Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Limiting Screen Time

I know I've mentioned it a few times, and even still, folks may not believe me, but I promise... I am not super tech savvy. Don't get me wrong, the majority of time I love my social media, but the technology behind all of it just boggles my brain.

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I'm the type of person who feels the need to read through the entire user guide before turning on an electronic to make sure I'm using it properly and getting the most out of it. I am normally late to the game for most technology advances. With that said, it probably wouldn't surprise you to find out that I often don't update the operating system on things like my phone or computer because I "like the way they are". I don't need the newest or best, not to mention I feel like the early adopters are often the guinea pigs... I'd much prefer jumping onto the bandwagon when the kinks have been worked out ;)

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So I'm sure it won't shock you when I say I held off on downloading the new iOS on my phone till very recently (like within the last week) and now have access to some of the new fan-dangled high tech options like how it tracks your screen time!

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Let's just say when I saw the numbers I was a little floored... and maybe more than a little disgusted... Don't get me wrong, you could say I'm on social media (or my phone) for parts of my job, but still, the numbers were shocking.

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When I was on my run Sunday morning I had the thought that quite a few of the parents I know put limits on their kids' screen time, yet I don't know too many of them who limit their own. I know, I know, kids' brains are still being molded and shaped and don't need the constant bombardment of shiny things... but if they shouldn't be inundated with it, should we?!

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That got me thinking... maybe I should restrict my own screen time. In fact, there's a feature now that my phone has been updated that allows me to put self imposed limits! Obviously it's not a perfect fix (since you can override the functionality), but it's another way to make you THINK before you mindlessly grab for your phone and feed that phone addiction.

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Shoot, it was just last week that I posted about wanting to unplug and recharge more regularly, so this is the perfect way to practice what I preach and put that intention into action. Apparently someone in the blogosphere read my post and made this update just for me (alright, I DOUBT that was the case, but still, it felt like it was exactly what I needed!)!

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And I don't necessarily believe there is a magic number (or that the number matters at all - my number may be twice as much as you think works for you and half of what works for your friend), but if it causes us to think through why we are actually grabbing those little magic boxes, if it causes us to get up off our booties and get outside, if it causes us to be more present, if it causes us to stop spectating and actually participate in our lives, it's something I wanna do.

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I'll be honest (because you know I've aways gotta #KeepItReal), yesterday was the first day I turned on the limit feature on my phone and I really don't know how it's going to go long term. Maybe last week was a relatively high amount of screen time and the limit I put for this week won't make much difference (or maybe, conversely, I blow through my allotted time before lunch). I plan to tweak and play with this until I find what works for me and my lifestyle. #YouDoYouAndIllDoMe

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PS This is in NO WAY a drive-by guilting, saying you need to put down your phone immediately (shoot, if that was the case I'd lose all of my readers and followers ;)), but I'm saying we need to make sure the things that we are consuming - whether it's physical food, social media content, etc is nourishing us {and in a positive way} - not simply filling time!

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Do you have a limit on your personal screen time?

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