Take Control Of Your Tech – Tips to Limit Screen Time
A month ago I stood in our kitchen and told Kelly I was done. Done with my blog, done with Instagram, done with it all. I was frustrated with technology and social media in general, and felt that my role in this online world was feeding into our society’s downward spiral. A society that spends more time looking down and scrolling, than looking up and living.
Stop what you’re doing right now. Where are you? Look around. Are you in a restaurant? What percentage of people are looking at their phones? Kids on iPads?
Are you out with friends? Are y’all talking to each other? I’m willing to bet more than 50 percent of the group has their phones in hand.
I’m writing this from a coffee shop. There’s a group of highschool girls at the table to my left. I’m counting them – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…all looking at their phones. Why even be at this coffee shop, people? Go sit in your closet for the love of God. It’s 20 degrees outside and you aren’t socializing anyways.
It’s sad. And if you’re a parent – it’s downright terrifying. When I first met my husband almost 10 years ago he refused to “friend” me on any social media for months. He wanted to get to know me. He didn’t want to have a peek inside my entire life within hours of knowing my name. He didn’t message me on Instagram, or whatever the heck it is you do on Snapchat the morning after our first Buckhead bar dance. He got my number from a mutual friend and he CALLED ME. OMG. The horror!
I could go on for days. But I’ll stop.
I have an addictive personality. Thankfully it’s never manifested itself in drugs or alcohol, but one could argue technology can be just as harmful. So my thought process that day in the kitchen was quick and rash: GET RID OF IT ALL.
My husband, always the level-headed one, talked me off a cliff. He reminded me of the good that comes from social media, like when I found comfort in sharing our miscarriage and connecting with so many of you. Keeping up with old friends, so I can be there to celebrate and comfort them through life’s ups and downs. He encouraged me to continue writing and sharing, but to do so with BOUNDARIES.
It’s a learning curve for sure. After years of mindless scrolling while waiting on literally anything, it’s forced me to be more mindful of when I’m reaching for my phone. Below I’m sharing a few tricks that have helped me take control of my tech. I’m also sharing how we monitor screen time with our children.
Know this: I’m not anti-screen time. Our girls love a good Disney flick and some days I’m so tired I lean on Princess Sophia more than I’d like to admit. But we do have rules on how media is consumed, and at the risk of tooting my own horn – I think it’s part of the reason our girls are so social.
4 WAYS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE TECH IN YOUR LIVES
Set Limits on Your Phone
Well duh, Meghan. But no, set actual physical limits on your phone. Did you know you can control how much access you have to individual apps on your iPhone? Once you’ve hit the day’s limit – the app “times out” so you can’t easily access it. I’m willing to bet many of you don’t realize how often you reach for your phone. You’re not intentionally doing it. It’s become a habit. Setting a time limit on your phone forces you to be more mindful and spend your time on Instagram, Facebook, etc. wisely.
I’ve recently started doing this and it’s LIFE-CHANGING. A few months ago I established “social media-free weekends” which has been wonderful, but I found myself accidentally on Instagram when I didn’t want to be. Habit. Setting a physical limit on your phone is like your personal BFF keeping you in check.
Here’s a glimpse at my limits: I allow myself 30 minutes a day Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesday is my “nanny day” when I try to crank out as much work as possible – and in my work, social media is necessary. So on Tuesdays I bump the limit up to 2 hours. I limit access completely on the weekends, only making an exception for special occasions.
And here’s how you do it on an iPhone: Settings -> Screen Time -> App Limits.
Add Limit -> Select Category (in this case, Social Networking) -> Set Time (the option to Customize Days will pop up).
When you’ve reached your limit for the day – you’ll see this screen. It’s a friendly reminder to look up and live in the moment around you.
Grayscale Your Phone
My husband is a bonafide genius. Did you know you can easily grayscale your iPhone? In a land of color, why do this you ask? Because a drab phone, is a less enticing phone. Research shows you’re less likely to scroll in black and white. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Literally three taps.
Here’s how you do it on an iPhone: Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Display Accommodations -> Turn Color Filters On.
That’s a lot of steps to go back and forth constantly between grayscale and color, right? Wrong. Remember I said 1, 2, 3?
Now go to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Accessibility Shortcut -> Turn Color Filters On.
All you have to do is hit the Home Button three times to easily switch back and forth between grayscale and color. If you don’t need your phone for anything productive, grayscale that SOB.
Marie Kondo Your Following List
On January 1 with the release of “Tidying Up” people everywhere were literally paying to have dumpsters in their driveway to get rid of all the things that don’t bring them joy.
So I asked myself: Does waking up in the morning and reaching for my phone to see what the latest Bachelor cast-off is doing on Instagram bring me joy?
THAT WAS A HARD NO. I did a total purge of who I was following on social media and felt like I lost about 20 pounds in the process. I stopped following any accounts that didn’t inspire and bring me joy.
You make me feel bad about myself? Bye.
You’re actually annoying AF? Bye, girl, bye.
It’s harsh I suppose – but y’all know you follow people that don’t bring anything positive into your life. So for the love of God, stop.
Kids Don’t Need Technology
How’s that for a tip? Most of this post has been focused on adults, because arguably – we need technology for work, to keep in touch with our spouse, etc. Here’s the thing: your 4-year-old doesn’t need an iPad. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s true. In fact, their childhood is the only time where they can truly be free from technology – so why imprison them early?
Let’s pause momentarily so I can climb off my high-horse. If you think my house is a hippie commune where from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. we’re playing board games and coloring you’re wrong on so many levels. We wake up to movies and go to sleep to movies. But here’s the thing: the only screen my children see is the main one in our family room. If we’re watching something, we’re all watching the same something, together. Long car trips are the only exception to this rule.
If you think this makes for some Hellish restaurant experiences, you’re right. And it’s why we don’t eat out often as a family. But when we do, we skip iPads at the table for coloring and PlayDoh. These Melissa & Doug Water Wow Coloring Pads are a God-send.
I don’t pretend to be the perfect parent. It’s a rarity if we eat from all five food groups in the pyramid on any given day. But for whatever reason, it makes me sad when I look around and see young children buried in screens. They only know what they see us do. They only have access to what we give them. Load up your purse with some fun alternatives the next time you head out somewhere and just give it a whirl. They may surprise you with how well they do!
That’s it folks. I could go on and on: practice what you preach, designate “no phone” zones. You know the drill. But I wanted to give you practical and applicable tips – tried and true that have really helped me regain control of my life.
Aimee says
La love this ❤️