The Pain That Inspired Me to Go Down The Rabbit Hole of Technology Usage (and Minimize It)
What my personal digital detox journey looks like - Mindfulness and Abstinence
This is just the beginning.
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I remember painful moments when I was single (over five years ago) and tired of all the dating experiences with the men I was meeting online. I deleted dating apps from my phone only to find myself back on them after a few months. I wish that pain on no one.
Raise your hands if you feel this! Growing up in the 80s and 90s probably taught you how to keep yourself occupied with hobbies as an adult. Did your neighbors have the old school chunky Ericsson phone (the one that was so heavy you could smash someone on the head with it? …yeah, that one!) and people from other countries called your neighbor’s number to talk to you? Years later, you had a phone at home, talked to your friends on the phone or met up with them or had sleepovers. May be you collected cards, stamps, marbles or just cute things to put in your treasure box. Break my heart please, did you write letters?
Those were the days!
The first time got myself a mobile phone over 22 years ago was because everyone in this city had a personal phone. Today, it’s like you can’t even imagine what life is like without your mobile phone. It’s like forgetting a part of your body at home. What? How? No!
It seems what once was a luxury has sort of become a necessity. It ‘seems’. Can we actually live without a phone? Wait. Don’t answer that. Can we actually imagine ourselves without a phone? No Substack app. No email. No Facebook or IG. No WhatsApp.
I’ve been considering it for a while. There are too many apps on my smart phone. Each week I get notified about one more app that my phone “put it to sleep” to extend it’s battery life. Could I imagine my life with a dumb phone that just has internet and WhatsApp?
Maybe.
My approach to this is gradual, as is anything else in life. If I didn’t get thrown into the app world all at once, it will take me time to wean myself off the apps. I’ve tried going cold turkey many times with many things. I don’t want to be that girl who runs to buy back a smart phone just like she went back on dating apps.
Right now, I’m building that up. I’ve done without Facebook (and the dear FB friends). I’m on Substack, figuring my way out and how I can make to best use of my time without spreading myself thin doing the things I’m committing myself to on a weekly basis - Substack, Medium, Podcast, Learning, Work, Writing/Researching for my next book.
As I’m figuring my energy levels out based on the three hormones that visit me on my menstrual cycle, I’m learning about when I’m drawn to reading, listening to podcasts, and when I’d much rather abstain from consuming information. I’m highly sensitive so I can’t afford to overwhelm my system.
My fasting journey taught me about elimination of certain foods, including healthier substitutes as well as about varying my eating hours windows. I’m bringing the same approach to technology consumption and abstinence.
I’m aware of the adverse health effects of technological over-dependence on one’s mental wellness. And while I love staying up-to-date with all the posts in my inbox, my own system will crash from information overload. My introvert (slow processing) brain needs a lot of peace and quiet - abstinence to process the information I consume on my phone ( I want to consume mindfully) as well as my laptop.
Keep Your Devices Away From Your Body
Did you know that the electromagnetic excess that comes out of our smart phones weakening our bones? That having a laptop on your lap in your teens and 20s might mean low sperm count and erectile dysfunction for guys in their 30s and 40s? That 47% women who have too much exposure to this dirty electricity from devices in their adolescence and 20s suffer miscarriages in their 30s?
Steve Jobs wasn’t an idiot. He very well knew what he was doing, as well as what the iPhone did. Which was why he kept his children as far as possible from them. I watched a disturbing video clip in which children under the ages of five were screaming upon devices being taken away from them Some even threatened their parents! It was a devastating video to watch. Read the full story here:
Technology has its advantages. But the fact that it doesn’t have to rule our lives is something that need to dawn on each person in their own time. Before we work on artificial intelligence I think it’s time we do something about natural stupidity.
If you’re looking to work with a coach to bring more discipline, aka self-love into your life, please write to me at Optimysticoachk@gmail.com.