Powering Off
Posted by Tony Penn, Boys Town Press Author on Sep 28th 2018
Six tips for helping to reduce excessive technology use.
What do you do to excess that you’d like to limit? Eat? Use your cell phone? Watch Real Housewives? I’m guilty of all of the above to varying degrees. (Really, what’s going on with Dorinda?) I’ve always had difficulty with self-control, especially when it comes to food. I remember one time around the age of 14 or 15 when I decided I absolutely had to have an Entenmann’s chocolate banana cake (which, sadly, was discontinued in 2012 – I certainly did my part to keep the sales up, so don’t blame me).
It was a lazy summer afternoon in the mid 80’s. I made sure my Michael Jackson Velcro wallet had enough money in it and walked the mile or so to the nearest deli. I asked for a plastic fork and, not wanting to wait until I got home, began to eat right out of the box as I walked. That divine combination of banana and chocolate were fresh on my lips as I spotted my mother’s car heading toward me over the hill. I panicked and tossed the half-eaten cake, fork, and plastic bag over hedges onto the front lawn of an unsuspecting family’s house and quickly wiped my mouth with my forearm. When my mother asked what I was doing, I told her I was taking a walk; that I’d learned in gym class about the importance of exercise. She quickly pointed out that it was summer and I wasn’t in school. I told her it’d been in the back of my mind for months and that day I finally resolved to give it a go. She looked at me suspiciously and then headed to her destination. I desperately wanted the rest of that cake, but scared that I’d get caught retrieving it, I ran home, wondering if the homeowner would think it had rained chocolate banana cake. If only!
The dictionary defines willpower as “control of one’s impulses and actions; self-control.” We tend not to notice the many occasions in our lives when our willpower doesn’t fail. Think of the number of days you got to work on time, didn’t miss a deadline, didn’t overeat or lose control. They are countless, but we tend to focus on our few failures: on the flying box of Entenmann’s, or on the afternoon wasted staring at your phone. In my most recent Misadventures of Michael McMichaels book, The Case of the Escaping Elephants, some characters, both young and old, spend too much time on their phones, computers, or tablets. Michael ultimately finds a way to limit his use of technology, but it wasn’t easy and he needed help. Here are some tips that you may find helpful if you use technology to excess:
1)Set a daily limit for use. It will vary for each of us based mainly on our work and school commitments, but a good rule of thumb is that two hours a day should be the upper limit.
2)Remember the consequences. According to a study “…results show that extended periods of social messaging, web surfing and TV/movie watching increased insomnia symptoms and decreased sleep duration, which led to an increase in symptoms of depression.”
3)Don’t do it in bed. You’ll have trouble falling asleep and it can deprive you of valuable time with your partner.
4)Think about your children. When you subtract the hours you spend working and they spend at school, camp, at play dates, and sleeping, do you really want one of their lasting memories of you to be that you spent a significant portion of your time together interacting with a screen and not with them?
5)Take a break. It can be difficult, but try a day-long technology cleanse. If you can’t manage a full day, take a walk and leave the phone at home. Spend time with your family with the phone or tablet in another room, turned off so you can’t hear the beeping of texts and notifications.
6)Allow for mistakes. If you go over your daily limit, don’t chastise yourself; just resolve to be better the next day. Guilt is seldom a useful addition to an already-fraught situation.
7)Remember, you’ll be happier! Teens who spend less time in front of screens are happier. And, really, aren’t we all just aging children ourselves who continually need guidance, understanding, love…. and cake?!