Do you ever feel like a slave to all your electronics? Lately I have. When we go out to eat, I notice how many people are on their phones and not talking to the person in front of them. When I open up my laptop, I notice how many of us moms are all on facebook venting or liking statuses or posting witty quotes, or pinning ideas on Pinterest that we'll never actually execute (let's be real) or shopping on Amazon or Etsy because what could be better than window shopping from the comfort of your own home in your PJs?! Or maybe we're blogging all the time or chatting on message boards all day long.
I'm not here to cast stones. I've gotten to be so dependent on having my phone or laptop right next to me that I'm scared I don't know how to function without technology. If my cell phone and laptop simultaneously broke tomorrow (it could happen!), would I survive or would I crumble into a mess of tears and anxiety on the floor?
I feel like laptops and smart phones are going to really hurt the generation we're raising right now. I know you might read this and think, "Oh, I don't do this. This isn't a problem of mine." And if it isn't, awesome! I applaud you for being stronger than I am at resisting those temptations to just "hop on really quickly." But if you do find yourself getting on your computer off and on throughout the course of the day just because it's there or you can't seem to get your phone out of your hand, I'd just encourage you to dig deep into your heart and be real with yourself. That's what I did.
I asked myself some questions. Why are you staying home with your children instead of working? Because I'm so very blessed that my husband can support our family right now and I can watch my children grow, be here for them every day, teach them what we want them to know at age-appropriate times and raise them up in the way we want them to go. So why do you waste all this time online when you could be watching them grow, teaching them, raising them up? Because...it's there? I honestly have no better answer than that. Because my laptop is there, I feel like I need to get on it. You know, 'cause I might miss something if I don't.
I've been trying so hard lately to be a more intentional mom. I took the facebook app off my phone a few months ago and stepped back from a message board I was a part of just to regain some perspective and give myself one less thing to take me away from my kids. It's certainly freed up some time, but I've managed to replace that time with more time on facebook or Pinterest. So yeseterday...I asked my husband if he could somehow turn off the internet during the day. Does that sound weird?! Well, I did. And as it turns out, he can. So from today forward, I've given myself exactly one hour during the day to have the internet on: from 12:30 to 1:30, when my kiddos nap, I can get online. And all other times after 7:00 in the morning? My internet will not work.
There's something so refreshing and exciting about this, but totally scary, too. I'm sort of embarrassed to put it out there that I have to actually have my internet turned off during the day to keep myself off the computer, but I'm just being real. And I think for a lot of you, if you were being real, too, you'd see what I did. We are a generation of moms addicted to the internet.
G'day, my internet lovelies. Hope to be seeing less of you during my days with my beautiful, amazing and incredible children who need their mama.
Chelsea, good for you! I didn't have internet in the house, had to make a special trip to town or to the church to use it for 6 months, and while I will say I don't care to go back to that because there are just somethings you really do need the internet for, I did realize how much time I spend on it that I don't need to... Because I have a lot to catch up on (literally for work) I have been on this week a lot, but Caeden starts homeschool preschool next week and I refuse to be on-line for any longer than nap time starting next week.... Good luck to you in your endeavor to get out of the bind of internet.. it is a very real addiction and you'll probably have withdrawls, but in the end it is amazing how much more involved you will be with your children.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, and this is why I do not have a smartphone! I know myself well enough to know that the temptation to "just check one thing real quick" would be too great, too often. As it is, I don't open the laptop until naptime, but from naptime to bedtime (and after) does tend to be a long string of "let me just...[get that recipe, look up that activity, post that picture, etc]". I think a certain amount of internet use is necessary for my sanity and to function in the modern world, but it doesn't change the fact that my kids see me in front of a screen quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteYep, a certain amount of time is DEFINITELY a necessity! As a SAHM, it can get lonely in a hurry. Right now, with three kids three and under, I just don't make it out of the house often enough to sustain a thriving social life. I need some of the internet! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, kudos to you! 6 months is a long time! Good luck to you, too!
ReplyDeleteChelsea! Not sure how I didn't know you had this new blog (please don't tell me it's not new). :-)
ReplyDeleteLast year I noticed that I was spending little pieces of my day on social media Web sites, and how those little pieces added up. So when I found myself getting a bit out of control, I avoided social media altogether. I stayed away from FB and Twitter for a while. While I've learned to control my dosage(?), I do little things to make it easy. For example, like you, I deleted the Facebook app from my phone.
Anyhoo, you should check out HandsFreeMama.com. I think you'll like it.
Thanks Gerri! It's good to "see" you over here!
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