I Grounded Myself From My Smartphone

I grounded myself from my smart phone (1)

Technology is a beautiful thing.  It has the ability to make our lives easier, reconnect us with old friends, and capture precious moments with the quick touch of a button.  It is also an amazing thing to use when disciplining your children.  Threaten to take the technology away, or worse, do it, and my kids are begging and pleading for a second chance.  They are “forced” to use those brains of theirs to entertain themselves.  GASP!

Here’s the problem.  I like my iPhone too.  And when I have a few moments that aren’t filled with anything, I pull out my phone and do a quick social media check.  And sometimes, when my moments are filled with something, I still pull out my phone and do a quick social media check. Then I started hearing things like, “mom, I’m trying to tell you something”, and “mom, did you just hear what I said?”  Those comments gave me a reality check.  I was on my phone too much.  I hadn’t heard what my children said, because I was too engrossed in an instagram video.  I knew she wanted to tell me something – but how many people had just liked my Facebook photo?

So I decided to do as I said, and I grounded myself from my phone.  We were going on vacation and I decided I wasn’t going to use that phone for anything other than answering text messages.  I wasn’t even going to check my email.  Because the things that were most important to me were going to be right in front of my face for 6 days.  While sitting in the airport, within the first 20 minutes, I really wanted to get my phone out.  All my family had their technology devices to occupy them.  Along with 98% of the rest of the airport occupants. And I found myself with 45 minutes to kill – without technology.  So I went for a walk.

Had I not grounded myself from my iPhone I would have missed that man talking extremely loudly about some super important business decisions in his flowered shorts and straw hat.  I would have missed the sweet goodbye of what looked like a single mom, sending off her kids on a plane, to see their father in another state.  I also would have missed looking at those really large metal tubes with wings and watching them take off effortlessly and gracefully.

After the first day it got easier.  I found myself relaxed, completely attentive to those little people I call mine, and I learned even more about them.  We had conversations that might have been nonexistent had I been buried in a screen.  I had breakfast on the deck with my nephew where we discussed the nature hidden in the forest behind us.  I read a book! (Nicholas Sparks, The Longest Ride. Read it now!)  I found myself more relaxed.  I fell asleep faster.  And here is the kicker –  I didn’t miss one thing because of it.

I haven’t given up the iPhone all together.  I still browse it every now and then.  But it’s different now.  It’s not controlling my free time.  We only have our people for 1/5 of their lives.  That’s it, my mommy friends.  What everyone else is doing isn’t important – especially when they are in your presence.  Ground yourself from your smart phone.  You’ll be glad you did.

What do you think? Can you ground yourself from your phone?

 

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Amy
Amy is an Oklahoma City Native who is the mom of 3 kids ages 14, 11, and 9 and married to her college sweetheart. She ditched Corporate America and her accounting career in order to pursue her creative side and keep up with her kids. She is the author of the blog JustFinishStrong where she blogs about food, family and fitness. Coffee, a scenic run, her border collie, Izzy, and exotic chocolate are a few of her favorite things!

2 COMMENTS

  1. I do this every time we do something as a family! I might take my phone out for a second to take a pic but I put it away and enjoy my family time! Time with my kids is so precious that I would much rather experience it than to post it!

  2. When I spend the weekend with my boyfriend at his parents we have a no social media rule. Doesn’t always get followed to the letter but I keep my phone away 90 percent of my time there.

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