Digital Wellbeing
Be Real.
I want to pass on to this generation and the next generation, lessons that I am learning by living without a mobile phone that may well prove lifesaving as well as life enhancing. In the future technology may well have been bought under control and laws passed to safe guard our youngsters and to stop faceless corporations from designing ever more clever ways to get us hooked on these attention seeking smartphones. These digital devices are merely high maintenance accomplices to hood-wink you into believing you are achieving more, as they seem to be promising you a ‘live life to the maximum’ lifestyle with minimal effort - the convenience factor seems to be the biggest carrot.
To keep a healthy mind we need to be vigilant of how we use our smartphones and for how long. The scientists haven't caught up with the statistics yet, but with the increasing number of teenage suicides, brain tumours, gambling addiction, chronic anxiety, cyber bullying, pornography on tap (literally, 'with one tap' of your digit) why aren't we admitting the part these smartphones have played in these side effects of digital addiction? When will we all wake up to the facts and to perhaps chose to take the longer route and smell the roses? Ironically, I had found that when I had a mobile phone, instead of becoming more connected I had in fact become more disconnected
By dis-engaging with my mobile phone I’ve in fact become fully engaged with life.
Self honesty
If you are still preferring to put your head in the sand and preferring to believe that it is me who is the odd one out for choosing to live without this mobile technology, then that's your choice. However, might it be, as the results from mobilefree.me survey are seeming to indicate, that 'addiction' is too strong a word to describe a generation of mobile phone users? Let’s be honest with ourselves at least and understand that we may well be a population in danger of becoming digitally dependable?
Sharing Practical Tips:
Get into Healthy digital habits together:
Digital Free Dinner - do not allow your family to bring their mobiles to the table during meal times – not even Dad or Mum - remember parents are children's first role model.
Go Greyscale - change this in settings, without flashy colours it becomes less attractive to the eye so less distracting.
Limit What is on Your Home Screen - icons for daily essentials only leaving all other apps on the screens behind this so they are not so readily available and in front of you all the time.
Not in the Bedroom - put mobiles outside the bedrooms to charge. This not only reduces the temptation to take a peek it also eliminates any blue light rays so makes for a deeper night's sleep. Buy a cheap alarm clock as this is not a strong enough excuse.
Do Not Disturb - you can 'shush’ (in settings) chronic oversharing friends and so won't be alerted of their posts - instead of having the dilemma of blocking or removing them. Genius!
Mute Notifications for when you can, to create quiet times in your day.
Digital Wellbeing Apps to help you with your usage to get a reality check, such as:
Activity Dashboard which displays average time you've spent on your mobile.
Forest App which rewards you for taking time out.
Daily Reminder - allows you to set a time limit on usage.
Restricted Mode - filter out non age appropriate content.
Time Out Daily Practice - dedicate a container (a bit like what 'the naughty step' is for toddlers) with a sticker clearly stating 'STEP AWAY FROM THE MOBILE!' Leave this container with the mobile/s inside it in an easy-to-see place, such as the hallway, so that the whole family can help police this. Phone Safe now available, click here to purchase.
Conversation Cures - talk through problems or concerns face to face, after all 'sharing is caring'.
These tips are to help keep our mobile phones as helpful and dependable companion gadgets rather than devices that make us digitally dependent by stealth.
To evaluate your true mobile usage why not download one of the many apps which do just this such as 'Activity Dashboard' or 'Your Time on Facebook' as I think you will find the results astonishing.
I seem to have unintentionally moved into a more proactive role of helping others who have shown so much interest in how I am managing my mobile free life now. I therefore want to share ways to help others get on top of their technology so that they too don't have to suffer feeling overwhelmed on a daily basis.