The other day, I got an alert on my phone:
You spent an average of 4 hours and 30 minutes daily on your phone last week. Congratulations, that's down from last week's average.
Instantly, I wanted to throw my phone. That number couldn't be correct. I'm not on it that much. I clicked to see the breakdown.
There it was, right in front of me, my daily breakdown of cellphone usage. Sunday, I spent 3 hours reading news. Monday, it was productivity and finance. In my head, I tried to rationalize that one-I was accomplishing things. One day, I spent 2.5 hours on the Social category. Every day there was something that drew me in for hours to that little screen attached to my body.
I'm 52 years old, I've lived 2,704 weeks. According to the book 4,000 Weeks by Robert Boseman, which says the average person lives only about 4,000 weeks, about 77 years, I only have 1,296 left. Of course, I had to use my phone's calculator to figure that out.
Do I really want to spend my remaining weeks on my phone for 4 hours a day? That seems like such a waste. Especially, when I think about my first 35 years when I had no portable phone at all. I was still able to work, keep up with my friends and family, and know what was going on in the world.
Sure my iPhone 11 makes a lot of things easier. Texting multiple friends, family members, and clients in a day is super quick and easy. Now I can carry 5,000 photos, 2,000 videos, and countless books literally in my pocket. I can keep up with Breaking News as it is happening no matter where I am. Most importantly for me, a navigationally impaired person, I have a map with me at all times.
But does that make it better? Am I really more productive now that I can eliminate every moment of boredom? Am I living a happier more meaningful life?
I don't think my cell phone tells me how much I use it daily. That is not information I want in my life. But I do know I'm on it more than I should. I could be reading a book! So that's what I'm trying to do now. Tell myself to get off the damn phone and read a book! Unfortunately, I don't always listen.
ReplyDeleteI had to turn off all my notifications and that seems to help. I've even tried to leave it at home a couple times when we go out but then you need a phone to request a spot at a restaurant or to read the menus! lol I'm going to keep trying!
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting!