hour later I'm done with my Bible and time to move on to stretches and exercises.
Morning Calesthenics
To keep myself active I get my tablet and boot up NewPipe. I have my activites and motivational routine on there. 10 minutes of stretches followed by 10 minutes of calesthenics. Another 20 minutes "on screen" but mostly I'm on my back listening and exercising.
Morning Dog Walk
Of course after I exercise its time for my dog, Nico, to get his exercise. 30-45minutes walking around the park. Now I like to take pictures (using my phone) so I can post on Actifit. I also like playing Cubieverse so I can make some crypto. With cubieverse I have to leave the app open while I walk so it shows another 45 minutes of screen time when in reality I only look at it for about 20 seconds every few minutes.
Get onto Hive
After I return home and feed my furry companion its time to check out Hive. I do that in the Laptop. Hop onto discord and check for messages. Hope onto Yahoo and check for email. Then make sure I get my #HiveLearners post done for the day. Believe it or not those posts take a fair amount of time (typically 30 minutes of typing and another 30 minutes of proof reading / revision).
Time for food prep (lunch / dinner).
Of course I also have one son and one homestay student who get upset if I don't make food. Time to find some ingredients and get ChatGPT to tell me what I can make from it. Get a recipe and instructions which I'll have to follow along with.
Once all the food prep is done its time for a little "me" time. I've nourished soul and body, exercised them both as well, now its time to sit back and play a game, watch a video, or listen to some music. Guess what, those are done on devices also.
Time for shopping (or paying bills)
What next? Time to go shopping. Now I could look through flyers or just go to the store. However, I'll typicall use apps like "Flashfood" or "Too Good To Go" to look for last minute deals. Or I'll use Flipp to figure out which store has the best price on something I need. I'll also use my apps to verify I'm paying a fair price on a spur of the moment purchase. Perhaps I'll use a calculator app to verify the amount I'm paying per gram or item while shopping to make sure I'm not paying more for less (sometimes a dozen eggs are cheaper than an 18 count but easier to use the calculator on my device than my brain sometimes)
Now sometimes I have to pay the bills for all that shopping. Online banking and online bill payments help me keep all those finance things under control. Online budgeting also keep me on track to avoid spending too much.
Back home for my dogs evening walk.
Another walk. Another 30-45 minutes of exercise. Another 45 minutes with my screen on tracking Cubieverse.
Then its time to put the phone in my pocket while I tidy up the house. Time to do the dishes, vacuum the floor, do the laundry and more. Have to keep my phone by my side so #Actifit gets all those daily steps in.
Wife comes home, and time for dinner.
When my wife gets home its time for dinner. Time for the devices to be off and away. Time to chat and catch up with how her day went. Once we catch us she will often want to sit down and watch a show or a movie. Of course that means.
Evening show on my Television
Even more screen time. This time I'm not holding it, I'm holding my wife :), but I'm still watching a screen.
End of the day.
Time to make sure my alarm is set and my device is plugged in. Double check any messages I've missed for the day. Maybe see if there are any interesting news articles to read. Get ready to start it all over again tomorrow.
And sometimes I actually go to work.
As a Pharmacist I actually do go to work sometimes (like tomorrow). What do I do there? I spend 8 hours on a computer screen verifying medications are safe for people, getting labels printed, medication counted, insurance claims made and so on. Another bunch of time on a screen.
Can I leave it without withdrawl?
But I can mostly ditch the devices.
I just spent a bunch of time on a cruise. For the most part I didn't use my phone as there was no Internet on the cruise. However, the cruise line app did connect to their internal server and I was connected. With that I could send messages to my family so we could connect for shows, presentations, or maybe just dinnertime. The phone was also excellent for listening to music poolside.
Sometimes I go to my rural property.
60 acres with no wifi or other internet signal. I do miss my phone a bit but work well without it....Well, I do use it for music to keep myself entertained and wildlife (like bears) away. I do wish I had internet so I could research different plants that I find on property and look up plants that I could propagate there to make the land nicer. I probably will get satellite internet there sooner than later for exactly that purpose.
I don't feel withdrawl when I don't have my phone. It's a little sad my Actifit reputation will go down when I don't have internet. It's a little frustrating when I have to write down something I'll need to research later rather than do it now. That's a minor inconvenience only though.
In the end?
I use my phone and other devices a lot.
Probably more than I should.
However at the end of the day I know what's important and that isn't my phone. It's the time with my wife and kids and I try very hard to make sure that my phone goes away when they need my attention. If you are having trouble deciding when to put the phone away ask yourself "What's important in my life", if it is something digital (Hive, Social Media, Games, etc) then the priorities are off. If it is something meaningful (health, family, etc) and your phone helps with that ... well, that's something a little different. At least in my opinion
Again,
Am I addicted to my devices?
I'll let you make the decision and maybe even let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading 😄