amount of screen time: 0 minutes
books behind in reading challenge: 3 books
There’s only one week left in this challenge! It’s been a journey, less monumental that I was expecting, but worth-while none the less.
I’ll be writing a proper challenge wrap-up post later once October comes around, but I’ve begun to think in earnest about what I want my relationship with screens and the internet to be after September ends. And through that process, I’ve come to realize another component of my screen-less-ness. I almost always have my phone with me.
It moves with me from room to room. I check it repeatedly, expecting there to be no notifications, but checking it anyways. I check it constantly while at work, at home, out and about. Constantly. I’ve found myself opening my phone and randomly letting my fingers hover over the screen, wanting to launch some application that I deleted in preparation for this challenge, or opening one that I left in place.
The past few days, as I’ve been thinking about October and talking with family and friends. I’ve come to accept and acknowledge that my addiction (because that is how I’m starting to see it) to my phone, in particular, goes deeper than just the use of the internet. It extends to the very physical object.
I’ve tried in the past to come up with strategies to help with this, but always came up with an excuse of why I needed my phone with me, why I needed to continually check it. And I want that to be different. With this challenge, I’ve stripped away what were legitimate things I wanted to change, but they were also distractions from the bigger picture. Underlying all that internet use is my phone.
So, with one week remaining in this challenge, I’ve decided to take it up a notch. And I’m not going to lie to you, it’s making me a bit nervous even as I write this. Which is the very reason why I’m changing the rules. I don’t want a physical object, a phone, to dictate how I’m interacting with the world, those around me and myself.
The New Rules:
- Charge my phone in a different room at night (I recently got an actual alarm clock)
- When at the home don’t take my phone with me when wandering around, but keep the ringer on
- When spending time with friends and family, keep my phone in my bag/jacket
- When at work, keep my phone in my bag with the ringer off, and only check when taking a break
I feel pretty good about these new rules. I’m curious to see how the final week of the challenge goes. I think in a way, this is what I was wanting to do all along, but didn’t quite get there at first, which is okay it’s all about the process.
That’s where I’m going to leave it today.
Until next time,
Acire
I saw a cartoon last evening. It was the spot on a street where walkers would cross from one side to the other. The street sign was laying on the ground. The explanation from the city worker was that having the sign on the ground was the only way for the sign to be seen. The picture showed several people, phone in hand, head bent over looking at their phones as they crossed the street. I confess that I have experienced loneliness with family members at family gatherings as most are scrolling through their phone and that hour that I have/had with them might not happen again for several weeks to months – the feeling was also sadness. I have heard other parents of grown children say that they plan to have a “phone basket” at the door and as their children enter, the child will be asked to deposit their phone in the basket. I do appreciate, as a pastor, that parishioners, in an emergency, have immediate access to me.
That’s a powerful cartoon and one that feels very relatable today. I have been on both sides with phones at family gatherings, and I strive to be more conscientious about it in the future
I think you’re doing great and you’re so right. It’s amazing when I’m out and about how many people can’t sit for a second without getting the phone out.
That’s so true! I’ve been noticing it more and more.