Unplugged: The Cure to Your Tech Addiction
Americans haven’t changed their habits much in the last ten years, according to psychologist Adam Alter. Figures he collected in 2007, 2015 and 2017 show Americans keep pretty steady schedules: they work about nine hours each day, sleep between seven and eight hours a night, and spend three hours each day taking care of their chores, hygiene and eating.
What Has Changed?
Still, those big chunks of time don’t fill out an entire day. Alter wanted to find out what people do with the remaining four to five hours. A decade ago, people spent this personal time doing, well, personal things and spending time with friends and family. Since 2007, though, this personal time has become more devoted to tech.
Consider this graph presented by Alter that explains tech usage. What was once a blip on the radar in 2007 is a solid brick of time in 2017.
Seeing this in such a format might have you thinking it’s time to get a grip on your tech usage. How often do you pick up your phone in a conversational lull? How often do you forego a dinner with friends to watch Netflix on your tablet in bed? These breaks are obviously deserved, but Alter says there’s one surefire way to cut down on the tech breaks you don’t really need: Make the table sacred again.
Yes, Alter says it’s as easy as putting your phone down while you’re at the table and not touching it at all until the food is gone and the conversation has died down. Alter devoted himself to the process and said he felt extreme withdrawals at first, but after? He described his life as richer for it, and it wasn’t even a complete cold-turkey cut-off from his phone. Instead, he turned it off while at the table only.
Why It Works
In today’s chaotic, fast-paced world, it might seem a bit unrealistic to demand a phone-free dining table. Not only are adults coordinating work meetings and sending emails to colleagues at all hours, but kids use their phones for everything. Social media and texting have more or less replaced traditional communication between today’s teens and tweens.
The convenience is great, but the constant connection is a double-edged sword. Some—millennials especially—report that this constant interconnectedness makes them feel even more lonely, despite the ease of contact with friends and family.