Seeing how often I check my phone and the amount of time I waste daily was very eye opening for me. My original count for 24 hours was very high. I had almost 7 hours of screen time! Given, that was a day that I didn't have work so I was basically just sitting on my phone. But still that seems very excessive and possibly harmful.
For my experiment I decided to try and go a full 24 hours without using my phone at all. I chose to carry it out on July 1st, the day of the fireworks at my grandmas lake. I knew we would be celebrating all day and thought it would be easy to stay off of my phone.
I started off my morning by turning off my alarm, yes on my phone. I immediately went into my routine of checking my phone, but caught myself pretty quickly. I took a shower and noticed that it lasted about a third of what a regular shower usually lasts. This is definitely due to the fact that I'm usually having a full on concert in the bathroom, trying to pick the best songs and not being able to narrow it down.
After that I headed to my grandmas house to start celebrating. In the car I caught myself looking for my phone multiple times. I think it was more so to know that I had it and hadn't left it at home, because its usually tucked under my leg. But it was in my backpack so that I wouldn't be tempted to check it.
After arriving I was greeting everyone and helping prepare food, during that time I never even thought about my phone. I was present and enjoying the moments with my family. It felt good to not be distracted and trying to split my attention between two things. That lasted about two hours and then I started to wonder if I had any notifications.
I was tempted to check, but for the sake of the experiment I decided not to. I went outside and got in the lake for little bit. I played with my cousins babies for a while to distract myself. But I did catch myself thinking about possible notifications and what if someone needed to get ahold of me, things like that.
We ate dinner and began to light our own little fireworks before the big show began. I wanted to pull my phone out to take some pictures and videos but quickly realized I didn't have it. It started raining and the firework show got canceled so it was time to call it a night. I did check my Lock Screen when I was leaving my grandmas. I saw a lot of notifications that I really wanted to check, but I didn't.
Overall I felt pretty good about the day without technology. I felt very present and was able to actually enjoy the company of the people I was with. I wasn't distracted by the notification buzz, and I was able to give my full focus to whoever was talking. I felt a lot sharper, my brain wasn't fuzzy from staring at a screen. I think I should make it a goal to keep my screen time lower everyday. I think it would help the brain fog, and sleepiness that I battle with.
