When you identify a communication technology dependence within yourself, you are probably aware that your behavior is unhealthy and needs to change. An addiction to communication technology is not an emergency, but it will have damaging repercussions on your life if you do not bring it under control. Your loved ones will grow impatient with you, your coworkers or fellow students will lose respect for you and your own health will begin to deteriorate. This will not happen over night, but it will happen over time. To prevent this damage to your life, choose to limit your communication technology time by laying down specific boundaries for yourself and holding to them. An example of healthy boundaries on communication technology is as follows:
- Do not go to your communications technology first thing in the morning. This simply reaffirms that it is your top priority, and it should not be. Instead, meditate, do yoga, exercise, pray or eat a healthy breakfast. Begin your day focused on something that genuinely matters to your life and makes you feel centered.
- Do not use your communications technology during social or family time. If there is any time of day you should put your communications technology down, it is during the time you have in person with the people you care about. If you stay focused on your technology, you devalue the relationships with the people you care about most. Put your computer and phone away and engage with the people in your life.
- Allow yourself limited time with your communications technology daily. Do not cut yourself off completely. This would be unreasonable and impractical. Instead, set very clear amounts of time during specific times of day that you can use your communications technology, both for work and entertainment purposes.
- Do not go to your communications technology right before bed. This is bad for you on many levels. First, it reaffirms that your communication technology is your highest priority in life. Second, the content gets your brain to generate ideas and thoughts rather than winding down. And third, the blue light that screens generate send signals to your brain to stay awake, disrupting the brain waves that prepare you for good sleep.
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