Most people I know, religious or not, give something up for lent.
Whether it be sweets, cursing, coffee, gossiping, or anything else “addiciting,” people find something they don’t think is good for them and they make a change. What am I giving up for lent you may be wondering or you may not, I am giving up screen time…no I’m not giving up my phone as a whole I don’t think I could live. I’m just trying to spend my free time not always on a device yet instead doing something, anything productive.
Lets face it – everyone is addicted to their phones. Whether it be a message from your mom, a funny video on Instagram, a news report, or your Uber Eats delivery driver being five minutes away, we almost always are staring downwards with our eyes glued to our phones. Now this isn’t always a bad thing. Screen time can often be reading a book on your phone, having an important zoom meeting, connecting with new people, getting the latest gossip on your favorite celebs, and more.
Yet screen time can also negatively affect us all as it leads to eye strain, sleep deprivation, becoming distant with the actual living people around you, and even damages our mental health as a whole. Watching everyone else’s lives on our phones can be fun and make us feel like we’re best friends with our favorite celebrities, though it also makes us insecure about our own lives wishing we had more. We often find ourselves viewing other peoples fancy trips, cute clothes, fun night lives, meal prep, and more. But why do we find ourselves so obsessed with other people and their lives while most of the time what they display almost always isn’t the full truth?
As a society, we need to work on spending less time on our devices and more time connecting with the people who are actually around us, rather than just on our phones.
You may be wondering, “Ella ,you spend 80% of your time with your phone in your face, why should we listen to you?”
Yes this is true, but nobody’s perfect!
Sometimes I get so caught up in social media that I forget I’m a real person with REAL HUMAN FRIENDS. No, not just the ones I text every day but also the ones who are most of the time sitting right next to me as I scroll through TikTok. But what are some ways to spend our free time if they’re not on our phones or watching TV?
Great question. The simplest things can get us off of our phones and “reconnecting with nature”. Taking a walk is a great way to stay off of our phones, listening to music on our walks is perfectly fine. As Loyola students we live next to one of the most beautiful parks in New Orleans, Audubon. Sometimes just getting a breath of fresh air, or power walking when upset can be a perfect way to clear our heads and just breathe.
Another thing to do when bored is finding a hobby if you don’t have one already, whether it be coloring, learning an instrument, bedazzling things, working out, baking, the list goes on.
Finding something fun that you can replace screen time with is key to a healthy and happy life. Lastly, reading and journaling are great things to do when we have the time. Reading is a great way to escape from the outside world, and no I don’t mean reading instagram comments, or an online book, I mean going to the library checking out a book and genuinely reading its words written on the page. Journaling also is a great way to rant, and just fill time with thinking rather than scrolling.
Overall I’m not going to preach that we all should never be on our phones, that’s almost impossible in today’s world, but I am going to say we should try to become more connected outside of our devices. Will I ever be able to get anywhere without my phone’s apple maps? No, but that’s a story for another time.
I don’t care if you’re religious or not, try giving up something this month that you feel doesn’t benefit your life and instead is just a distraction keeping you from reaching your goals. I hope whatever you choose benefits you in some type of way. We’ll see how long I last with less screen time!
