I pick up my phone to 'check' Facebook. I open the app. I close it again. Then I scroll my phone home screen and my thumb lands on the same app. I open it again.
I wish I could tell you there was a good reason for this, but there isn't. The first visit has clearly been so enriching that I feel compelled to repeat the experience within three seconds... Maybe not.
The problem is, I haven't consciously chosen to open Facebook at all. My hand has.
Sometimes I do the same thing with the fridge. Door open, staring into the cold void despite having checked it 15 minutes earlier. Don't pretend you haven't done that too.
Most of us don't consciously decide to check our phones 150 times a day, but so many of us still some days find ourselves doing it and the problem isn't technology itself. Technology allows me to work remotely, stay in touch with friends around the world, learn new skills, publish these blogs and occasionally watch videos of capybaras wearing hats.
The problem begins when we're no longer the one making the choices.
Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus, argues that our attention has become one of the world's most valuable commodities. Entire industries now compete for it, employing teams of psychologists and designers whose job is to keep us looking, clicking and scrolling for just a little bit longer with their super smart algorithms.
This challenges the idea that we've simply become weak-willed or incapable of concentrating. Hari suggests that much of modern technology is deliberately designed to pull our attention away from where we intended to place it, because the longer we remain engaged, the more valuable we become to advertisers and platforms.
The consequences reach further than the few seconds spent checking a notification, as he cites research suggesting that after an interruption it can take around 23 minutes to fully regain focus on the original task.
So, despite that we probably couldn't achieve as much without it and it does benefit us in many ways, how much are you missing out on while that shiny little brick is in your hand?
A simple question can reveal a lot:
"Why am I picking up my phone right now?"
If the answer is:
-
To call someone
-
To check directions
-
To send a message
-
To learn something
then great.
If the answer is:
-
I don't know
-
I'm bored
-
I'm avoiding something
-
My hand got here before my brain
Then you've probably discovered an unconscious habit.
Aiming to be more mindful about this habit doesn't mean deleting every app, moving to a cave or throwing your phone into the sea (don't do that, it sounds fun but it's bad for the fish), it just means noticing. Noticing when technology is helping, noticing when it's distracting and noticing when you're using it intentionally vs when it's using you.
I looked at my screen time recently and I was floored. On a day when I've worked in front of a computer for nine hours and watched at least three concurrent episodes of my latest binge-worthy show, I've also somehow managed to spend 6 hours of that same day with my phone in my hand!
Looking through each day of that same week I was clearly able to see my low energy days from how much time I spent scrolling social media. I was able to relate back to the one day I only spent ninety minutes on my phone and recognise that it was because I was in the office among people, so the only apps in use had been my Maps and Spotify because that's what automatically kicks in when I start my car.
Recognising this was what prompted me to start leaving my phone places I wouldn't see it. I can use Alexa as an alarm clock, so my phone doesn't need to be near me at night, meaning it isn't the first thing I see in the morning and last thing I see at night. When I'm working, studying or writing it gets moved to my bedroom, where I rarely go through the day, and I'm finding myself far more productive.
I check it when I have lunch and I check it while my dinner is cooking or before I go to bed and I'm quickly finding that if I can't see that little distraction machine, I'm not jonesing for the latest sponsored ad or story series from people I know very little about.
It's been quite freeing to realise how much lighter I feel and how much more I'm able to get done!
I admit, I am weakest when I'm idle, but remembering that I used to fill those spaces with reading a book or yoga has given me a healthy little lift, even just to know I have the choice, even if I still consciously choose the doom scroll.
So, here's what I'm proposing... For one day this week, every time you unlock your phone, pause for two seconds and ask:
"What am I here to do?"
Then do that one thing and put it away.
You might be surprised how often the answer is "absolutely nothing".
And if that happens, don't judge yourself.
Just notice.
Because awareness is usually the first step towards changing any habit, even the ones that fit in your pocket.
Add comment
Comments