cover of Mini-Cast- Are we Addicted?

Mini-Cast- Are we Addicted?

Mini-Cast- Are we Addicted?

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The average American spends over seven hours a day in front of a screen, which is necessary for communication and work. The question is whether this makes us addicted. A 14-year-old girl feels addicted to scrolling, while a stay-at-home mom and a business director have different perspectives. However, all agree that phones can affect personal relationships and priorities. It's important to be aware of our phone usage and its impact. The average American spends seven hours and four minutes a day in front of a screen. Now, screen time can be necessary in modern society. It's used for critical communication, used to be an informed citizen, to do school work, and in fact is vital in most desk jobs. So being in front of a screen really is how most people today make money. A question I've always had though, does this mean we're addicted? If we are, what is it exactly that we're addicted to? Let's look at what my sister, a 14-year-old girl, thinks about this. I think I am addicted to my screen. I think I'm addicted to scrolling. Because when I was growing up, everyone around me was either going to get a phone or already had one. So when I saw them on their phones, I only saw the good things about having one rather than seeing the bad things that come with it. And I think when I'm just bored, I scroll on my phone. So instead of finding something better to do, I just scroll. Okay, so we've got a bored teenage girl who just scrolls along on her phone. What about a stay-at-home mom around 50 years old? I am not addicted to my screen. I don't have a job that requires me to be on a screen, so I don't feel like I'm addicted to my screen. I only use my phone to mainly look up things, so I'm not on my screen very much throughout the day, only when I need to or really when I'm bored, so no. So it seems like boredom is a common trend here. What about someone who actually needs this phone usage for their job? Let's look at a 50-year-old director of business development. I want to say no, but I am addicted to my screen. I do a lot of work on my phone, and I'd like to use that as an excuse, but that's what it is. I do need to try to stay away from social media more and be more present. A major sign of addiction is when it begins to affect our personal relationships and we shift our priorities. Let's look at what our same people think. We've got a 14-year-old girl, 50-year-old stay-at-home mom, and a middle-aged director of business development. These also happen to be my sister, mom, and dad, by the way. I think my phone usage has interfered with my personal relationships because a lot of the time when I get into an argument with someone, like in person, I might text them about it, and they might respond, and then I, like, misjudge what they're saying or I don't hear the tone of what they're saying. So then, like, I think they're saying something or mean something different than what they're actually trying to tell me. I do not feel like my phone usage has affected my personal relationships. Ever. So, no. I'm embarrassed to say, but yes, my phone has affected personal relationships and interfered at times. I can think of moments where I've been distracted by my phone during a dinner with my wife and how it's affected my listening and participation during family gatherings. So whether we like it or not, these addictive qualities of phones really seem to have an effect on us. They seem to affect our personal relationships and make us shift our priorities, like I thought. But it is different for each type of person. The mom, the 50-year-old stay-at-home mom thought, no, there wasn't really any change in my personal relationships or my priorities based on my phone usage. A director of business development said yes, and a 14-year-old girl said yes in a different way. But nonetheless, it's important to remember how much time we spend on our phones and how much we rely on them, whether we recognize it or not.