10.10.26 11:07 PM

I have a problem with my phone and I know it. There is so much I want to do with my free time and yet I find myself doomscrolling more and more each day. It is absolutely an addiction and maybe they were right, it is these damn phones.

Don't get me wrong I love social media when used in a healthy, fun, and community-bonding way. (One of my favorite things to do is make collages for my Instagram and take time to showcase what's going on in my life.) What's bad is the endless scrolling I do on several platforms. If I get bored of one I just close out of it and go to the next one. I hate it, but yet feel the urge to do it daily. I don't want to do that anymore. I love writing. I love reading. I love arts and crafts. I love music. I love movies. I love doing things. I want to do more with my free time. So I'm going to try and do that. I'm taking time out of my nights to do things for me that don't involve moving my thumb up and down on a handheld screen. Setting up this blog and following others has been a fun way for me to stay away from the mind-numbing scrolling. Reading about other people's lives really helps me feel not alone in this crazy world and get perspective on an environment outside of mine. 

I think I find comfort in the mindless task of swiping through apps on a phone. It's easy. No one is expecting me to do anything and it's a task that makes me look busy and not awkward. It's normal to be on your phone all the time. Right? Probably not, or at least it shouldn't be. 

Is technology really the root of my problem or is it just an easy solution to an already existing personal issue? It takes 0 effort to sink into the already existing urge to sit and do nothing and I make the choice to do so. My phone doesn't have a gun to my head and I'm free to do anything I please. I assume and hope I'm not alone in this sentiment. With technology being such an easy access thing I feel like it's so effortless to fall into the trap. 

Fun Fact: Rhesus Macaques are the most widely used non-human primate in research and experimentation. Dating even as far back as the 50s with Harry Harlow's cloth mother experiment. Harlow took baby Rhesus Macaques and gave them the choice of a cloth mother that provided nothing but physical comfort or

a sharp wire mother that provided food. It was discovered that the monkeys would much rather spend their time with the cloth mother even if she didn't provide food. Harlow then concluded that a mother and baby's bond are not reliant on the mother's ability to provide food, but instead it is more important for a mother to be comforting when it comes to the emotional welfare of the baby.