By Victoria Harris
The holiday season is prime time for spending quality time with family and friends. This is the time where most of us are getting a short break from work and school. The one drawback is that technology has become a major distraction for all of us. This holiday season, let’s spend time unplugged from technology, and instead be connected to the people we love most
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1. Go for a run or walk. I absolutely love doing this when I am in need of some self-care, but I highly recommend taking someone with you. The holidays are the time when we get to catch up and fill each other in on what happened during the semester or other festivities in our home towns. Being able to connect with nature is beneficial to your physical and mental health. This helps you get out of the house and away from technology.
2. Take a break from social media. The media has had a positive impact on society, but it also has caused some major problems in our daily lives. The problem is how much time we waste scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or watching Snapchat stories. Statistics tell us that the average person will spend up to 5 years of their lifetime on social media/electronic devices (study by influencer marketing agency Mediakix). Deleting social media for a day and instead using your phone to make plans with someone who you have not seen for awhile could positively change your life and your outlook on the day. You learn to be productive and love each and every moment of your life more when you are not worried about what others are up to. Bettering yourself and other people are how we should live every day of our lives. Doing this during the holiday season is going to truly help you make memories that you will be thankful for later.
3. Detach from your phone before bed. You will notice a huge change in your overall sleep pattern if you keep your phone in another room at least an hour before you go to bed. Blue lights in phones are horrible for our eyes and causes them to itch and become dry. Our phone and tv screens also have a high-risk for causing insomnia.
4. Don’t touch your phone in the morning. Yes, this means you need to get an actual physical alarm! The first thing we all do is grab our phones to turn our alarms off and instantly check all our social media apps. A good way to help your mental health is to journal instead of scrolling through endless posts on social media. It is important to take care of yourself and do different things, such as writing or drawing.
5. Spend time with your loved ones. Most importantly, spend time with the people you love and care about!You don’t know how long you have with them so make the most of each and every holiday season. Interact and play games with each other and have a wonderful time together. Technology can be useful and fun at times, but nothing compares a good old fashioned face-to-face conversation.
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