Author: Wael Ibrahim
Who doesn’t love their electronic devices? Who’s not attach to them on a daily basis?
Electronic devices are very stimulating and could easily become addictive. The reality of the matter is that there are many people today won’t even go to the restroom or eat a meal without clinging to their devices. They don’t even watch TV or sit with their family members without holdin their cellphones, tablets, or laptops.
Have you tested yourself before to go without a TV for a complete 24 hours? Or even harder, without your Internet connection, cell phone, or computer? How would the idea even make you feel? Do you believe you’d be missing out on something important? If so, then you might have an addiction.
Breaking FREE from your addiction to electronic devices:
- Make a list of your electronic distractions. Yes, you will need to make an exit plan, and a plan isn’t a plan without putting some ink to papers. So, write down a list of your distractive online activities, In order of preference, list the electronic devices that you think you cannot survive life without. Be specific and mention the most common ones. i.e. cell phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, console etc. Also make a list of the websites, apps, and perhaps games that you can’t seem to avoid daily, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Fortnight, etc.
- List the times you’d most like to stop and do something else. It’s especially sad when parents are mesmerized by their internet device ignoring their children during mealtime or a family outing.
- List all the times, as much as you can remember, where you use your electronic devices but know you shouldn’t. Those are the most important places to start.
- Start slowly. Put away your phone during meals, and make it a family policy. Or spend at least an hour with your children without using any electronic devices. Turn off your phone, put it on silence or give a permission to your children to hide it away from you for an hour everyday. You’ll be amazed at how much fun they will have with this excercise.
- Trying to change too much, too soon, will lead to frustration and failure. A small step forward each day is all it takes.
- Be patient. Electronic devices are very addictive and quitting won’t be that simple, even for a short period of time. Don’t get discouraged if it’s a struggle at first.
- Experts state that it takes at least three full days without electronic devices for brain function to normalize. Until that time, the urge to go back to your old behavior will be strong. So knowing the science of addiction is also crucial for a person to give up an old and undesirable habit.
- Find a substitute. What can you do instead, preferably with a family member? What else could you enjoy doing instead of scrolling your life away on touch screens? To kick out a bad habit you’ll need to introduce to your brain yet another healthier one. But it must be engaging and enjoyable.
- Set a schedule. Let us be realistic, It’s not possible in modern society to be completely without a cell phone or computer 24/7. However, you can limit your use to certain times of the day. Maybe for 30 minutes in the middle of the day and 30 minutes after the kids go to bed. Or decide to never use the device after certain hours during the day, and so on.
- Consider what you’re missing. What could you be doing instead of browsing people’s profiles on social media or playing online games? You could read a book and actually learn something for a change that would impact you and your family members positively. You could enjoy time with your family. Attend an event or look after your body.
- How could you better spend the time?
It’s easy to miss out on life by spending too much time on your cellphone, reading Facebook updates from people you haven’t spoken to in many years. Electronic addiction steals from your life and the minute that goes by will never return.
Start paying attention to the things that really matter to you. Begin today to limit the time you spend with these devices, and you’ll increase the moments in which you’re really enjoying your life.
