Who is not in a digital prison? Please contact me. I want to learn from you. The cell phone is now a prison cell. It has rewired our brains and continues to do so. For a parent, it is next to impossible to refuse a child from getting a phone. It reminds me of the 1980s TV public service announcement about drug use. The father scolds his son for doing drugs and asks how he learned to use drugs. The son becomes indignant and shouts, "
Hi! The main thing I do is to set goals based on my priorities: for example, I try to limit my screen time on my computer to about four or five hours, sometimes more or less however, based on school and how much I'm writing. I also try to set aside time in the morning and evenings for Bible reading and non-educational reading.
Seeing the addiction of others to their phones, or other devices, has made me much more willing to put aside my own device and spend time doing other things. My ultimate priority is obedience to God, and when I see phones as a mere material thing that will pass away quickly, it loses its value. I also enjoy writing a lot, and I've learned that the more time I spend on a device, the less I have to do what I actually enjoy, and the more distracted and unfocused my brain gets.
These goals really help me to stay away from addiction. Of course, we all have our idols, and it's not always obvious to us what's causing that. But self-control and a biblical attitude, I think, are the best things we can use to keep our sights on what's really important.
Dec 7, 2023·edited Dec 7, 2023Liked by Camron Adibi
This is an excellent point. But I believe that it takes not just time, but diligence and the right priorities to avoid being trapped by a "digital prison". It's sad how many today let their phone control them because they don't have the self-control to put it away for an extended period of time. This is especially prevalent in the teens and gen z in today's world. If we set out priorities straight, we can avoid this. What's more important, obedience to the Creator and Judge of this world, or obsession with (a type of obedience to) a physical device that controls us more than we control it?
Thanks for reading my essay, Victoria. Excellent observations. Yes, it takes constant vigilance to stay out of the addictive cycle. What are some practices that you use to stay true to your priorities?
I’m not in a digital prison, and I know a few others who are similar to me in being able to manage their phone use without much trouble. My average phone screen time is less than 4 hours a day, but I do most of my reading and my email on my phone, so if I was using my laptop for email and reading physical newspapers more, I could probably drop that by 2 hours.
You’re absolutely right though that smartphones are addictive. I think it’s partly a personality thing: I’m more likely to get addicted to something like caffeine than social media - social media is boring to me and I can’t spend much time on it.
It sounds like you have the right idea: you want to have time (especially outdoors) away from your phone to break the habit. I was a serious runner long before I had a smartphone and so I was already very used to spending lots of time alone in my thoughts outside. Regular time away from the phone really helps you to stop feeling dependent on it.
More than anything else, just keep at it. It can take a very long time to break a habit you want to break but you can eventually get there with persistence. Don’t be discouraged.
Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing this, Ben. In my dream world, I would have ZERO hours per day on the phone. That is not going to happen, so I continue to do my best. We have much in common. Pre-cellphone, I spent years trail running, rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, back country skiing, etc. I agree there is a beautiful silence in movement. Look forward to reading more of your work.
Yeah I find my phone very useful at times: it makes work and financial transactions easier. I like having access to millions of articles and podcasts, too. I wouldn’t reduce my phone time to zero unless I had a different way to do all of the reading, email/text correspondence, and podcast/lecture listening that I want to do (a laptop can do all of those things, but how different is that, really).
When I say that I don’t live in a digital prison I mean this: I use my phone for the things I want to use my phone for, and only those things. I use it when I want to use it and don’t when I don’t. I don’t feel any sense of loss or anxiety if I’m away from it for 1 hour (or 15) - unless I’m waiting on an important call or text.
I think that’s what most people want: they want to be in control of their phone use and not have it go the other way around. I’m definitely with you in sometimes fantasizing about abolishing all digital technology from my life, but for me that’s not because I’m not in control of it, but more a feature of my personality.
Good stuff Ben. Another dream of mine: instead of building a Smart City as being proposed, build an Analog City. This would have record stores, video rental shops, live musicians at coffee shops and small community theaters for open mic and plays. You in?
I couldn't agree more. Being in Nature, taking time for silence, achieving stillnesss, observing, connecting to one's breath, and learning to name one's feelings are an antidote to the social isolation, addiction to, or energetic repercussions from call phones /screen time.
Hi! The main thing I do is to set goals based on my priorities: for example, I try to limit my screen time on my computer to about four or five hours, sometimes more or less however, based on school and how much I'm writing. I also try to set aside time in the morning and evenings for Bible reading and non-educational reading.
Seeing the addiction of others to their phones, or other devices, has made me much more willing to put aside my own device and spend time doing other things. My ultimate priority is obedience to God, and when I see phones as a mere material thing that will pass away quickly, it loses its value. I also enjoy writing a lot, and I've learned that the more time I spend on a device, the less I have to do what I actually enjoy, and the more distracted and unfocused my brain gets.
These goals really help me to stay away from addiction. Of course, we all have our idols, and it's not always obvious to us what's causing that. But self-control and a biblical attitude, I think, are the best things we can use to keep our sights on what's really important.
Thanks Victoria. Love your honesty. Keep writing!
This is an excellent point. But I believe that it takes not just time, but diligence and the right priorities to avoid being trapped by a "digital prison". It's sad how many today let their phone control them because they don't have the self-control to put it away for an extended period of time. This is especially prevalent in the teens and gen z in today's world. If we set out priorities straight, we can avoid this. What's more important, obedience to the Creator and Judge of this world, or obsession with (a type of obedience to) a physical device that controls us more than we control it?
Thanks for reading my essay, Victoria. Excellent observations. Yes, it takes constant vigilance to stay out of the addictive cycle. What are some practices that you use to stay true to your priorities?
I’m not in a digital prison, and I know a few others who are similar to me in being able to manage their phone use without much trouble. My average phone screen time is less than 4 hours a day, but I do most of my reading and my email on my phone, so if I was using my laptop for email and reading physical newspapers more, I could probably drop that by 2 hours.
You’re absolutely right though that smartphones are addictive. I think it’s partly a personality thing: I’m more likely to get addicted to something like caffeine than social media - social media is boring to me and I can’t spend much time on it.
It sounds like you have the right idea: you want to have time (especially outdoors) away from your phone to break the habit. I was a serious runner long before I had a smartphone and so I was already very used to spending lots of time alone in my thoughts outside. Regular time away from the phone really helps you to stop feeling dependent on it.
More than anything else, just keep at it. It can take a very long time to break a habit you want to break but you can eventually get there with persistence. Don’t be discouraged.
Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing this, Ben. In my dream world, I would have ZERO hours per day on the phone. That is not going to happen, so I continue to do my best. We have much in common. Pre-cellphone, I spent years trail running, rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, back country skiing, etc. I agree there is a beautiful silence in movement. Look forward to reading more of your work.
Yeah I find my phone very useful at times: it makes work and financial transactions easier. I like having access to millions of articles and podcasts, too. I wouldn’t reduce my phone time to zero unless I had a different way to do all of the reading, email/text correspondence, and podcast/lecture listening that I want to do (a laptop can do all of those things, but how different is that, really).
When I say that I don’t live in a digital prison I mean this: I use my phone for the things I want to use my phone for, and only those things. I use it when I want to use it and don’t when I don’t. I don’t feel any sense of loss or anxiety if I’m away from it for 1 hour (or 15) - unless I’m waiting on an important call or text.
I think that’s what most people want: they want to be in control of their phone use and not have it go the other way around. I’m definitely with you in sometimes fantasizing about abolishing all digital technology from my life, but for me that’s not because I’m not in control of it, but more a feature of my personality.
Good stuff Ben. Another dream of mine: instead of building a Smart City as being proposed, build an Analog City. This would have record stores, video rental shops, live musicians at coffee shops and small community theaters for open mic and plays. You in?
Yeah!
I couldn't agree more. Being in Nature, taking time for silence, achieving stillnesss, observing, connecting to one's breath, and learning to name one's feelings are an antidote to the social isolation, addiction to, or energetic repercussions from call phones /screen time.
Thanks Karen. Excellent suggestions. We breathe 25,000 times a day: take air in, let it out, repeat