Mindful With Our Technology

 

When I read the title for this week’s module I didn’t know what to expect. But the second I dove into reading the material I became interested. This week we are focusing on mindfulness. I am so glad that we are talking about mindfulness because I think this is really important in today’s society. When I say mindfulness I am talking about how we use the internet and technology.

When I think about the times I use my phone, I realized that sometimes I am not being respectful or mindful of the people I am around. For example, sometimes my roommate is talking to me and I am only listening to about 40% of what she says. Now thinking back, I find that to be rude and something I need to work on more. There are other times such as when I am on a date with my boyfriend that I rarely use my phone because this time is for us to be together and not on social media. I would say that I am in the middle of being mindful. I could definitely work on it, although there are some people way worse than I am.

I think one thing that is so important is family time. You know sitting around and just sharing your day and laughing with the people you love. My family has a rule that there are no phones at the table. If you are on your phone it is taken and put in the phone box (which is an empty coffee can). I think that this is a time when we need to be more attentive and just enjoy the time we have with the people who love us and who we love. Another time that I see so many people on their phone is during class. I think one it is so rude and disrespectful to be on your phone while the teacher is working hard to ensure you are learning. I’m not saying that I am never on my phone during class, but sometimes I see students never take their eyes off their phone. I mean what is the point in going to class if you’re not even going to listen.

Once I read about the Moment App, I went and downloaded it immediately. This app tracks how often you are on your phone and much more. Once I learned about this app, I told some of my friends and they went and downloaded it too. We were taking guesses at how long we would be on our phones! I am excited to hear their results. I think this app can really help you be mindful of how often you are on your phone. I have only had it downloaded for about a day and I have been more mindful.

After reading the article What Happens When Teens Try To Disconnect From Tech For Three Days, I could relate to what I had read. A few years ago my family went on a cruise to the Bahamas. Since we were in the middle of the ocean we weren’t able to use our phones. At first I was freaked out like “What am I going to miss? I won’t be able to check my Instagram or Snapchat or talk to my friends.” Let’s just say I was panicked. But by day two, I began to feel relief and just have fun! It was kind of nice to not have to worry about my phone.

I think we all need to work on our mindfulness and not using as much technology!

I found this great tweet!

Goal for Spirit Day: Foster personal relationships #notechnology

— Spencer Motley (@motley_spencer) September 8, 2017

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