There’s no use in denying that we’re living in a digital age. Information is right at our fingertips constantly, and there are notifications blaring from your phone every second. A new email one minute, Indians won the baseball game the next, a new comment on Facebook, another new email, someone sends you a text, someone followed you on Twitter…
It’s an endless train of information filling our heads every second of every day. From school to work to home, there’s never a minute when you feel like you can turn the phone off. What if you miss something important?
It can be overwhelming at times, but being connected to your technology doesn’t have to mean that you’re disconnected from the physical world that you live in. The key is technology breaks, or times when we turn the phones off.
Some technology breaks last for fifteen minutes, but others can last for much longer. It depends a lot on the person and the circumstances. For example, if you work on computers all day, taking a fifteen-minute technology break from your computer and phone every once in a while can help give your brain a quick boost of energy. Though at home, having the phones away while you’re at the dinner table is a great place to start.
Everybody instantly groans when the idea of technology breaks comes up, just because we’re so used to having that information constantly in our hand. Everything is easier with a goal, and knowing when you can pick up the phone makes it easier to put it away in the first place. It’s easier to say, “I’ll put the phone away until after dinner,” than it is to say, “I’ll put the phone away in a while.”
These technology breaks allow us to give total attention to something other than our phones or computers. We can take in the world around us, and it gives our brains time to rest and relax. Having these technology breaks during a lecture or communicative setting can also be helpful. It’s hard to pay attention to the person you’re having a conversation with, or a work presentation, when you have your phone out in front of you. It’s completely natural to want to check it and stay updated. But, putting it away during meetings, family dinners, or even just for small increments throughout the day can help you pay closer attention to the world around you.
