The New Age of Technology — A Worldwide WiFi Hook
Funky little humans everywhere are glued to their smartphones, scrolling through their endless feeds via iPads or trapped behind a computer screen — giving little to no thought about any damage they are doing to themselves.
I understand that most people have to be hooked to an electronic device in the workplace but how many of you reattach yourself when you get home?
God knows I'm not mocking the age of tech because that's where I do most of my business and it's a great place to socialize and stay in touch with people.
However, it got to a point in my own life where I felt it was taking over (more about what I did to remedy this later).
Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty
Do you find yourself checking your phone every 2 minutes? If the answer is yes, then you need to seriously rethink your habits.
Why? Because…
- We still don't know the ramifications of WiFi — what is it doing to our electromagnetic field or our physical bodies (much like the craze of microwave ovens when they came out — we were told they were ‘safe' but now we are starting to think, ‘hey, wait a minute — aren't we nuking our already nutrient deficient food?' Read related article: Microwave Oven Facts: Why You Will Never Want To Use Yours Again)
- They are killing our physical social networking abilities. You've probably seen those facebook memes where everyone is sitting together around a table but stuck to their phone screens, right? Even when we get together with one another our attention gets diverted. If you're with people in the flesh (as in they have taken the time out to be with you, please don't whip out your phone every time you hear the whatsapp call…not unless your neighbour is looking after your sick cat or your child is in mortal danger. Turn your unimportant apps to silent — it's polite).
- It's wasting our God-given valuable time and turning our brains to zombie moosh! Look, it's just not healthy for mind, body or spirit to be a prisoner to the cyber world. Think about it — we are social creatures who are highly creative. Funneling all your energy into a metal device is lunacy. How many pics of your friends children do you want to see? How many photo's of meals can you handle? How many mundane status updates are you gagging for? If you truly mull over this, you'll see just how much time you may be wasting — but let's get to the good news…
You can do something about it.
Even if your livelihood depends on it, there are still remedies and precautions you can take to lessen the impact of WiFi on your life and body.
Take it From a Net Junky
Here's what I do to counterbalance the influx and urges of the mighty net:
- I limit my time on the internet/computer. If you are sitting behind a computer all day for job related purposes, make sure you take frequent breaks. Get up and stretch. Go for a short walk around the office or, even better yet, outside if you can. If you don't rely solely on a computer for work — try to curb your time on it. For example: I set a limit of 2 hours if I have to use the computer. In the past, I'd do my business and then go scrolling around various social networking sites that have tractor beams drawing you in for a good 2-3 hours…next thing, gone is your day!
- I restrict myself when checking my phone and set a curfew of 5pm where I put my phone away. I now check my phone about 1-2 times a day. I dictate to it, it doesn't dictate to me!
- I never leave my phone next to my bed. Both my husband and I used to scroll for at least an hour before bedtime and then wake up and do the same thing! It's a total mood killer, nevermind being a rather rude and exclusive practice. We used to giggle and chat to each other before (we would even throw in a game or two of paper, rock, scissors) and now we look at other peoples lives via cyber waves — I mean what's wrong with the picture here??? I decided that my marriage was far more worthy of my time then my smartphone.
- I am quite verbal when I'm with friends who excavate their phones at every beep. I tell them I think it's rude. There's no shame in voicing your opinion if it grates you and maybe it will even help them to re-tune to social etiquette. It's so become the norm nowadays that most civil people don't even know what they're doing is bad manners — no harm in letting them know, right?
What you can do instead:
- Go outside and walk barefoot on the Earth — ground yourself. Listen to the birds singing, watch the trees swaying in the breeze. Do nature things! We are happiest when we are outdoors. That's where creative incitement lies.
- Read a book
- Play games with the family (or paper, rock, scissors with your partner)
- Hug a pet
- Do some colour therapy (see related article:A Creative Way to Relieve Stress — How You Can Benefit From Color Therapy Today!)
- Paint/craft/create
- Listen to music and have a good dance
- Do some yoga that you've been threatening to do for ages
- Meditate
- Learn a new skill
- Make a bonfire and tell your family stories around it
- Cook a good, healthy meal (and get the kids involved!)
- Soak in a relaxing bath
- Go for a walk and get the blood moving (don't forget to take the pooch with you)
- Think good thoughts…do some affirmations for a healthy, happy life
- Garden
Whatever it is that gets you going — do that! The internet has been an amazing creation but let's not let it take over our lives. Apportion it with balance and get on with the important things in life like love, family, creativity and joy.
Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.
To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.
Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She also has just recently launched her official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates).
Cherie posts a new article on CLN every Thursday. To view her articles, click HERE.
This article (Have Your Devices Got You Hooked?) was originally written for and published by Conscious Life News and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksen and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.
