Managing Technology So It Helps Not Hurts

Technology and smart devices have permeated our society today such that we take them for granted just about as much as the air we breathe. We reach for our iPhones before we've finished blinking the sleep away from our eyes in the morning. Apple Watch tracks steps, sleep, and heart rate. Have a question? Google it. Want to learn a new skill or develop a habit? There's an app for that. Many of these things are helpful and good, and I for one am grateful for the efficiency and ease, as well as abilities and opportunities I'm afforded by modern technology.

I think however that each one of us who uses these devices regularly knows that along with the convenience and desirable aspects, they also bring new challenges to our lives. Work, people, and demands follow us anywhere with cellphone reception. Notifications grab our attention at all hours of the day and night. Nothing ever really feels complete. It's difficult to focus or complete tasks with so many interruptions and distractions. We constantly feel pulled in all directions and stressed.

Thankfully, we don't have to resign ourselves to feeling stressed and frustrated for the rest of our lives! With discipline and a few helpful strategies we can enjoy the benefits technological devices bring to our lives, without they strain they often produce.

The following tips might provide a helpful starting point:

1. Turn off unimportant notifications. 

You don't need to hear the likes roll in on your latest Instagram photo every 2.5 seconds; you can check the activity the next time you open the app if you really want to know.

Every "ping" of a notification is an interruption distracting you from whatever task you're trying to work on. Each distraction means your actual task will take longer, and possibly reduce it's quality too. Turning off most of your notifications is similar to turning the TV on for a toddler: you'll get a lot fewer interruptions!

There are actually a few options when it comes to notifications. The default setting of course is every incoming message, comment, like, and a bunch of posts to announce their arrival with vibration, sound, and even flashing lights in some cases! To jump to the other extreme you can turn off all notifications, and leave comments and messages to be found whenever you open the app. The other option is to somewhere between, with a variation of these settings. For some things that are not important enough to interrupt me, but still important enough that I'd rather not have to wait until I actually go looking for them I've set notifications to appear -- but only when my phone is open. In other words, calls and text messages announce themselves anytime flight mode is disabled, and when I get past the lock screen and open my phone I will be notified of anything medium-priority. I will never see Instagram likes unless I open the app itself and view my notifications there or find a post specifically. This has dramatically reduced the number of disruptions my phone causes, and I don't think I've missed anything important either.

2. Activate flight mode when you go to bed. 

If you really think someone may need to contact you urgently then use the "Do Not Disturb" function instead.

Your device might not need sleep to remain healthy, but you do. Everything that happens in the meantime you'll be able to catch up on later; it won't go anywhere. So eliminate the distractions for a few hours and spend the time recharging, storing memories, and solidifying anything you've learned during the day. Yes, all of that is included in that one word "sleeping" that most of us neglect all too readily, myself included.

3. Leave your phone out of sight during social events. Better yet, out of reach.

Phones are great at bringing us near to people who are far from us, but they are just as effective at taking us far from the people who are right with us. Anyone worth spending time with is worth your full attention, so put your phone away and focus on the person in front of you. You can catch up with distant friends later, and you'll be happier and build more meaningful relationships in both cases.

Technology can be a valuable tool in our lives: helping us maintain long-distance friendships, enabling us to learn many new and useful skills, and making it easier to organise various aspects of our lives. If we fail to manage our usage of it, however, technology will trap is in a never-ending cycle of clicking, tapping, and scrolling. On the odd occasion when we do look away from that blue glow we will be discouraged by the reminder of everything that has been left undone and perhaps the realisation that we aren't doing things that we actually consider important. Of course, we could jump straight back onto our favourite social media and complain to our "friends" (who are also clicking, tapping, and scrolling) and collect their sympathy for our plight. Or, we could turn the screen off and make some changes. 

With considered management and deliberate usage we can enjoy the benefits of modern technology without falling into so many of the traps it presents. We can live a varied and fulfilling life, experiencing new things, making memories, and completing goals. We can build meaningful relationships with friends and family. We can reduce our stress and get the rest we need. We can stop feeling so distracted all the time. And we can make the time and be focused enough to complete the tasks God has for us and live the life He is calling us to.

I, for one, have bigger goals for the remainder of 2021 than scrolling Facebook, so I'll be carefully managing my technology usage, beginning with these tips and building on them. How about you?