Ile razy dziś sięgnąłeś po telefon – i czy potrafisz przestać? Tekst Ani Zając (z klasy 4b) porusza temat uzależnienia od mediów społecznościowych, pokazując, jak nieświadome scrollowanie wpływa na nasze zdrowie, koncentrację i relacje, a także zachęca do prostego, ale odważnego kroku: cyfrowego detoksu. Tekst pojawi się na łamach naszej anglojęzycznej gazetki szkolnej AimHigh Magazine. Zapraszamy do lektury!
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THE INVISIBLE CHAINS: SOCIAL MEDIA
How long have you been using your phone today? Was it more than two hours?
Nowadays, we all tend to contribute too much of our time to mindless scrolling on our phones. Studies show that an average teenager unlocks their phone over 100 times a day and spends from four to seven hours on it. It has a profoundly negative impact on both our health and social development, as well as learning.
The first thing to do after waking up is for many to check their phone. From that moment on, they are glued to the screen, constantly checking the stream of information. Such behavior leaves them overly stimulated and does damage to the brain. Moreover, it is hard to stop due to a phenomenon called FOMO – fear of missing out. That’s why we have the urge to check the phone over and over again, so that we miss nothing. It’s understandable in a world of constant information flow. But I think that you should try to do a detox from this digital world. Start with 24 hours, maybe 48? Just start. At first, you may feel bad and disconnected from the world, but the truth is that this is just the first step towards feeling your actual life again.
That’s what I did. At first, it was a struggle to keep away from my phone for 48 hours. However, as soon as I stopped reaching for it, I discovered a whole new world of benefits. Whenever I had some free time, like when taking the bus to school, I was left alone with my thoughts and I actually discovered some things about me and my surroundings that I’ve never before noticed before. After a full day, my productivity was getting better and I could finally finish those tasks for which I was never focused enough. You thought that was it? The best was yet to come! I finally fell asleep easily and woke up almost as happy as I was the day before. Those positive results of my phone detox made me keen on reducing my screen time as much as possible.
Ultimately, I went down from several hours to about half an hour a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. You have to find a healthy balance yourself. Too little is often as unfavorable as too much. It’s not about deleting every social media account you own, but about using it correctly. Checking what your friends are up to, chatting and being up to date is all manageable. The only thing you have to reduce, really, is mindless scrolling.
Go ahead and try for yourself! Do a 48-hour detox from your phone. Maybe you’ll rediscover some forgotten hobbies?
Ania Zając (4b)
