Technology Mindfulness Project
Blog Entry 1: Smartphone Compulsion Test
You scored 12 points out of 15 points total.
I would agree that this is an accurate representation of my smartphone usage. I definitely do use my phone a lot in the day if I’m bored. But I would say, when I am around everyone that would be important to be able to get in contact with, if necessary, I find myself not knowing where my phone is. But if I am alone or would need to get in contact with someone in case of emergency, I would feel uncomfortable not having my phone on me. So therefor I am somewhat dependent on my smartphone to help prevent boredom and for safety purposes.
Blog entry 2: Smartphone Profile
I use my phone to contact friends and family and for entertainment. I would say right now especially being in a pandemic where I avoid going out, I spend at least 13 hours on my phone. I only check my phone if I get messages or a phone call. But even if I don’t get messages, I still will pick my phone up if I’m just bored.
Blog Entry 3: Favorite Apps to use
My favorite apps right now are Twitter, snapchat, and tik tok. I find myself on these apps the most because they are entertaining and there’s also a lot of funny content on those apps, so I only pay attention to lighthearted things on social media mostly
Blog Entry 4: Report on Data
I am kind of disappointed to see how often I am on my phone but at the same time I feel like it is an escape from boredom. I am on my phone a lot so I assumed my figures would be high, my daily average was about 9 hours. I feel like I am on my phone a lot so I thought it might be higher than that.
Blog Entry 5: 12-Step Plan
I chose to implement Step 2, Turn Your Phone off, Step 8 Turn off Notifications, and Step 9, Digital detox. I did Step 2 first, I turned my phone off at 11 each night for a week. I hung out with my boyfriend and dog until we went to sleep and I honestly liked doing that! It didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. Step 8 I did next I turned off notifications, which if I’m being honest, I didn’t like at all. I would forget completely to later check my apps, especially my school email and texts. It actually made me feel extremely unorganized and anxious I’d miss an important question. Lastly, I did a digital detox, which I decided to do near Halloween. One of my friends came to town to visit so I wanted to dedicate my free time to hanging out with them! I really enjoyed avoiding technology and had a good time.
Blog Entry 6: Leave phone at home
I left my phone at my apartment today when I ran arrands and I felt a lot of anxiety. Only because when I leave the house, I am never on my phone, rather I bring my phone with me just in case worst case scenarios were to happen. I always panic that something bad will happen and I will not be able to call anyone. I only use my phone for entertainment or emergencies or to contact someone if I need to.
Blog Entry 5: Mindfulness exercises
After completing the Mindfulness exercises, I genuinely didn’t feel any different towards my phone. I did come to an understanding of why I spend so much time on it though. I feel like I don’t like being alone with my own thoughts and just thinking because, I then stress myself out and worry about everything I need to do or even things I have no control over. Where my phone plays a huge role as my escape and source of entertainment when I’m bored or need to focus on other things.
Blog Entry 8: Conclusion
Data Presentation
After following the instructions to find where to see how many times your location is tracked through apps, I am shocked. It has all my information on there which is kind of scary! Also, after looking at Moment my screen time from September to December was 233 hours and 6 minutes. The number of pickups from September to December was 3,174. I also learned that I have a problem with a newly released game, “Among us” and by looking at my app usage on apple I learned I was playing it for way longer than I thought I was, especially for someone who didn’t feel as if they’d ever be interested in any type of video game. What didn’t come as a surprise was the amount of time I was spending on apps like Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram.
Analysis
After taking this class and becoming self-aware of my technology usage for the past few months, I have determined that I spend more time on technology than I used to. I am way more aware than before that I have a big dependency on technology, but I now understand why I do also. I don’t feel as if it’s effecting my social life as of right now because of spending more time alone because of being in a pandemic I actually feel like technology is distracting me from all the negatives right now and keeping me busy. I do feel like when I am home and working, I spend way less time on my phone and technology in general than I do when I’m in college. I do think that I need to spend more time with the people I live with, because my best friend spends a lot of time on the computer doing homework and my boyfriend spends a majority of his time playing Xbox. I think moving forward we can all make time on the weekends and one day during the week and unplugging and spending time together! It would be fun and it would be a good escae from technology.