Seriously, reduce your screen time and you won’t regret it. Technology is brilliant and phones are super smart, agree. But what has become of us? We have become extremely clingy and dependent on our dear phones like ‘until death do us part’. The fact we are oblivious of, is that we are turning into maniacs obsessed with a small electronic device, who seriously need to get a life.
De-clutter
Smart phones have solutions for everything. Track your finances, manage your tasks, create playlists of your favorite songs, set reminders for important events, find routes to your destinations, spot nearby cafes, hotels, theaters and malls; just install a few apps and everything is right at your finger tips, only a swipe away. Yes, these are of course the positive sides which we prefer to see, given the highly optimistic people that we are. But on the root level, are these apps really simplifying our lives? Or are we voluntarily becoming slaves of technology?
The better way to think about this is by asking ourselves a few questions. Do we feel helpless when we forget our phones at home and are on our way to the picnic spot? What if we want to call someone and do not know their number? what if we see something interesting on the way and there is no camera? What if we get lost and do not know the way? What if we want to buy something and there’s not enough liquid cash in our wallet?
This is what happens when we attach ourselves too much with technology and smart phones. But life existed even before smart phones were invented, so we will do just fine.
The point is, we do not need apps for everything because human intelligence is still a thing.
Phone free mornings and nights
From the second we open our eyes till the few seconds late at night, which we do not even spare to muse upon ‘why we are up so late, staring like owls at our mobile screens’- that small piece of devise is controlling us.
Checking our phones early in the morning may spoil our entire day, by making us anxious and moody. Sleeping with our phones isn’t recommended either if a few hours of sound sleep is what we want.
Turn off notifications
Reaching for your phone when it chimes has become more of a habit now, hasn’t it? The anxiety keeps building up, making it difficult to breathe properly till all the receipts have been read. But it is just our phone being clingy and over possessive about us. It keeps calling us back so that we spend all our time with it. It’s a deadly trap and we mustn’t fall right into it, face down. Instead, simply turn off all apps notifications.
Don’t get obsessed with updates.
The urge to return to your posts and check for likes and comments is understandable. But do not overdo it. Set a time for checking on updates, reading comments and replying to them.
Waking up to a nice comment to your story is motivating and all, but there are other pleasant things to wake up to. Like the sun creeping in through your windows? A blossoming flower in your garden ? or birds chirping in the backyard?
P.S. Don’t you feel an irritation sprouting from your thumbs and making it’s way up your central nervous system after hours of scrolling, swiping and texting? If not, maybe you should pay more attention ‘cos it really does.
