I know I use my phone too much. My screen time is usually over 5 hours a day. How shocking is that?! Most of that is in the few hours between the children going to bed and us going to bed but I often snatch 5 (or 10 or 20) minutes here and there during the day to check social media and find things online.

Undoubtedly there are things I could be doing with that time that would be much more productive. Cleaning? (See previous post) Reading a book? Spending extra quality time with Rhuaraidh and the children? My dissertation? All of the above.

It’s a bit strange as I constantly worry about limiting the kids’ screen time but don’t really bother about how it might affect myself so I did some research.

Being on our phones affects our Dopamine levels. Dopamine is a chemical produced by our brains and it plays a role in rewarding behaviour. It is released when we eat food that we enjoy, after we have exercised, when we have sex and when we have social interactions. Cognitive neuroscientists have shown that every notification, whether a text, a ‘like’ or a Facebook notification, has the potential to be a positive social stimulus and a dopamine influx. So this release of dopamine reinforces the behaviour that led to it. I recently read that if we cut off our access to social media, it would take 3 months for our dopamine levels to return to a normal state.

Don’t get me wrong, my phone is a great way to stay connected during my long, child filled days at home. Rhuaraidh checks in with me, (occasionally) I message fellow mum friends, I send my mum and my friend Michelle practically a running commentary of the day…all these things keep me from feeling too lonely and help me feel like my support network is always there if I need them. On the other hand, I spend way too long scrolling through social media comparing my life to the perfect snapshots of lives I see on my screen.

So why can I not just switch it off or leave it in another room to cut down on this unnecessary browsing.

Here are my anxieties about that…

I worry that someone will message me and I won’t be able to read and reply to it straight away.

I worry that there’ll be big news on a group chat and I’ll be the last one to hear it.

I worry that I’ll miss the notification for a good event for myself or the kids.

I worry that I’ll miss some big world news event.

I worry that I won’t have my camera handy at a crucial moment with the children.

I worry that I’ll miss something great that is for sale. (Some Scandi clothes or wooden toys as these are my current obsessions.)

I worry that I’ll need to Google something that I really need to know right at that minute…

My phone is the first thing I look at when I wake up in the morning.

My phone is the first thing I look at when I get out of the shower.

My phone is the first thing I look at when I stop driving.

My phone is the last thing I look at before I go to sleep.

It’s an obsession.

It’s unhealthy.

But I can’t seem to switch off.

Help.

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/