And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. (Exodus 32:19–20)
How much time have you spent on technology today? Are your daily tasks finished or are you avoiding them? If you need a break, do it now. I promise this article will still be here when you return. Just promise to read it later. *wink wink*
Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, it’s become the most popular phone with over 1 billion people owning one today. Even though it was life changing in some ways, it also brought negative effects.
At its origin, “addiction” simply referred to “giving over” or being “highly devoted” to a person or activity, or engaging in a behavior habitually, which could have positive or negative implications. (Considering the Definition of Addiction)
Around 47% of Americans admit they have a smartphone addiction. According to census.gov at the time of writing, the current population is the United States is 335,946,594. That means 157,894,899 Americans admit to having a smartphone addiction. This only includes those who admit their addiction. If that’s the number in America, imagine the whole world.
A few years ago, I discovered minimalism where I cut out the excess things in my life to make room for what mattered most. Since then, another question came to mind. I have less physical clutter, but what about the digital and mental clutter?
I struggle with an addiction to my smartphone. Most days it’s within arms reach, waiting for me to pick it up and waste my day scrolling on social media or shopping online. At times, I found more satisfaction from my phone than interacting with real people.
If you feel the same, why? Why do you want to spend more time in front of a screen than with your loved ones? More importantly, has technology become your idol? Do you sacrifice your time and energy for it, make sure it’s close by, or get angry when you’re without it?
Digital minimalism is a philosophy that helps you question what digital communication tools (and behaviors surrounding these tools) add the most value to your life. It is motivated by the belief that intentionally and aggressively clearing away low-value digital noise, and optimizing your use of the tools that really matter, can significantly improve your life. (Cal Newport)
Now if you’re feeling convicted, like me, ask yourself the hard question:
Would my life improve by embracing digital minimalism?
Let me show you the benefits.
Improved Social Skills & Mental Health
Before I discuss this section, I want to be clear that by limiting technology, you will likely NOT cure your mental health issues. I’m not a psychologist, counselor or licensed professional. These are my experiences and should never be used in place of professional help. Please seek help if you’re struggling with mental health. It’s not something to take lightly and I promise it’s worth it.
Growing up, I sometimes had trouble making friends or holding conversation with others. This was a result of the increasing amount of time spent on technology. I was not focused on the real world but instead on the digital world I surrounded myself with. I gained no value from this and my effort to build important skills decreased. Eventually, I became more anxious and avoided social situations for fear of being around people.
Do you struggle with this? If you drop your ego and admit there’s a problem, you can begin to improve yourself. Decreasing screen time will not make all your problems disappear, but it will help you refocus and understand the world around you.
I still struggle with mental health and anxiety, but by limiting my exposure to technology, I can reflect and understand myself better. It’s also easier to be social when I’m focused more on the people around me.
Increased Focus & Motivation
When you constantly reach for your phone as a source of entertainment, your focus and motivation tend to decrease. When I was doing homework or another task, I would get distracted, pull my phone out, and avoid what I needed to do. This made it take longer to finish my work because I couldn’t keep a consistent workflow.
After limiting screen time, I noticed I could focus longer and was motivated to complete tasks. I felt better knowing that I didn’t sit around on my phone all day, but was wisely managing my time and being productive. My mind tends to wander a lot, but it’s become easier to control. When I work on my writing, I can use that to my advantage to think of new ideas and in a situation where I need to be fully present, my ability to stay focused has improved.
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (1 Corinthians 10:23–24)
Awareness of Others
Imagine you’re on a date or out with a friend. Throughout the night, they constantly check their phone, walk out to take multiple calls, and give minimal effort to spend quality time together. To me, that’s inconsiderate and rude, but also selfish. The message that person sends is, “I have other things that are more important than spending time with you.” If I was in that situation, I would be hurt.
Relationships don’t improve with selfishness, they improve with selflessness. If your constant focus is on yourself, you might wake up one day and have no relationship. Selfishness brings out the worst in us and is the root of most conflict.
There have been occasions where I was asked to do something by my wife or parents. Instead of doing it right away, I would say that I’d do it later and continue to sit on my phone or watch TV, or do it but with a poor attitude, wanting to get back to the couch. Not the greatest way to go about it. Eventually I learned to be more considerate of the people around me. That meant less time thinking of myself and more time thinking of others. You’ll be surprised how much easier it becomes to understand and care for others when you give them your full attention, no distractions.
Spending Less
The internet is full of advertisements and influencers promoting trending products. Companies attempt to convince you that you need their products, but do you really need them? I used to get sucked in to all the ads and buy things I thought I needed, but didn’t actually need. Are some products in advertisements and promotions beneficial? Maybe. At the same time, would your life drastically change from buying one of those products? Probably not.
I found that I spent less because I wasn’t as influenced by advertisements and promotions. Detoxing from apps and sites with a large amount of ads helped me be more content with what I owned. I didn’t need another thing to pile in my apartment. I already have enough.
Maybe you’re buying things you don’t need on Amazon, Etsy, etc. What would happen if you spent less time on those websites? You’d probably spend less money.
Say you currently spend $10/week shopping on Amazon. After you reading this article, you become so inspired that you limit your screen time, resulting in less time browsing Amazon. Every week you now have an extra $10 in your bank account. If you save that for a year, you’ll have an extra $520.
With that amount you could buy around 85 $5 Biggie Bags from Wendy’s…or maybe you can do something smarter like build an emergency fund. Choose wisely.
Increased Spiritual Time
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14)
A couple weeks ago I found a YouTube video titled, “Swapping My Screen Time with Bible Reading.” I actually never finished the video, which may be a sign of my poor focus skills. The title lead me to ask myself, “What if I actually spent that much time reading the Bible?” I would probably learn a lot! In all honesty, I haven’t tried it yet, but I may conduct a similar experiment in the future.
Think about this. If we can spend anywhere from 2–6 hours a day on technology, I’m sure we can make time to read God’s Word or talk to Him through prayer. I’m not telling you start dedicating 6 hours a day to spiritual disciplines starting right now. If it were me, I would struggle to stick with it and lose motivation. You probably would too. My suggestion is to dedicate some time you usually spend on your phone and instead spend it with God. If that means going from 0 minutes a day to 10 minutes a day, do it! You’re spending 10 minutes longer than you were before. Change starts somewhere and it’s better than not changing at all.
Conclusion
There’s more to life than technology. When you’re on your deathbed, I guarantee you won’t wish you spent more time scrolling Facebook or watching Netflix. Most people wish they spent more time with those they love most, and regret taking them for granted. Even more so, at the end of your life, do you want to face God and explain why you worshipped technology above Him?
Next week, we’ll discuss how you can minimize the time spent on technology and begin using your new found time for more important things.
Until then, start paying attention. Turn on the screen time tracker if you have one or manually keep track of how much time you’re spending on your phone, computer, TV, gaming systems, etc. Be prepared. You may not think you spend much time, but the numbers may tell a different story. If you discover that you spend too much time on technology, don’t beat yourself up. There’s no point in trying to change your past, it already happened. Look forward. It’s time to take back control of your life.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
