The internet is full of rabbit holes.
You know what I mean? You start researching recipes for dinner and somehow end up looking at the bridal gowns of celebrities. You then glance at the clock and wonder how two hours have passed. That, my friend, is the result of falling down a “rabbit hole”.
I was recently chatting with a group of ladies, and they were talking about how much their brains have changed since the advent of cell phones. They remembered being able to crochet for hours at a time or read a book from start to finish. Now, they crochet a few rows or read a few pages and then stop repeatedly to look at their phones. Somehow the peace they used to know has been replaced with a constant need to check their phones. What if something exciting happened in the world and they were missing it? What if a friend posted a message in the short time they spent crocheting? What if? What if? What if?
There’s been an insidious attack on our senses. We’ve gone from entertaining ourselves to expecting our handheld devices to do it for us. And, let’s face it, the internet has an unlimited means of entertainment. You really can pass hours of time just leaping from one rabbit hole to the next (and most of us have!).
We all know that chances are small that anything of any import has happened in the ten minutes we put our phones down, but somehow we are still drawn to check. We actually feel stress if we neglect those small computers we carry around with us.
My phone has the obnoxious ability to count the time I spend using it and at the end of the week it announces my daily totals. I’m always shocked. How is it possible to spend so much time on the phone?
I find myself using my phone while waiting at the doctor’s office , having coffee at a coffee shop or riding in the car. I look at it during commercials on TV, and let’s face it, I use it to wake myself up in the morning and put myself to sleep at night.
My hands are starting to tell me that enough is enough. My thumbs hurt almost all the time now and it hurts when I open jars or grasp a pen. Besides arthritis, I blame phone use. The repeated motion of scrolling is taking its toll. You’d think the pain would be enough to alert me to put the phone down, but I still mindlessly pick it up to search for random facts or anything else that pops into my head.
So, knowing the dangers, the time-wasting, etc., it should be easy to avoid jumping into rabbit holes, right? Not, right. The bright colors, the pretty pictures, the catchy headlines, all pull us in until before we know it, we’re down another hole.
So, what’s the solution?
I think it differs from person to person.
Take phone breaks. Some moms hide their phones away for a set period of time. This can be successful as long as you don’t use the phone twice as much to “catch-up” when that period of time is over.
Put the phone away during “kid hours”. One of my daughters uses this method. She doesn’t use her phone (except for emergencies) when her kids are home. This sets a good example for her children and gives them quality time with mom at the same time.
Get off social media. Another of my daughters has unsubscribed to all the main social media sites. She has found that she has much more time in her day to play with the kids, read books, try new recipes, etc.
Make gentle changes. This method works best for me. When I find myself with my face stuck in my phone, I purposely set it down. I look around and see how many interesting things I can find instead. It’s a fun way to enjoy God’s creations and limit device use at the same time.
Make connections. I often feel like I’m connected to the world through my phone, but what kind of connections do I really have? I’d much rather connect the old-fashioned way, through smiles and conversations. When I do errands, I purposely smile at each person I pass in an aisle. I’ve had the most wonderful chats with strangers by doing this.
I think the saddest part about being on the phone so much is all the wonderful things I miss while I’m on there, and yes, that includes God. How much time do I spend bouncing around on the “net” when that time could have been better spent in the word or in prayer? For me, the answer is a lot!
So, what’s your advice? How do you limit your phone use? Tell us in the comments and stay tuned for our blog on kids and phones!
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Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
