This post is part of an editorial series, brought to you by Caduceus Medical Group, Facial Aesthetic Concepts, and Zammex. We hope these pieces provide you with helpful information, encouragement, and insight about your health.
I have a confession to make – screen time is making me a momster. I can feel it happening and I don’t like it.
There are endless talks about screen time in children. Even pediatricians ask about it. But what about us? What about adults?
When I first started working in a social media heavy field, I justified all of my screen time because I had to be on social media for my job. I literally HAD to!
Now I find myself clicking between Facebook, Instagram, and email – only to circle back two minutes later. It’s almost completely subconscious – I don’t even realize I’m doing it. It has become a habit or more like an addiction. For no reason at all, I’ll have my phone in my hand.
But what makes it the absolute worst is when I’m mindlessly on my phone and completely irritated because my child is interrupting me.
This exact scenario happened the other day and I realized that screen time is making me a momster and I have got to control the beast.
How do you stop?
This is a good question because like I said above, I have to have social media for my job. I also don’t think that my phone is ever going to go away. I relate this to losing weight. I have to eat I can’t just stop eating. Just like I can’t just stop working.
These are a few ideas that I’ve tried to curb my screen time habits and cut down on my social media scrolling.
- Put the phone AWAY – like out of reach! – If my phone is within my reach I’m going to pick it up, doesn’t matter if I want to or not. Just like if there is a bag of peanut butter m&ms sitting next to me I’m going to eat it. If the phone is out of my reach, I’ll be less likely to get up and get it.
- Use screen time limits on yourself – My kids have screen time limits and so should I. Now, I realize that there are times when I am going to need to work and I obviously need my computer, but I’m talking about the non-working scrolls. If I’m done with work I don’t need to be on my phone – set a limit. If you set a limit you know you’re still able to be on your phone gaming, doing social media etc., but it won’t consume every moment of the day.
- Do not disturb – It’s a pretty well-known fact that if you text me after 8pm I will not respond until the next morning. I have gotten really good at putting my phone down and not looking at it after 8pm. Do the same for yourself.
- Be mindful – I think the biggest thing for me is to truly be mindful about what I’m doing. Am I ignoring my kids as I scroll? Am I on my phone just to be on my phone? Could I be doing a different hobby, like reading or baking or something that brings me more joy?
I’m trying not to let screen time turn me into a momster – I’m not perfect, but I’m doing my best and I think that’s the most important thing.
