August 28, 2020
It may seem ironic to discuss overuse of technology on a blog. But, if you’ve landed here through a social media portal, there’s a chance that you’re using your smartphone or tablet compulsively. A recent reader comment on SebAnswers hinted at habits with technology that verge on addictions.
I dealt with this, too. At one time, I would reflexively take my smartphone out of my pocket every time I sat down. This wasn’t even the worst symptom of my overuse of the technology. The worst was when my last dreams upon waking in the morning were of scrolling the newsfeeds on my social media accounts. Frightening!
So, here’s my micro-habit tip. It was difficult at first, but it worked. I deleted the apps I was overusing. So, I no longer use Facebook or Whatsapp on my smartphone.
I went back to reading my favorite news websites and blogs for the information that I wanted to keep up on. And, I even found that doing so was keeping me in the loop better than waiting for the stories to pop-up in the Facebook newsfeed. Not only that, I don’t see the targeted advertising, nor do I get distracted. For instance, if I want to read an article on NakedCapitalism.com or Ecosophia.net, I’ve got the blogs bookmarked.
The second thing that I did to limit my technology use was to allow myself only to check Facebook by logging into the website. This does mean that I have to log out every time I log in. That extra step of having to put my password in helped to prevent me from going to that website almost altogether.
I later would only check Facebook once a week, and then eventually once a month. I had practically lost all interest in it after the three weeks that it took to really break the habit of habitually checking the website.
Finally, I made the effort to divert my attention to my surroundings. This was the real beauty of having come to the realization that it was technology that had captured so much of my attention.
When it came to making this change after about three years of using the Facebook app, I was able to remember that prior to having a smartphone I would wake up slowly in the morning, first hearing the sounds outside my bedroom, and then lie still until I really had to get up. And, I wanted to have that feeling again.
Nowadays, I don’t actually sleep in that much, but thankfully, I don’t have to wake up to an alarm.
The second thing I have tried is reading ebooks on my phone. Apart from having read two full ebooks, I just don’t think to open those apps even though there are books I’d like to finish on them. For that reason, I’ve recently ordered paperbacks through the mail.
Perhaps my one weakness now is podcasts, but at least I don’t stare at the device when I’m listening to them.
Life without technology came very abruptly earlier this month when storms blew over trees and took out the electricity. First, it was for five days just about three weeks ago, and again yesterday afternoon to midday today.
The experience was refreshing, and my family adapted quickly. However, to my wife’s particular disappointment, we couldn’t have showers. Even she had hot baths when she lived without indoor plumbing in Vietnam.
Of course, it’s easier to live without electricity in the summer. One evening that week without power, we had a nice campfire. But, in winter, even with a wood-burning stove in the house, when the power goes out, it feels cold five steps away from the fireplace.
Although the storms that brought the power outages were brief, lasting only a couple of hours, the fallen trees obstructing roads that were not cleared for weeks was an odd sight to become accustomed to. Furthermore, the frequency and ferocity of the storms are evidence of our planet’s warming.
To conclude, we don’t have to wait for extreme weather to force us to turn away from our screens, we can do so very simply by deleting one app at a time.