A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Posts tagged ‘screen addiction’

Screen! My beloved screen!

 Post 122-screen love affair

If people looked at a garden as much as they look at their computer screen, they would be more alive. If people looked at the faces of other people as much as they look at the faces on their screen, they would be more enriched. If people looked at their living environment as much as they look at their screens, they would be more active.

The time spent with the smartphone screen, computer screen, TV screen, tablet screen is time spent. Sometimes wisely, sometimes not. Time that cannot be returned, that cannot be spent on more sustaining activities.

How to break free of the screen love affair!

For adults

  • Don’t turn on any screens in the morning, unless you need them for work, in which case, only turn on a screen right before you are going to use it (for work).
  • Turn off all screens two hours (or more) before bedtime.
  • In the middle of the day, do the same as above. Turn off screens unless you are using them for work. On your smartphone, close all unnecessary apps, especially the distracting ones. Set a time in the day for Facebook-type activities and don’t stay on longer than that set amount. Set a time in the day for handling social emails. Abandon computer and app games—they are time obliteraters. Set a time in the day for looking at online information that is important to you (like this blog 🙂 ) and stick to the schedule. Examine the online information you look at that is not sustaining and work towards reducing the time you spend viewing the non-sustaining information. If you use any type of reminder system, use it to remind yourself about these screen changes.

For children

  • If your child is under the age of 13 (12 and under, toddlers are not being discussed), you—the parent—have the authority to limit their screen time. Be authoritative and set limits that are realistic. A child who is under the age of 13 should not be viewing a screen for more than two hours in a day. Don’t use screens as a way to keep your child quiet. If you need your child to be quiet, be more creative in your solutions. Also, follow the guidelines above and be a good example.
  • If your child is 13 or older, you do have the authority to limit screen time, but the weight of your words is less. The best you can do is follow the guidelines above and be a good example and provide interesting alternatives to screen time: family hikes, family puzzle building, family bike rides, etc.

People don’t realize the extent to which screens are devouring their lives. If you can make the changes suggested above, you will enable more balance in your life. Best wishes for successful declawing of your screens!

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Addiction to screens

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Addicted to screens? The first step is to acknowledge it.

Post 121 Addiction to screens

(Rather than use the term LCD addiction, I’ll use a term that is becoming known—screen addiction.)

I do EGC work with a woman who suffers from screen addiction, but she is too embarrassed to admit it. She goes to sleep after she has checked her email, Facebook, website, and app score. When she awakens, she checks them all again. She eats breakfast with one hand handling her food and the other hand handling her smartphone. Before leaving the house for work, she spends an hour on her computer. During her breaks, she’s on her smartphone—not talking, but playing her favorite game. After work and running a few errands, she’s home watching TV, a movie on her computer, or playing her favorite computer game. And so her days go. She does get together with friends occasionally and does participate in an exercise class once a week, but even then, her mind often darts to the phone in her purse.

She thinks issues such as lack of challenge at work and lack of focus are her main issues, but they are not. Her main issue is lack of connection: too little connection with other people face to face, too little connection with nature and nature’s creatures, too little connection with her own capabilities and talents, and too little connection with seeking sustenance through intertwined endeavors (intertwined endeavors means participating in activities that elevate oneself spiritually and self-ly—a topic for another post).

Her addiction to screens is preventing her from connecting, and she doesn’t realize that the answer to her issues and to balance in her life start with turning away from the screens. Less time  companioning with technology.

If you realize that you spend too much time looking at and interacting with a screen (other than for work purposes), acknowledge this fact. That’s the first step. The second step is different for each person, but regardless, movement away from screen addiction is possible. Focusing on connections is the best way to overcome addictive behaviors.

“Connection is the key to good health:  connection to other people, connection to one’s environment, connection to environmental conditions, connection to other creatures, connection to oneself, and connection to spiritual presence. These connections bring all aspects of elevated, balanced, and purposeful living into a person’s reality. These connections are key for all people; no one is exempt.”

…from The Gift of Intuitive, Dedicated Comfort

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Addiction to screens

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