I was watching a Dan Heath video on change the other day and he was talking about how some changes we don’t resist. For example, technology, where he showed a photo of teenagers on their phones and them extrapolated that to their parents also doing the same thing.
For a while now I have felt that I am too connected and not really doing anything meaningful with that connection.
I have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumbler and this blog. At work I use the internal social media.
To be honest the one I use the most is Facebook, followed by Instagram these days. It used to be Twitter and Tumbler a few years ago – for the connections (I met heaps of great people on Twitter) and the celebrities/porn on Tumbler.
I’m also a Candy Crush and Blossom Blast player, with occasional spurts in Words with Friends, which is currently on.
This morning I have already spent quite a bit of time on devices – I have two iPads and an iPhone. And the laptop I’m now typing on.
To be honest, I hate the time I spend on these creatures – they suck me in and suck the time out of my day. The lovely hates me on them too.
I often threaten myself with deletion and then some little thing comes up and I think, that could be useful…Does that mean I’m a hoarder?
I need to break this habit/addiction – both for myself and as an example to all the teenagers in the house who are similarly addicted.
Over Christmas last year I had a digital detox and read quite a bit and wrote a bit as well. I have a stack of books next to my bed that have been pretty much sitting there since then, and it’s August!
So here’s my commitment – I’m going to minimise my time and addictions one at a time, starting today with Tumbler. It’s the easiest one to get rid of because I’m hardly on it anyway.
I’ll definitely keep Facebook and this blog, as I might actually get back to writing more if I’m not playing or flicking through timelines.
Instagram is generally for the filters, so perhaps I can find something else that does the same thing (any helpful suggestions?).
I forgot I also have Whatsapp but I communicate daily with that so that’s not going anywhere.
Twitter is a hard one because I met so many wonderful people on there – people that I’ve met in real life. Having said that, I can generally contact them in Whatsapp or FB, so no excuses really. I do have 400 followers and I do still talk to some people on there. See what I mean…it’s tricky!
So today, Tumbler.
And Candy Crush off one of the iPads. That’s my start.
Do you have a digital addiction? Do you think you could be more present without the device in your hand all the time? It’s worth thinking about.
(Maybe I’ll just have the last five games of Candy Crush first, before I delete it…)
Wishing you all the happiness the Universe can bring
Tanya
a person's blog 