I’ve been wanting to write for a long time about technology. It’s one thing that really aggravates me. I hate how everything is always about Facebook/social medis and having a smartphone.
For a long time I tried to go without getting a phone. I never wanted to actually have one because it seemed so silly how people were always walking around looking at their phones, texting or taking pictures (mainly selfies) with them. At family gatherings or other events, everybody would be on their phone and our family would just kind of be sitting there.
I got my first smartphone at the end of 2014. The reason why I decided to get it is because I felt like it’s something you kind of need to have. I guess part of me was curious what I was missing out on. It did seem convenient for a lot of things. And I figured I was being looked at as a weirdo for not having one for so many years already.
Mostly, I wanted it to have a camera in my pocket to take pictures and videos of the kids wherever we were without having to lug my bigger camera around. That’s mostly what I used it for for about six months. And then I started texting with people.
I like the idea of being able to text with family members it’s a convenient way to send a message and there’s no feeling of obligation to reply right away. You can just send a little question to your friend or family member and wait for their response. But I also think email is pretty easy for that too, just that most people don’t really use email as much anymore and mainly use text messaging.
I used to do everything through email and keep in contact with family and friends through my email account. Now, everything is texts. I guess it’s easier with texting because you get the notification right away if you’re checking your phone periodically throughout the day.
When I think about it, I don’t really even use my phone for a phone so much. I still use my home phone mostly and even that is becoming a primitive thing. Most people just have a cell phone and that’s it. No landline.
I find the smartphone is mostly used for things that are great time wasters. It’s so convenient to just have your phone nearby to browse whatever page you want on the web, read a book, listen to audio, or just browse your Facebook or other social media sites. And I guess in some ways I don’t really consider it a waste of time if I’m breastfeeding anyway and I’m kind of stuck sitting or laying down with my baby. But then I think of all these other more productive things I could be doing. Like writing a blog by talking or texting into my phone or actually picking up a book and reading it. At least doing something creative with my mind instead of just being passive.
Another thing I didn’t really ever want to have was Facebook. I’ve been on and off Facebook throughout the years. My main reason for rejoining in December was to join an Autism Group which doesn’t have a web page but only uses Facebook. It seems like so many companies and businesses only have Facebook pages now instead of web pages and for some things, like joining an Autism group, you have to have a Facebook account if you want to be apart of the group and get updates about events.
The world is changing so much and has changed so much since I was a kid. My parents used to tell us not to sit to close to the television and now most of us hold a screen in front of our faces for much of the day. In a way it’s kind of scary to see what our world might become. As technology continues to advance, which it is at a rapid rate, who knows about microchipping and things like that. Kind of freaks me out when I read about it and think about it.
My main issue with smartphones and the increase in technology is that children these days are seeing it as something that’s completely normal. When a parent is glued to their phone all day checking their social media updates, browsing through their Facebook, Instagram and other sites like that all day long, texting, even taking pictures with it. It seems like most people can’t live without their phone for an hour or a day, never mind a lifetime. And I do agree it is convenient. And it is a great thing to do to de-stress if you just want to kill time and space out. You can literally go anywhere on your phone.
So I’m thinking about giving up my phone. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time actually. I just kind of liked having it to distract me while I’m nursing, or keep myself awake at night when I had to wake up in the night when Pheonyx was a newborn.
I want to get back to real books. I kind of feel like books are going to be extinct soon enough anyway, may as well enjoy them a little while longer.
I also want to get back to using a regular camera again even though it will seem big and bulky compared to the handheld smartphone.
And mostly, I want to get back into life with my children. I want to be able to spend more time just being with them without the phone being around and notifications going off, distracting me from the moment. I don’t want to hold my smart phone in my son’s face all day taking pictures or videos of him. I don’t want him to think that it’s some kind of normal thing to be glued to it, even though it is pretty normal now to most people.
So I’m wondering what other people are thinking about social media sites as well? Seems like most people are just trying to get likes and using technology for selfish reasons. We take that picture and post it right away to Instagram. For me, I like to be able to have all those pictures together to look back on and remember. But I really think that it would be better to just go back to the old ways. Maybe actually printing my own photos.
It’s such a tough thing. The ego is a double edged sword. We can use it for good or for evil. For selfLESS reasons or for selfISH ones. We can post status updates and pictures and videos to our feeds for likes to boost our ego, or we could just post them to share for the love of sharing with our friends and family or inspiration.
I’m considering giving my phone away to Craig maybe for a while or just putting it away and using it as an actual phone when we travel long distances. It would be nice to sit down at the computer more often and type on the keyboard or do some funky things with some of our pictures or videos. You’d think that quitting your phone would be easy, but when you think of all the convenient things you’re letting go of, it actually becomes really difficult.
This is just something that’s been on my mind for awhile.
I’m curious to know what you think? Have you been able to go without a smartphone? Or if you do have a smartphone are you on it much of the day or are you able to control yourself and the amount of time that you spend on it? Do you find that your phone has interfered with your actual life with your family and become a distraction? I’m curious to see if you find it more of a blessing or a curse?
Comment down below and we’ll have a discussion. 🙂
Tiffany
Live. Learn. Love. Eat. 
All this technology definitely has ups and downs! I got a smart phone at the same time, end of 2014. My brother passed me his old one because my regular phone had finally died. I do like it better for texting than a regular phone, and I use it sometimes for Facebook, checking recipes, and other random things. I use my iPad more, though, as it’s easier to view. But I don’t usually carry it around with me, so that keeps me from using it too often. I use it to watch Netflix while nursing Kian (the way he nurses I can’t hold a book and read while nursing him), and doing things like online orders, reading blogs, email, etc. I do like Facebook to keep up with family and friends around the world, and since I haven’t been blogging I use it as sort of a collection of photos to look back on right now. When I start using the phone/iPad too long I get a very restless feeling so I know it’s time to put it down and go do something useful! I do reflect about it a lot, how different our lives are now with all this wireless technology. My main concern is internet safety for my kids
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Definitely pros and cons. I agree that holding an actual book while breastfeeding can be difficult! And for recipes it’s sometimes easier too. I don’t have an ipad or tablet, but having a larger screen would probably also be better for many things (like reading books or watching shows). I do think I’m at least going to try and use my desktop computer more and that way it won’t be as easy to just use technology whenever, wherever and it will help me to do more creative things. I also don’t like how my eyes and brain feel so tired after using a device for too long. Do you think that you will go back to your blog sometime?? ❤
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I hope I will start blogging again. It’s hard to start up after so long as I don’t know where to start LOL. I should see if I can do it from the iPad, that might be easier. Although typing too much on the iPad isn’t as comfortable as the keyboard either. I just don’t get much time yet to sit down at the laptop. The little time I do have I usually spend on my paper quilling blog as it is my small part time income.
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I find it invaluable from a business viewpoint – I get a lot of business through social media – Facebook page, twitter, instagram – all of which I can check regularly via my smartphone – but I only use for my yoga. I don’t use any of these on a personal level – just to interact with students and to try to reach new people, for this it truly is invaluable. I use whatsapp a lot with family and it is a nice way to send little messages – one of my brothers lives in Dublin and the other – even though he is only around the corner – I probably wd hardly interact with if it wasn’t for the smartphone (aside from family gatherings of course). From a personal viewpoint the increase in technology in general has actually completely destroyed many friendships I had with friends living abroad. We used to write letters, send lovely long emails, etc. but since FB and the “feeling” of knowing about each others’ lives we have no contact at all and since I don’t use my FB on a personal level anymore I now have no contact with them at all! In terms of my children I really hate that they are soooooo glued to their various devices – my 9 year old son has a tablet and DS and my 13 year old daughter has an iPhone – of course WE purchased these for them but my daughter uses hers for everything – camera, facetime, instagram, twitter, snapchat, etc. etc. and my son is crazy with his tablet and the arguments we have trying to restrict his usage is ridiculous….I don’t know what the answer is other than to ensure there is balance….My son does a sporting activity via a club (judo, swimming, athletics, boxing, cubs, etc.) 6 times a week and we go out for a long walk at the weekend – he also loves to read books so despite the techno obsession I do feel there is balance (ish). My daughter also is totally overloaded with homework everynight so when that is done I guess her “phone” time is her unwinding and she also does dancing and drama clubs and plays piano, ukelele, guitar, etc. so there is also some kind of balance…..I love remembering the simplicity of my own youth, making up plays with my siblings and performing dances for my parents, etc. BUT I do also remember watching a lot of TV – so maybe it has just been moved over to technology rather than just TV….
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So true. I agree 100% about balance. That’s what we try to do too. I do find that the time spent on the computer or a device can easily pass quickly and kids don’t even know that they’ve been on so long. It can be addictive for kids and adults. I also think that having social media in many ways makes us less social. It can be easy to just use it as a way to check up on people and get updated about their life by reading their posts and seeing their pictures and not really bothering initiating real contact or making conversation. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts! 🙂 And yes, businesses can certainly reach many more people through social media sites. For me, I never really promoted my books that way and just kept to my blog and email because I would not like the added stress of having to check to many accounts. No doubt I could’ve sold more and reached more people if I had promoted myself in more places, but I’m still content with my decision. It’s great that you are able to reach so many people and share yoga!
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I’m taking baby steps to breaking my technology addiction. Today is day 28 of 30 days without Facebook. I haven’t missed it as much as I thought I would… I did end up caving on Twitter – I’m super lame and follow local meteorologist and we had some bad storms the other night. You’re so right that certain groups or information can only be obtained from social media. I’m REALLY trying to make an effort to be off my phone around my kids. I don’t want to be that mom that is more focused on a phone screen than my children.
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And it can be so easy to have the phone on and around at all times! I appreciate you commenting! 🙂
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I deleted Facebook years ago to basically getmy life back! It felt like I was just wasting time on it. Best thing I ever did, but I enjoy having a smart phone. I like reading recipes from my phone, being able to take photos of arren instantly and for emergencies (south Africa is pretty dangerous) when we got evacuated due to the fires here I just grabbed Arren and my bag. I knew all his photos were on instagram and my blog, knowing I’ve got a back up made a stressful situation better.
I try to not let technology control my life and have dark days which is great! But we all should do what’s best for us!
http://Www.melodramaticadventures.com
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