Why You Need To Reduce Your Screen Time...

Hey guys! It’s day 3 of 30 days of truth and today’s topic is one that is a bit touchy in today’s day and age but it’s something people need to hear. So I’m here to give you a no crap, cut to the point post about why you need to majorly decrease your screen time and stop wasting your life away. So let’s just dive right on in:)

There is so much in this world that could be treated simply by putting down our screens more often and truly living in this world we were put in. Excessive screen time strains our eyes and affects our sleep. Too much screen time alters the structure of our brains by causing the grey matter that’s responsible for cognitive processes to shrink, as well as many other things that cause you to have decreased communication skills, increased chance of anxiety and depression and it disrupts concentration and shortens your attention span. It also causes low self esteem. These are very serious matters that can negatively affect our lives in the long run and yet we continue spending most of our free time scrolling through instagram, taking random tests to see what our spirit animal is and getting sucked down the Tik Tok rabbit hole. The average US adult spends almost 7 hours a day on their phones, laptops, iPads, TV’s etc. Which means they spend 2555 hours which is 106 days of our year wasted staring at a screen. That's 29% of our year sucked down the drain. And I know some of it is productive stuff but we all know the majority of that is wasted time. Just imagine how much time these people as well as ourselves could be spending on the things that really matter. Investing in our relationships, building businesses, working on our health, saving money, helping the poor, volunteering at shelters, creating artwork, the list goes on.

And when we think about all that wasted time we should and probably do feel a bit of motivation just looking at that number of wasted hours each year but most of us don’t get to the action phase of that motivation. We’ll continue to drown our emotions with external stimulates, and entertain ourselves when we’re bored instead of doing something the right thing. But here’s the truth, your time here on earth is ticking by whether you realize it or not and you’ve only got so much time to waste. And I don’t know about you but I certainly don’t want to get to the end of my time and look back at my life just to realize I’ve only got regrets and nothing to show for myself. We each need to evaluate what really matters, what we’ve got to give, and what is worth working on with the short amount of time we’ve got on earth. I’m positive I’m only going to regret the hours I’ve spent online analyzing other peoples lives instead of living mine. Proud is the last thing I’d be if I lived my life always waiting for the next episode of that tv show, or the next post from my favorite influencer while forgetting to be excited for my moms birthday or be there for a friend who desperately needed me. We all need to take a second to realize if we're spending our time wisely or if we majorly need to hit the reset button on our priorities.

All we should be is present, living our lives excited for each breath that enters our lungs, never taking anything for granted. Right now is all we’ve got, our next breath is not guaranteed so we’ve got to use each moment wisely. By decreasing our screen time we can actually start to live, we can stop with comparing our lives to others, stop with the drowning our emotions and actually deal with the things we’re going through. We can look at each other and not be distracted by each notification on our phones. Which actually affects us like a drug because it triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward seeking behaviors and addiction. We can decrease depression and anxiety. Screen time exceeding 1/hour a day was associated with higher risks of depression. We’ve got to stop participating in this terrible cycle our generation is in and lead by example.

Don’t wait for other people to change, be the change so many others are waiting for. Reducing your screen time will not only positively affect you but everyone you interact with. You will find it easier to be patient, kind and empathetic when you are being present and you aren’t already so drained from the over stimulating that happens when you spend too much time online. I hope you will apply this to your everyday life and not just let it go in one ear and out the other. Thank you for taking the time to read this, love you guys and don’t forget to have an attitude of gratitude.

-Lydia Johnson