Last week, we posted this challenge for families to go wireless (or completely unplugged - if you will) and give up media for 24 hours. (Don't worry if you missed that post or if you weren't able to do it. There's always tomorrow).
The idea behind the challenge is obviously to encourage families to reconnect with each other and take a break from the constant media overload that may be affecting relationships. Many studies point to the fact that consistent media intake and/or addiction is affecting our habits, schedules and relationships.
A recent article by WIRED magazine stated that mobile users check their smartphones an average of 150 times a day. When you do the math, that equals out to be once every six-and-half minutes. Wow! That's a lot of time and a lot of checking.
In addition, the Huffington Post reports the findings of a few studies pointing to the idea that the addiction to social media may be as strong, or stronger, than that of substances like nicotine. The study from University of Chicago's Booth School of Business published the finding from a report of 205 adults in Germany. Over the course of a week, the highest rate of their "self-control failures" was tied to social media sites, per The Guardian.
Finally, in another study about smartphone addiction, it is revealed that:
- 30% of participants say they check their phones while at a meal with another person
- 40% check their smartphone while on the toilet
- 9% check it during a religious service
- 54% check it before they go to bed, while in bed, in the middle of the night or as soon as they wake up
Does the ding of a new email and the lure of a Tweet have that much of a control over us?! We may only know that if we try to do without it?!
Whether or not you took the challenge from last week, it may be time to break some bad {media} habits and offer your undivided attention to those you love the most. Check out our challenge from last week here.
Hi
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice post thanks for sharing.