The ultimate goal of improving our relationship with technology/social media is to rely less on technology and instead work on real (physical) connections with others. Especially hard to have at the moment, with lockdown requirements in our various locations, but still possible.
The list provided below includes practical examples of strategies that you can adopt, in order to achieve a healthier relationship with technology and be more mindful of your use of technology:
Keep your mobile devices out of the bedroom (to achieve uninterrupted sleep and/or to communicate and engage with a spouse on a deeper level without any distractions);
Check emails a set number of times throughout the day rather than continuously refreshing emails all day (i.e. three times a day);
Limit social media use to a set time in the evening (or on a lunch break) instead of constantly throughout the day;
Turn off email and social media alerts (on phone, computer, watch);
Keep your phone (and other devices) out of reach when you are engaged in a conversation, or spending time with others (to maintain focused on what the other person is saying);
Join a mindfulness meditation course, or read a guided mindfulness book, to learn to quieten their mind (1);
Balance your time between being on the internet (or using technology) with friends or family;
Before checking emails, wait a few minutes or take a few deep breaths and be aware of your emotional state;
Take a moment to pause, take a breath and be present before answering any phone calls;
Identify and incorporate times without any technology (for example, leaving your phone at home, or turning it off before bed), and
Be actively present in conversations or when you are around other people by leaving your phone in your pocket or bag or simply by ignoring it if a call comes through (finish the conversation before calling the person back).
REPLAY THIS 5 MINS TED TALK
Stacey Irwin teaches public speaking and leadership at Millersville University. She discusses the growing need for more face-to-face interactions in a world of new technologies and online communications.
IN CASE YOU'RE NOT YE CONVINCED, HERE ARE SOME CONFRONTING FACTS ABOUT OUR HABITS WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY!
Research suggests that individuals spend as much as 46.9% of their waking life thinking about something other than the task at hand. (2) As Killingsworth and Gilbert tell it, “A human mind is a wandering mind and a wandering mind is an unhappy one.”
Mobiles phones are considered to be “one of the biggest non-drug addictions of the 21st century.”(3)
Many individuals find it hard to switch off with “one in three people admitting to checking their phone in the night, and arguing with their spouse about it.”
REFERENCES:
Mindfulness Works. (2016). A Healthier Relationship with Technology: The Mindfulness Approach. [online] Available at: https://mindfulnessworks.com/a-healthier-relationship-with-technology-the-mindfulnessapp/all [Accessed 2 Oct. 2019].
Bradt, S. (2010). Wandering mind not a happy mind. [online] The Harvard Gazette. Available at: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/ [Accessed 2 Oct. 2019]
Shambare, R. (2011). Are mobile phones the 21st century addiction?. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, 6(2).
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