Do you ever feel like so much shade is thrown at screen time that it's like some people think you should never spend one single second of "unproductive" time on a computer or other device. In fact, couldn't you just give it up altogether outside of work? Yeah, this isn't that kind of post.
Computers and smart phones are some of the greatest, most impactful things ever invented. I LOVE them! Having lived long enough to know what it was like before personal computers. Trust me; I'm a big, big fan.
I'm still traumatized by the memory of combing through giant encyclopedias and piles of other reference books and flipping through stacks and stacks of old National Geographic magazines to find pictures to cut out to compile a simple sixth grade report on the Incan Civilization. I can still remember the days of being driven crazy watching a movie and trying to recall where you'd seen an actor before or having to flip through pages of an atlas to try to calulate the mileage from where you were to where you wanted to go.
No, thanks! Give me, "Hey, Siri, what movies has Random Actor been in," or, "Hey, Siri, how many miles from here to Yosemite," any day! And no one settles a disagreement like the internet.
Oh yeah, and you can easily access important stuff, too.
Also, hello! You're reading this on some kind of computer or hand held device. Without computers most businesses would be severly handicapped or nonexistent. So, yeah, I'm a big fan.
That being said, I also realize it's way too easy to cross the line from productivity or reasonable relaxation to total waste of time. I mean really how many times can we watch that adorable baby panda video or scroll through other people's funny mom texts before it's too much?
How can we know if we're maintaining a healthy balance or crossing over and letting our screens suck some of the life out of our life? Only you know that for you. Here are a few ideas to help you figure that out and do something about it, if you want to.
1. MAKE A LIST OF 10 THINGS YOU WANT/NEED TO DO - CHORES/PROJECTS/DREAMS/ETC.
Why? Because if you're like everybody else, there will be things on this list being impacted by the amount of time you're spending on your screens. Every time we choose to do one thing, there are lots of other things we're choosing not to do. Keeping a ready list of what you're trading away for that screen time helps you make sure you're keeping it in check.
2. SET SCREEN TIME MONITORS AND LIMITS IF YOU HAVE THEM.
Maybe you monitor yourself and your time with laser like focus - but chances are you don't. We all know it's waaaayyy too easy to get sucked into the internet/media vortex. Make a conscious choice about how much viewing time is acceptable for yourself and the life you want. Don't just open up YouTube and see what happens. You'll regret it later.
Some apps and programs allow you to set daily time limits for usage and many smart phones and tablets can be set up up to send you notifications about how much screen time you've had per day or week.
When we deliberately choose the amount of time we're willing to give to strolling around the internet neighborhoods or watching tv, that time is enjoyable and useful. When we just hop on and go - hello, vortex. The amount of time we deem acceptable will vary with our life circumstances, but the point is to make our discretionary screen time intentional, so it serves us well. Monitors that alert us to how long we've been online can be like an awesome (free!) personal assistant who helps us stay on track.
3. EVALUATE HOW MUCH OF YOUR SCREEN TIME IS WORTH IT.
Work related screen time can add up fast, but it's necessary. We can monitor that to be sure we not spending extra time, but there's only so much we can do about it. That being the case, let's talk about the non-business hours we're on our screens.
After we've done Step 2 and decided how much screen time is a good fit for us, it's worth looking at what we're looking at. Is it helping us be happy, positive, productive people? Or is it sucking the life out of our life?
4. TAKE A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA.
Social media can be wonderful. But it can also be useless or even harmful. The way I look at it, social media is like a big party going on all around the world 24/7/365. Some people are being loud and crazy, some are talking politics, some may find a place away from most of the crowd to have a quieter conversation, some are promoting a cause; there's literally no end to the number of conversations or topics available to join in on, or even just to observe.
Now, I enjoy a party as much as the next person, but I don't want to go to one every day. Our brains need a break from all the noise. We need time when we don't feel the need to be "on" and when we're not surrounded by others who are "on."
Leave the party for a day, a week, two weeks, or longer, and see what happens. I promise the party won't have slowed down and will still be going strong when you walk back through that door. And odds are very good you won't have missed anything truly important while you were away. But you may very well gain something valuable you may not have realized you were missing.
5. SEEK FACE TO FACE INTERACTIONS.
We humans are hard wired for connection. It's a psychological fact. While those connections certainly can come in many forms, it's also a fact that face to face interactions facilitate connections that come in no other way. Something happens when we look into the eyes of another living creature in real life, when we can touch them and sense their body language. In our digital world, it's shockingly easy to avoid real life interaction. That's not good for us. We need the kind of mental, physical, and emotional giving and receiving that comes through personal, real life contact.
It's true that sometimes it's healthy to pull back and have some time alone. But not too much. We need to be with each other. We need to connect - in person - with other living souls. Face to face.
This high-tech, digital world we live in is a wonderful, magical place. Let's be sure we don't lose ourselves in it. Like the bunny in The Velveteen Rabbit, let's make sure we stay real.