CONFESSION:
Been there, done that!
People's reasons
for being on the computer can run the gamut – research, work, banking, blogs, e-mail, Facebook,
movies and music, dating, and on and on. Sometimes it might just be plain boredom . . . killing a little time.
If you are anything like
me . . . its pretty easy to lose track of how long you spend sitting in front of the screen. Time just seems to fly. Most of us would probably agree that the internet has some really helpful and educational stuff, but at the same time, some nasty stuff, too. Astounds me how inaccurate some of the information can be and how easily we accept it. Lots of poorly researched websites. Lots of stupid stuff, too - recently, I came across some really insightful quotes. NOT.
"I've never really wanted to go to Japan. Simply because I don't like eating fish. And I know that's very popular out there in Africa."
- Britney Spears
"Food is an important part of a balanced diet."
- Fran Lebowitz, US Writer
"My sister's expecting a baby, and I don't know if I'm going to be an uncle or an aunt."
- Chuck Nevitt, North Carolina State basketball player
Good Grief.
SKYPE
Today's technology is really quite amazing. Being able to talk on Skype with people in your own city and around the world for free, view pictures of family events, keeping in touch with old and new friends, getting directions, sharing a blog, shopping, checking out new decorating and recipe ideas . . . that's all great. Every age group seems to be getting on board - from young kids to seniors.
While computers, for the most part, are great . . . it is a little disturbing to see how so many kids and adults have lost their ability to communicate in person. The new-found boldness and freedom they feel by being able to express themselves through cyber space has given many a false sense of confidence. Don't get me wrong . . . confidence is a good thing but when you can't or won't shift that into your everyday life or it replaces your everyday life . . . then that's not good.
We all know that cyber bullying is an issue these days - it's constantly in the news and on tv. Seeing this stuff in print and actually reading the crude and rude posts that people put on these networking sites, like Facebook, makes you shake your head. I guess it's that . . . because you can, why not mentality? When you see what people share on sites (pictures and comments) it makes you wonder when they do this, if they have given any thought to the possibility of their family, police, principals, bosses, and potential bosses reading it. Doubt it, but people don't always give much thought to that sort of thing when they think they are being "funny" or "clever". Some may be angry - they "let it fly" and call it "venting". For an awful lot of people, it's a false sense of security (and perceived anonymity). Not uncommon to hear this - "But that's just how kids talk now." A little sad but that sort of thing generally comes back to bite you in the butt.
Even dating has taken a twist. I've heard some have been successful at finding a sincere partner going this route, but when you think of the number of creeps out there stalking people in the comfort of their homes . . . makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end. So, it would seem that it's a little like taking the cue from the retail world . . . "Buyer Beware." It's easy to forget that there are people out there willing to take advantage of us and our families. It really is incumbent on us to be smart about our time and sites.
As I mentioned earlier, it is so easy to lose track of our time. What starts out as, "Just a minute, I 
need to finish this ..." inevitably becomes half an hour or more. This reminds me of the comments my kids used to call out when playing their game systems, "In a minute . . . I just need to finish this level!" Then, they'd appear twenty minutes later! But the computer and games systems (that includes on-line gaming) aren't the only screens that this can happen with . . . tv . . . even cell phones. What starts out innocently as a useful tool or entertainment can easily and very quickly make us its slave.
After an 11 year hiatus, we've recently signed up for basic cable tv again, and only because sports became the dominant reason for its return. For the most part, we've been pretty responsible about it. However, the sports channels are pretty much the only ones allocated to the basement tv. The majority of the others have to be viewed on the main tv upstairs. I guess it's not a surprise that tv watching in the basement has dropped drastically. Game systems are a whole different matter, but our rule of no game systems during school days has worked out well. Not from kids' perspective but, hey . . . can't please all the people all the time.
(At least for today!)
Where I seem to waste the most time, is not really the tv (and definitely not games systems) but, rather the computer. I'm not a huge Facebook follower, and probably wouldn't be, if so many of my friends didn't use it as their main means of contact. It's always nice, now and again, to see what everyone is up to. I can absolutely guarantee you that I'd probably have way more free time if the internet hadn't been invented (mind you . . . I wouldn't be writing this blog, either). Though thinking about it, I guess the free time has always been there, hasn't it? . . . it's just a matter of how I have been choosing to use it.
The biggest time wasters for me probably have been checking e-mails, Pininterest, and scouring the internet for useful articles / information to use at school and in my home.
While they are time-worthy (in my humble opinion), they do draw me to the computer a lot more than I have time for. It's funny how easy it is to check e-mails and that leads from one thing to another. In no time, the morning, afternoon, or evening can have flown by and you have virtually nothing done around the house to show for your time. Some words of wisdom from time management gurus that I am taking to heart - 'If you need more time, turn off the tv.' I'm sure they would agree that you could change 'tv' to essentially anything that consumes your time.
We only have one computer (my decision) and so when you have 3 people sharing it, everyone has to wait. That actually has been helpful in restricting time. Honestly, many a day, I am practically chomping at the bit for my turn. Now, what does that tell you? Tells ME that maybe I need to show a little more discipline in what I am doing with my free time. I'm not sure I've really noticed before how easy it was to fritter away minutes here and there until this summer. All the long list of things that I had wanted to get at . . . well the list has been slow to get done. I think my Challenges have helped to make a dent but I could definitely kick it up a notch. I was really tempted to wait and do this particular challenge later on in the year, but then I realized that now is probably the time for it. Funny how we avoid that which is the hardest - not so funny, I guess. Just human nature.
Ever notice how so many of us can't seem to go on holidays anymore without bringing our electronics along? I'm just as guilty as the next guy, on this one. We think we NEED to be able to stay in touch with everyone 24/7. How in the world did we survive in the "olden days"? :) Often, it does makes sense to bring along the phone (or possibly your laptop) but, even with that, we have to learn to monitor our time and turn it off, too. If we are texting friends, posting pictures, checking e-mails and facebook, catching up on work, etc., . . . aren't those pretty much the same things that we are doing . . . at home? Having free time on holidays is ok and even good - we don't always HAVE to fill it. I know it's exciting to share our holiday pictures and adventures while we are "in the moment" but if the real point of being on vacation is "getting away from it all," then are we? Just sayin'. So - are we a generation that is becoming a slave to or addicted to technology? You never really escape it, unless you make the decision to set limits. We all may think we do, but do we really? Have you noticed how kids HAVE to have their phones with them at the dinner table? Maybe some adults, too! I did start setting some limits here, too. In our house - no phones at the table - turned off so we can't hear them and put some place where we can't see them. It's interesting how even having them strapped to our hip and turned off gives us a sense of never really being away from them. Not so sure it's such a bad thing to turned them off at home, in our car, or at work, now and again. The distracted driving law sure has been a good way to make us be a little mindful of our time on the phone - though still see lots begging for a ticket.
I suspect some of this thinking wouldn't go over well with most people these days. We can always justify what we choose to. Who wants to be inconvenienced? Truthfully, in the past, I'm not sure that I would have agreed or even thought about it, either. Makes me wonder if we aren't starting to lose our ability to know how to spend time alone or with our families. Time to take back a little of that control, I'm thinking.
"Want to do something fun?
Like maybe download some new games we can play together after school?"
Boy, I'm learning a lot about myself since I've started my 55 Weeks. I've been wondering and kind of agonizing over what is a reasonable amount of time for being on the computer. This is what I've come up with . . . not sure it's right but we'll see how it works out . . .
Mondays - Saturdays: 7-9 a.m. 7-9 p.m. (I've read that you need 1/2 hr. - 45 minutes of no screens before bedtime for a restful sleep - that makes sense).
Sundays - no set times
Just because I can go on it, doesn't mean I have to either.
Sundays - no set times
Just because I can go on it, doesn't mean I have to either.
Now there's a concept, eh?
I'm sure this will be challenging for me but who knows . . . maybe I'll find I now have time to clean up that basement or work on that list of things before school starts!
Food for Thought:
You never know . . . maybe this challenge will help me with next week's - To Stress or Not to Stress,That is the Challenge!
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