This is Your Sign to Put Down Your Phone and Live Your Own Life
I was at my daughter’s game last weekend and I counted at least ten people on their phones. A mix of kids and adults. I’m sure there were more but I wasn’t about to walk up and down the sideline just to count. It proved my point though. People are on their phones way too much.
Phones are depriving people of personal connections and life experiences. We’re supposed to enjoy watching our kids and their teammates play a sport they love. We should be able to sit for longer than a millisecond and be content. Instead we’re bored to tears and don’t know how to handle it. So we whip out our phones and scroll through Instagram or Facebook or whatever brain sucking app is out there to fill the time.
I’m constantly craving for the way things used to be. Before cell phones, and internet, and apps, and 24/7 access took over the world. Remember when you met your neighbors? Remember when you talked to people in line at the grocery store? Remember when you sat on the landline and talked to your grandma for 30 minutes? Remember when you baked cookies just because? Or when you spent hours invested in a new hobby?
Mindless scrolling is not rest. Texting is not meaningful conversation. Facetime is not human interaction. Watching videos is not experiencing life. The bible says idle hands are the devils work. And idle hands make one poor. But diligent hands bring wealth. What are you using your hands for? Are you using them to bring life to people or are you wasting your life behind a screen?
Consider this your sign to put your phone down. Reevaluate your relationship with your phone and technology in general. Here’s what I’ve concluded:
One. My down time is for rest. Legit rest for my body and my brain. Which means not hopping on my phone or computer any time I have down time.
Two. I prefer to talk on the phone or meet in person. I don’t have time anymore to chat via text. Texting is for passing along quick information like, “Running late!” or “Be there soon!”
Three. I don’t have to immediately call back or respond to text messages.
Four. I’ve decided technology (mainly computers and phones) is a tool for learning and/or communication. It’s not a source of entertainment. I’ll use them for work or looking up information but I’m not going to watch videos or play games on them.
I still have the habit of sitting on the couch and immediately grabbing my computer or bringing my phone with me or both! I’ve gone mad. My go to is Facebook Marketplace and Youtube videos. My body clearly has muscle memory because my brain says, “Don’t get on the computer.” But my body says, “I’m doing it!” I open my shiny gold laptop, drag the cursor to the search bar, type f, drop down to fb marketplace, and there I am. Looking for furniture I don’t even need. Or I’m on the phone looking at Ebay or Poshmark. For what? Who knows. Anything. 🤷🏻♀️
I am weak.
So I came up with a list of other things to do when I feel like I am about to waste away my precious time. Here they are:
read a book
just lay down
sew
go on a walk
complete a chore
laundry
bake something
work out
learn a new hobby
And I pray. I pray for self discipline to follow through and I pray for nothing to capture my interest, keep it hidden so I am bored out of my mind and will turn it off! Prayer works. Trust me.
Any time I’ve tried to use my phone or computer for entertainment, I’m instantly prompted to get off because there’s nothing (in my opinion) worth looking at. So I go work on the quilt I am trying to make for the state fair or I do something else worth my time.
I’ve gone hours without looking at my phone or grabbing my computer. I’m living and experiencing my own life. I want my kids to know life without screens so I am obligated to be a good example. Which means not spending my life on a phone. I don’t want them to think it’s normal to hop on the phone when someone steps away for a moment or to be checking my phone while at a red light for thirty seconds. Sheesh! It’s literal madness and I’m over it.
I often think, if I die right now, do I want to be on a phone or computer? No. I’d want to be hanging out with friends and family or doing an activity I enjoy or learning something new. Wouldn’t you?
I’m curious if I’m the only crazy one out there who wants to go back to an old school flip phone and wish AI didn’t exist and wants a simpler life without screens. If you found this and it resonates deeply, you’re probably my people. And I encourage you to keep finding ways to put down your phone and enjoy the one life you have.
This life is so short, I’d hate for you to miss it because your nose was stuck to a screen. If you need creative ways to ditch your phone, read this post I wrote about technology alternatives.
