Most things are now done online through our gadgets, and this gives us many reasons to stare at our screens every now and then. Even offline businesses now depend on the internet to increase sales through online marketing, thereby making them spend time on the screen as well. Most of us pay our bills through our online activities with the help of our devices,and getting more screen time becomes irresistible most of the time. I wasn't that kind of person who stayed so glued to my screen for a long time until I started discovering nice opportunities to earn a living by surfing the internet.
Whatever earns us a living to take care of ourselves and our families is indeed worth giving all attention to. But then, should I blame technology for advancing this much for our good or blame myself for not having control over how much time I spend on the internet?
I read @ahmedhayat's entry, and he made this statement from his post.
Man is the second name for responsibility. You are responsible for your family finances, your family health, and your family conditions. If you are spending the whole day on your mobile, then who is going to take care of your family?
For someone like me who has a lot of responsibilities to attend to on a daily basis in my home, it's been a struggle to balance screen time and family time. Sincerely, there was a time I got so addicted to my device that, slowly, I was lagging behind with my responsibilities at home. Then my husband made a similar statement, like Ahmadhayat, and he said, "As much as your online job pays different bills in our home, you should always strike a balance so your job doesn't affect our family bond. This statement from him gave me a reality check, and indeed, I checked my daily screen time and discovered that the time I should rest or give him more attention after attending to kids is actually time I surf the internet again. However, however no one told me to retrace my steps to avoid the negativity that may come from it.
I will admit that technology has blessed us with diverse activities to explore with our devices and be happy as well as earn from them. These activities include, but are not limited to, games, movies, music, mining and airdropping with different apps, crypto trading, blogging, chatting with friends on Facebook, WhatsApp, Discord, and so on. However, finding a balance remains the goal. One of my friends told me that I am no longer as active as I used to be on hive, and that's because I am trying to find balance, ensuring that I do not deny my family the time they deserve, but I am still trying hard to be sure that I do the needful on hive as well. I do not think anything else takes most of my screen time aside from hive.
When something becomes too much, having negativity in our body is inevitable. How I get to know that I have had enough screen time in a day is when I feel so much pressure in my eyes, coupled with a slight headache, and sometimes I feel stressed too. At this point, I do not hesitate to turn off my data and engage in physical activities. I could take a short nap or even a little stroll along my street, taking in fresh air and getting rid of brain stress. Also, when my eyes hurt, I change to a dark mood instead of the normal brightness of the phone.
Overall, knowing when to take a break, no matter what set target we are striving to meet, will help to a large extent in controlling our devices, also staying disciplined enough while using your gadgets is paramount so that no areas of our physical life are negatively affected.
This is my response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled, what's your screen time
Image 1 is from canva while image 2 is from here
Thanks for reading 🤗❤️🧡💚