Weekend-Engagement: WEEK 209

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@merlysmont

I think we all have at least one habit to which we dedicate too much time, something that perhaps we do every day or very often. Many times these habits become something negative, that robs us of time that we could use to do other things, they become an obsession. And just as we can all have some obsession, I believe that we all have the ability to look for alternatives to leave them aside and create better habits. Although we do not always decide to create good habits and we prefer to continue with the patterns we already have in our lives, it is all a matter of our mentality and will.


🌀“The power of your mind determines the potential of your life.”🌀


And, as I said before, I think we all have at least one obsession. Obviously I am not the exception and today I would like to tell you a little bit about the thing that steals most of my time and that I often refuse to give up: The cell phone.

The last few months I have become obsessed with using my cell phone, to the point that I spend 80% of my daily time watching videos or chatting on social networks. If I go out in the street I am constantly checking my messages, taking pictures of everything I do or just “checking the time”. I no longer control my screen time at all.


how does my obsession with cell phone use negatively affect my life?

I feel that my obsession with my cell phone negatively affects my health, my friendships, my memories and my physical condition. For example:

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Even walking down the street I use my cell phone
  • I often miss out on really enjoying many important moments in my life, such as being with my friends and family at a gathering, by focusing solely on using my cell phone and the distractions it provides.

  • I encourage a sedentary lifestyle by wanting to be sitting or lying down all day because I feel that it is much more comfortable and less tiring to use the cell phone to watch series or videos. This brings with it a lack of exercise and physical activity, which can bring me many health problems in the future.

  • It negatively affects my vision by spending a lot of time looking at the cell phone screen, since the light reaches my eyes directly and constantly.

And these are just a few of the negative ways this obsession affects my life, I could name many more.


What steps could I take to stop this obsession?

I think many times I have thought about the best way to improve my habits and thus eliminate this obsession I have. Although so far I have not put them into practice, These are some of the ideas I have to eliminate this obsession:

  • Creating a schedule: I could write detailed activities that you can do in the day, including outdoor activities or exercise, as well as hours dedicated to reading or writing, aiming to gradually reduce the time spent on the cellphone. I feel that this way I could look for other things to occupy my free time, activities that do not involve cellphone use and that can help me stop using it for at least a few hours.

  • Disabling notifications: I can turn off notifications from many apps I have downloaded on my phone, such as some social networks or games. Sometimes these cellphone apps send notifications that are not relevant or important, and I tend to use this as an excuse to check them and use the phone. I believe that keeping only the notifications that alert me about something important, like a message, would be helpful in stopping myself from making excuses to grab the phone all the time.

  • Setting goals outside of technology: I can set small or big goals to focus on achieving them and distract my mind with something healthier and more productive than using the phone. I feel that planning how to reach a goal can keep my mind away from the idea of using the phone.

  • Face-to-face interaction: I could suggest to my friends and family the idea of putting aside our cellphones when we gather, so we can talk more and share better moments together without the intervention of phones.

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I hope to have the will from now on to be able to apply these ideas in my daily life to be able to improve my habits and eliminate my obsession with using my cell phone.

This was my participation in theWeekend-Engagement: WEEK 209
Publication 100% free of plagiarism and AI, own photographs and cover edited with the app Pic-Collage

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