This month of digital detox has been different. I honestly didn’t think I used my phone all that much, I mean I almost never use social media. However, this month has made me realize that I reach for my phone whenever there is a moment of quiet, a moment where I am slightly bored with whatever is going on around me, the moments before I go to sleep at night and the moment I wake up. These moments add up and I am realizing that I don’t want to give them all back to the phone machine. Now, when I reach for my phone and there’s nothing on it that draws me in, I mostly just feel free.
There are some things I miss, I like to keep up with sports, I think I will keep doing that, but I’m going to keep those apps off my phone. That way I can be more intentional about when I catch up on sports, I’ll stick to when I pull out a laptop or watch a game on TV, instead of in the middle of the night or when I’m waiting at the Doctor’s office.
I don’t miss reading the news. I guess I am a little less informed about the news now, but I feel like my news feed on Apple News would feed me so many similar stories and so many things that were not actual news, that I am happy to live without it. I found this website called allsides.com that presents news in a way that makes sense to me, it often will present three different perspectives on the same story one from the left, one from the right and one from the center. It gives you a chance to be aware of the bias in the media and it allows you to see all sides. Unfortunately, it’s American news, so there isn’t much about Canada or anything local, but it provides a balanced way to keep up with American politics and global interest stories. A huge improvement over just reading what’s fed to me on Apple News.
I don’t miss playing games on my phone, maybe one of the dumbest ways I spend time on my phone. I play word games, so I can fool myself into believing I am investing in my brain health, but there are much better ways to do that…like maybe writing? Or even just thinking?
I miss listening to books. I actually gave in and started doing this again the last week of October. But I have stopped doing it when I might be around other people. I don’t listen at the grocery store for instance, or when I’m preparing a meal and Nicky is in the next room. This leaves me available for conversation and interactions that I have missed in the past.
I don’t miss shopping on my phone, I was still doing some shopping on my laptop if necessary, but it stops me from just browsing Amazon, or Marketplace for something to do. That kind of shopping just makes me want things, things that I often don’t need.
I don’t miss watching TV shows. I have still been watching some with Nicky, and we watch sports together as well, but I don’t miss watching shows by myself, I feel like there are so many better, more enjoyable and life-giving things I can be doing with my time.
With this extra time I have pulled out of thin air I have added a few things to my life that I quite find quite meaningful. The time that I would normally be reading news and sports info on my phone I am reading books. I inherited a Kobo from my Mom and it is great, especially for reading at night. I am spending more time reading my Bible, praying and just reflecting on life and what I think God is trying to teach me. This is so valuable to me and helps me in so many ways. I also feel like I have been more present in relationships, it’s not so much that I was using my phone in the middle of conversations with people, but I didn’t think to reach out as much because my phone had my attention.
This month without my phone has been very positive for me, I am looking forward to continuing to use digital media in a way that is helpful to me and to avoid using it in ways that are not.