💾 Archived View for jsreed5.org › log › 2023 › 202301 › 20230113-screen-time.gmi captured on 2023-06-16 at 16:32:31. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
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My wife and I both struggle with getting our minds to slow down when it's time for bed. Our thoughts tend to race, and we're not very good at talking ourselves down from a speeding mind. It was suggested to us that we try to set a regular bedtime for ourselves and that we avoid all screen time for two hours beforehand. Last night we tried it for the first time.
I've tended to think of myself as less screen-addicted than my wife. She will often play Nintendo Switch or scroll Reddit on her phone for an hour or more in bed, usually right up until she falls asleep. I will also often use my phone, but I'm often doing tasks like organizing files, updating information on my capsule, or reading technical documentation of some kind.
Last night, however, my wife quickly settled down to read a book, and I found myself restless and uncomfortable. I felt that I wanted to read some math material on my phone, but I instead made myself pick up a book. I soon found that I couldn't concentrate on it and I opened another book, but after just a few minutes, I found my eyes glazing over again. So instead of reading any more, I sat down with my thoughts and tried to tease out why I wanted to look at my phone so badly--and soon I discovered that what I really wanted to do was scroll Gemini.
I don't use social media at all these days. I have accounts on Discord and Facebook that are only used to communicate with friends (the Facebook account is otherwise deactivated), and I've closed and/or deleted all my other social media presence. That leaves me with relatively little to do on the Internet, which is one reason I've invested so heavily in Gemini.
What I didn't really comprehend until last night was the extent to which I'd simply swapped my scrolling addiction from one service to another. I constantly open Antenna and check for new and interesting posts from the community. I count down the hours until "Where in the World?" posts a new country for me to guess. I check Station repeatedly to see what other people are up to. I haven't broken the fear of missing out: I've just changed what I'm afraid to miss out on.
The recommendation to limit screen time was originally directed specifically at my wife. But maybe I too can benefit from it more than I realize.
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[Last updated: 2023-01-13]