My Digital Detox: A Diet That Works
I'm like most teenagers these days in America. I like to hang out with my friends, I complain about homework when school likes to be mean to me, and I carry my phone like Linus in The Peanuts comic strip. Every teen grips their phone like a security blanket, always looking for a new Snapchat update or waiting to text the slightest, minor inconvenience to someone who will only care a fraction. When I go camping with my dad over the summer solstice, I always leave my phone at home, even though he questions me every year if I want it for the car ride. This year, I decided to pay attention to how I felt about leaving my phone at home. I'm getting ahead of myself; here's how it went for me.
When I'm getting ready to leave, my dad asks the same question to me, "Are you sure you don't want to bring it for the car ride up?" I always reply, "No" because I either read or I pack movies I rarely watch for my portable DVD player, so I can enjoy them as a special treat. This year, he added, "You could just leave your phone in the car." Once again, the answer was no because here's how I view it. I would know that my phone is in the car, so I would be tempted to use it. That's like a recovering drug addict going to treatment, but they are going to keep a small bag of drugs in their suitcase, just to know that it's safe. When it's readily available for you to use, you will want to be on it all the time. Also, there was barely any service and if you found a spot, it was slow like a turtle, so what's the point of having a phone if I couldn't go on the apps that I usually enjoy?
During the days I spent camping, I had the greatest time ever, without looking at my phone. I played Foosball, Ping Pong, Bocce, and caught up on a really good book I'm reading right now called Orphan Train (review to follow once I'm done) in my hammock. I spent a few hours down at the lake, floating on a raft, drinking San Pellegrino, tanning, and laughing with some old friends and making some new ones. We ate good food, told stories and I cuddled a SUPER cute dog named Mabel, a four month old Australian Shepard/Poodle Mix. Was this an easy task to do? For the most part, yes. When the clouds would shift in the sky and become a gorgeous sea of colors that could only be found in a painting or when my plate of food looked like it was prepared by Gordon Ramsay, I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel a twinge of loss for wanting to take a photo to share with others.
Taking a digital detox is something I think everyone should take at least once or twice a year. You don't have to go all drastic and cut ties from everyone for three months. Start slow. Spend a couple of hours off of your phone. Progress up to a day. Go like me for 3 days. When you are doing fun things offline, you don't tend to miss your screen all lit up 2 feet in front of your face. It took me a day to realize how much I'm actually on my phone and how much WiFi tends to control me. Take a break from your phone; your mind will thank you by giving you great memories that will outlive any technology source.
When I'm getting ready to leave, my dad asks the same question to me, "Are you sure you don't want to bring it for the car ride up?" I always reply, "No" because I either read or I pack movies I rarely watch for my portable DVD player, so I can enjoy them as a special treat. This year, he added, "You could just leave your phone in the car." Once again, the answer was no because here's how I view it. I would know that my phone is in the car, so I would be tempted to use it. That's like a recovering drug addict going to treatment, but they are going to keep a small bag of drugs in their suitcase, just to know that it's safe. When it's readily available for you to use, you will want to be on it all the time. Also, there was barely any service and if you found a spot, it was slow like a turtle, so what's the point of having a phone if I couldn't go on the apps that I usually enjoy?
During the days I spent camping, I had the greatest time ever, without looking at my phone. I played Foosball, Ping Pong, Bocce, and caught up on a really good book I'm reading right now called Orphan Train (review to follow once I'm done) in my hammock. I spent a few hours down at the lake, floating on a raft, drinking San Pellegrino, tanning, and laughing with some old friends and making some new ones. We ate good food, told stories and I cuddled a SUPER cute dog named Mabel, a four month old Australian Shepard/Poodle Mix. Was this an easy task to do? For the most part, yes. When the clouds would shift in the sky and become a gorgeous sea of colors that could only be found in a painting or when my plate of food looked like it was prepared by Gordon Ramsay, I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel a twinge of loss for wanting to take a photo to share with others.
Taking a digital detox is something I think everyone should take at least once or twice a year. You don't have to go all drastic and cut ties from everyone for three months. Start slow. Spend a couple of hours off of your phone. Progress up to a day. Go like me for 3 days. When you are doing fun things offline, you don't tend to miss your screen all lit up 2 feet in front of your face. It took me a day to realize how much I'm actually on my phone and how much WiFi tends to control me. Take a break from your phone; your mind will thank you by giving you great memories that will outlive any technology source.
Signed,
Midwestern Redhead
Comments
Post a Comment