DAILY DIGITAL DETOX: A Steemit Community Life Series & Reminder | E.50 | Intentionally / Regularly Unplugging + My Quick Engagement Poll To You!

in #life7 years ago

I have taken this subject pretty seriously over the years. You need time offline.

Regularly & Intentionally. For lots of reasons.


THE DIGITAL DETOX SERIES OBJECTIVE SERIES CONSTANTS:


My plan with this series is to intentionally remind you, daily to get offline, give your brain, eyes, soul a break and time to reset and remind you that relationships with people can suffer if you are always on your phone and not PRESENT -- in every sense of the word.

The irony of bringing this series to you online, asking you to get offline, on an online blogging platform, is not lost on me.



There have been limited studies done on some of the effects of this digital hold on our lives and they are concerning to say the least. Social media use appears to encourage some of the following negative effects, some of which we hear about regularly now:

-- Narcissism

-- Screen time/white light/activity appears to be causing insomnia/broken sleep cycles (circadian rhythm)

-- Detached reality making our society and kids less empathetic and in touch with reality

Results from the few studies that have been done are troubling. Social media appears to promote narcissism, smartphones could be causing insomnia, and screens seem to be making our kids less empathetic.

Earlier posts in this series covered that in more detail.



TODAY'S DIGITAL DETOX TIDBIT:


Constant Screen Life..... is a culture killing our creativity.

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For many, going a few minutes without checking their devices is hard.


Dr. Nicholas Kardaras in his book "Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids," says that too much screen time makes those who were raised on technology....

“... Almost universally what I like to call "uninterested and uninteresting." Bored and boring, they lacked a natural curiosity and a sense of wonder and imagination that non-screen kids seemed to have.”


We are now largely a digital culture, and may not remember a time without TV's, internet and a touch screen everywhere around us.

Unfortunately, we are all (and the kids!!) at a much bigger risk for stunted creativity from this digital life of connectivity.

Even those of us who are digital "immigrants" to this life, are not benefiting from extra screen time -- the constant stimulation, entertainment and connectivity is making us less likely to entertain ourselves with other ways and means that will stimulate our brains in less addictive, and more healthy ways.

I've actually touched on this roughly 20 episodes ago.



Sources show the avg. adult now spends about 8.5+ hours online every day. A good portion is at work or looking at a screen.

Give a long hard look at where you are spending the bulk of these waking / working hours, with regard to your workstation/chair and posture, just like you need a good bed for all the sleeping hours!



Find a Digital Detox buddy as was mentioned earlier to do these things with, it helps to have support in place for little things like this.

Support and accountability again.



I've blogged here and in the past about this, but new people are finding the posts, or searching online, so I am saying this again today because it is VERY very important:

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Switch OFF or to Airplane Mode During Breaks or Workouts:

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Unless you are using an iPod or no device during workouts or lunch breaks.....(both are good ideas) - chances are like most - you use your phone to listen to music. Yes, music has been proven to improve your mood etc. during workouts but think of it.....

-- stopping mid- exercise all the time, to answer a text or social media notification is terrible and stealing your experience, tech break and focus from you, as well as lowering your heart rate, which is key to working out in the first place. It can wait an hour.

This is an easy way to take back your Digital Detox freedom and stay in the zone, and focused on YOU and what you are doing, during a work out or even doing nothing..... taking a complete break for your lunch break etc.

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A constant tip is change 1 habit at a time, so I will keep this in the series.

Reminder: (see past posts) -- Try to use proper, healthy posture techniques always and be purposeful about this.



http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/posture-for-a-healthy-back

Stick with it and make notes daily about how you feel doing this! Share thoughts with a friend or 2!

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I don't embed my sources like "professional bloggers" -- 9/10 times -- people don't click the sources anyways, let alone hover the cursor to even check quickly, and this way, they can SEE the sources / url's -- that's what I prefer myself anyways, so if i get flagged, I get flagged, I am trying to appeal to the masses here.

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It is more than just unplugging intentionally as I call it -- it is a return to some societal values that we have abandoned in favour of having all the access to data and online resources we have -- a shift is required. However:

Intentional Unplugging as I call it -- is a huge and necessary step.


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As a reminder of what we see daily in the PHYSICAL realm of problems, here is a graphic showing the damage of the neck and spine as it relates to pounds of pressure looking downwards all the time:

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(Sorry this is grainy but I enlarged this 2x, so you could see it better. This is right from the Ontario Chiropractic Association (hard to read but that is the source) -- and I wanted this unedited, it was a jpeg and resizing those means less quality)


Don't Risk a Crash in Your Health!

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My Community Engagement questions to you, today, if you have read this far are simple and will evolve over time:

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-- Did you INTENTIONALLY "unplug" or stay offline this week? How many times? Give yourself 1 point for each day in your reply!

-- Did you unplug with a family member / friends intentionally this week and thus CONNECT to them meaningfully? If yes, give yourself a point!

-- Have you realized this is a problem in your life, because that is the FIRST step! If so - 2 points for you!

-- Are you aware of this problem around you and your friends and family and have you addressed it with others? If so, you get a point also! ( Note I have always used the word "addressed" in this series, some people confuse this word with telling others what to do.... this is not the same thing. Dialogue with others is the goal. Awareness.)

-- Did you put your devices in another room at dinner time and at bedtime this week intentionally? That's a point each time, champ! List it! Think on it!!

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Please tally up your points, list it in a reply and please open up about how you feel about these issues in your life and the world today!!

Why??

Because this is a Community Resource and I care and we are all in this together. None of us are getting out alive.

That is the end of today's post in this series. I wanted to cover all the basics in the Series constants, as usual, for all the new people reading this post for the first time,

If you are still reading -- thank you very much and have a nice day. I hope something here helps you.


Thanks for reading, have a nice day.








If you liked this blog post - please Resteem it and share good content with others!

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Some of my recent blogs:

--

https://steemit.com/steemit/@barrydutton/um-are-you-missing-some-of-your-own-blog-posts-in-your-own-feed-from-both-3-and-4-days-ago-several-of-my-posts-have-literally

https://steemit.com/steemit/@barrydutton/hey-steemit-family-what-was-your-1st-blog-post-you-authored-on-here-and-why-or-e-28-or-post-it-or-community-engagement-series

https://steemit.com/photography/@barrydutton/e-2-making-my-own-hot-pepper-dust-from-my-garden-etc-with-my-high-speed-blender-it-is-3-5-hp-no-i-am-not-kidding-blue-collar

https://steemit.com/colorchallenge/@barrydutton/color-challenge-monday-red-outside-the-greenhouse-i-helped-build-and-donated-lumber-etc-towards-and-a-mother-s-day-card-for-an

https://steemit.com/funny/@barrydutton/well-i-did-it-i-officially-applied-to-be-the-official-pizza-tester-at-bath-pizza-across-the-pond-in-the-uk-england-i-promised-to

https://steemit.com/colorchallenge/@barrydutton/monochrome-monday-how-i-roll-in-my-town

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@barrydutton/cryptocurrency-market-update-overview-nov-19th-2017


Most Images: Gif's - via Giphy.com , Funny or Die.com / Pixabay. Today:


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Please note -- I will have limited internet access for awhile -- so PLEASE do not be upset that I cannot reply right away, or to everyone. I am dealing with some changes, and will have limited time online and will be happy if I get a few blog posts up a week.
This has really upset some people but I do not force my opinions on others, or need to communicate every detail of my life or issues, most people do not care anyways. I invested around 10 hours or more a day on Steemit most of my first 13 mths here, I just do not have that time in my life right now, and that includes for replies and voting/curation.
I have done my best, sorry if you do not understand like some are clearly having a problem with. It's a blogging platform, and I will do my best at everything, and to keep blogging.
Carry On.

Sort:  

Great summary. That's why I will go surfing for 2 weeks to get my thoughts together without the internet and checking my cryptos.

Great reply....

You are right on point there friend.

I completely agree with you. Social media is actually making us apart. The more time we spend online, the further we get from our family and friend :/

100% accurate!!

Look good post you share this, i love it, thanks for sharing

Otherwise come live in Massif Central area in France, there are lots of areas without internet and cellular data.
Great post by the way

But, central banks and fiat money

LOL

I started doing wireless Wednesdays a few years. Getting away from the screen is always a good thing.
“The people will not revolt. They will not look up from their screens long enough to notice what’s happening.” George Orwell

Geez that is a good idea, I had not of that one yet.

Are you related to any of the Goodwins east of Toronto, specifically the CAW / UAW types???

Might be related to them from several generations back.

Look good post you share this, i love it, thanks for sharing

awesome tips

realy coool,i m so impressed, so i followed,gave upvote,&comment,so pliz back,next time iwill do the same , it will be continued,see you.sorry it was written yesterday,it was mistaken,forgot it,

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