De-Vice Your Phone, Reclaim Your Brain
Quit your smartphone addiction and reclaim your life
Did you know that the average Australian checks his or her phone 47 times a day (many more if they’re younger) and spends about four hours a day staring at its screen? That’s about a sixth of the total average lifespan. So if you’re ever wondered how life has passed you by… well, there’s your answer. And yes, you should be concerned.
Without a doubt, smartphones have taken over our lives. We use them for everything: from taking photos, to maintaining our calendars, connecting with our loved ones, working on the go, and as a constant source of entertainment. Smartphones are fantastic in that way, but they’ve also gotten in the way of the real world real quick, and have even managed to rewire our brains to become more dependent on it. How many times in a day do you find yourself or someone else glued on the phone— swiping, tapping away, scrolling up or down? How many times have you caught yourself checking Instagram during a meal with friends or family, or scrolling through your Facebook feed then look up and realise it’s 2 AM. If the answer is often, you may have an unhealthy relationship with your smartphone.
The solution to reclaiming your life — or at least cut down on your screen time is not to dump your phone altogether (we know that’s an impossible feat). The key is to figure out what things could you do with your phone that will make you feel good, which are the ones that make you feel bad, and what behaviours or phone habits you would like to change.
Yes, it is possible to say ‘yes’ to life without having to say ‘no’ to our phones. Having trouble wrapping your head around that idea? Communications expert Ash Berdebes sheds light on this on an upcoming workshop called, “De-Vice Your Phone, Reclaim Your Brain”. She will talk about how we can reset our relationship with our phones, and to frame our minds to not see spending less time with our phones as an act of self-deprivation, but instead as a means to resolve discrepancies that will lead us to a happier way of living.