Screen Slave

I went to the eye doctor the other week for a routine exam and the first question he asked me was, "How much time do you spend on the computer, would you say?" My immediate answer was, "Ugh. Too much", followed up in a guilty moment or two with, "Three or four hours a day ... several ..."

If I'm being truthful, it was probably more like four or five. I told myself that my job was mainly online (true), that I was doing important, constructive things on the computer (dubious), that I'd spend less time in front of screens tomorrow (false).

The commands one gives oneself suddenly gain a lot more force when someone with "M.D." in front of their name corroborates. As a result of my check-up, I determined to really spend less time on screens–and to help me stick to my word, I'm using my trusty timer.

So far, since that eye doctor visit, the most I've spent with screens in a day is about two and a half hours, but usually it's more like one and a half or two. And I didn't realize until I cut back how dependent I'd become on my online sources of entertainment–YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, blogs, random articles. The first couple days of my restriction were hard; I couldn't sit still with a book in the middle of the day ("reading time" had been pushed to the margins of the day), I was antsy, I longed for YouTube. I designed a lot of cob houses on graph paper. 

Now I'm into it. I noticed at a family gathering the other night that I was much more happy to be with people, and serving my elderly relatives was a joy. Watching my family's faces as they unwrapped Christmas gifts made a grin bloom on my own face. I chose to sit in the kitchen with my mom and sister to make a Christmas card, which I'd usually make in my room. 

Maybe reduced screen time and increased sociability don't seem related. But my theory is that by slowing down and taking time away from screens, I've opened myself up to joy in others' company. With my videos I could entertain myself, listening to talking faces hundreds of miles away, never having to respond.

 Screens suck you in. They make promises they don't keep. They help make you more nearsighted than you already were.

I'm wearing glasses as I write this, and I'm happy about it. I hope I can continue staying off screens, because, no matter how insistently Pinterest calls my name, I really do think I'm a more joyful and contented person without them.