When you’re having a sick day, have some free time, or are in some space of waiting, it can be easy to doom scroll. These phones are addictive!
It seems like nowadays the most common thing is to meet people who have no hobbies outside of scrolling instagram or lurking on reddit. No passions. No inner interests. No depth. They are just attached to the screen like machines themselves, sucking scant nourishment from the never ending stream of content. We have become a society of voracious consumers rather than producers.
I hate that. I don’t want to scroll until my eyes roll into the back of my head, though I am as guilty of doom scrolling as most other people are. But it is important to me (and healthy for everyone) to have hobbies. I don’t spend all day staring at Facebook. I write. I blog (also screen time, but creative and productive rather than being passive consumption). I paint. I read. I take pictures. I make mixed media art. And, of course, those are just the things I do for fun. I also have a job to do – homemaking. That gives me plenty to get done!
My goal is to avoid the never ending scroll. When I’m not feeling well, the screen is an easy trap to fall into. I definitely know what it’s like to spend too much time on the internet or social media. But my goal is to severely cut back. Checking social media is fine, but not spending vast amounts of time on there. I want to focus on things that grow my mind and warm my soul. Social media and the internet are good in moderation, but moderation is key. We have a generation of people now and a generation coming up behind us whose only leisure activities involve consuming content made by other people. What is this doing to our brains? To our culture? Screens and social media are not inherently bad.But it scares me when I think of how many people I know who literally don’t have a single hobby. Not because they are working so much that they don’t have time to have one, but because every spare moment of time they do get they spend online.
So get out and get fresh air today. Let this be your sign to get more housework done or crack open a book. Take care of your body and mind.
Life at Home 