Addicted to Media

-
Addiction can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The latest is media addiction. What's that you might ask? 

 Media addiction is when we are so attached to our cellphones, tablets, computers that we ignore human contact. We've all seen the pictures of kids in the schoolyard texting each other rather than playing. This is serious stuff. 

 Media addiction is deadly - it kills our spirits, our creativity and our lives when people text and drive or text/walk. You Tube is filled with videos of people walking into holes, poles and oncoming traffic. I don't find these videos funny; I find them horrifying.

 So, how do we wean ourselves off of media? As someone who can become as addicted to media as the next person, I work by mindfully tracking my use of "screen time."  

I have to use the computer for work, but I make sure I get up, walk around, talk to coworkers and breathe deeply every half hour or so. At home, I do the same thing. I get up, move around, talk to Roger, take a walk, go out in the garden, and work on creative ventures. In fact, I try to have something creative going all the time, so that I spend time doing that and not sitting in front of a screen. I have also, thanks to my daughter who gifted me with notebooks, taken to writing on paper.  

Many young people are addicted to Facebook and chat sites. Others are addicted to games. My suggestion...get some friends together and play the games in real time. Old-fashioned, I know, but there is great benefit to being with others.  Banana-grams, Scrabble, Boggle and Upwords are all great fun. Playing them allows you to do what you were doing alone on your screen of choice, while giving you the pleasure of having family and friends to play along with you in person.  

Don't get me wrong. Media is a great benefit to us all. Personally, I have been able to reconnect with friends and family that are miles away from me. What a blessing! In addition, we can stay up to date with what is going on in the world. But, when we become so ensconced in screen-time and lose contact with those around us, we are in trouble.

Let's face it...we all need human contact. Facebook can't hug you or hold your hand. Twitter can't wipe a tear away. WhatsApp can't laugh along with you at something silly. We can't dance with Google or walk hand-in-hand with Instagram. These are things we can only do with another human. We NEED to do these things for our emotional and spiritual as well as physical wellbeing. 
 
In the week ahead, let's try to get off the phones, tablets and computers and connect with each other. Blessings!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Whispers

-
Image
Photo Credit: (c) 2018 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas When I was, as my mother would say, a wee sprout, I had my first experience with hearing that soft whisper that has warned me, inspired me, and on occasion, nagged me. Perhaps because I was raised in a household where being "fey" was looked at as normal, I never questioned that this was not real.  I can't tell you what the first thing I "heard" was, but I do remember talking to my mother about it when I was about six years old. We had had a lesson in school where sister had told the class about a saint who heard "the whispers of the angels." I asked Momma if that was who was speaking to me.  I still remember her looking very seriously into my eyes and saying, "Lindy, it might be angels, it might be what artists call the muse, or it might be what some people call, 'the voice of your ancestors or guides.' I don't know, but I do know you need to listen and pay attention to what you he
Read more

Bible Sisters

-
Image
As a child, Bible stories fascinated me. I tried to imagine what it was like to live in times so long ago. Rarely, however, did I ever see any connection to what happened in ancient times with what was happening in my life. After all, my world was close to 2000 years older and far from the lands of Pharaohs and Roman invaders.  As I grew, I learned to see the lessons within Scripture. But, again, I found it difficult to connect to these men who battled giants or spoke eloquent words in the Temple. The only women I remember mentioned were few and far between. How I wished there was more for a woman to connect with in the Bible. A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of receiving a copy of Bible Sisters by Rev. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks in the mail. Bible Sisters is a 365-day devotional that includes the well-known women of the Bible (Eve, Sarah, Ruth, Rebecca, Mary, Martha...) as well as those we know little about and who often go unnamed like Hagar or the Widow of Zarephath.
Read more

Review of Gypsy for God by Yvonne Morgan

-
Image
  Ivonne Morgan has crafted an inspiring tale of how a woman blessed with the ability to recreate herself after retirement finds, through a series of epiphanies, the work she has always felt she was born to do.  Gypsy for God is a work of love and faith. This book looks at the dichotomy between privilege, poverty, disease and the horrors of human trafficking.  Kathleen, the protagonist of the book, not only has to come to grips with her own self-doubts and biases, but she also has to deal with a husband who has trouble seeing through her eyes. However, through deep faith and support, she realizes the path she is to follow as she travels the world, visiting various countries that often take her out of her comfort zone, which in turn opens her eyes and heart to the work she is called to do.  Gypsy for God is about asking ourselves those difficult questions and then listening with an open mind and heart to the answers.  I recommend this book, especially for women who are retiring or st
Read more