How iPhone’s Do Not Disturb Feature Improved My Relationship with Technology
It’s undeniable that unplugging from time to time is healthy and often necessary. Spending too much time staring at screens can be harmful to your eyes and disturb your sleep cycle and constantly being connected to the internet can negatively affect your wellbeing and relationships in the real world. One physician explored the effects of screen time on our health and found that too much screen time can also lead to weight gain, stimulate addiction and reward-seeking reactions in our brains, and more than doubles our chances of heart disease due to lack of exercise. These issues are amplified even more in children and young adults, whose brains are still developing.
via Depositphotos
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people check their phones at restaurants. When I was in college, one of my best friends called me out for this when we went out for lunch and I really took it to heart. I realized that I wasn’t being present for her, or for anyone I was with when I was glancing at my phone throughout a meal. From them on, I’ve made it a point to never take out my phone at the table and to call out my friends who do. It’s only an hour or two being away from your phone, you’ll be able to catch up on Instagram and those missed texts right after. It’s so much more important to connect to your loved ones in person and give them your undivided attention.
However, I know it can seem really difficult to cut the cord, especially if your job is highly dependent on the phone and you don’t want to miss an emergency at lunch. Feeling your phone buzz or seeing the screen light up and not immediately checking it might sound scary to you. The fact that you’re so afraid points to an addiction to your screen and I’ve been there! I used to work in PR and marketing, where I was constantly putting out fires and dealing with “URGENT” texts and emails. But then I reminded myself that I’m not curing cancer or saving lives and that editing a press release can wait forty-five minutes.
It was around that time that I decided to make a change. It happened when I was hanging out with my boyfriend and my phone was buzzing nonstop for about 10 minutes straight. My friend was texting me a long story broken out into a million messages instead of writing it all in one text – you know the type! I was getting so frustrated that I just about threw my phone across the room. But then I remembered that Do Not Disturb exists. I clicked it on and was greeted by serene silence. This was a total game changer.
The next day, I had completely forgotten that Do Not Disturb was on and was a little horrified by the mountain of texts waiting for me when I clicked my screen on, but when I went through and read them all, I saw that not one of them was urgent and I didn’t miss anything important. I decided to keep the Do Not Disturb feature on to see what would happen. I thought I would be checking my phone nonstop to see if I had a missed text, but I didn’t. I quickly got used to the silence and loved that I would only see messages when I was ready to respond. I wouldn’t be bothered when hanging out with friends or during a work meeting and I felt a sense of control that I hadn’t previously experienced with technology.
I’m sure you’ve experienced the phantom vibration in your pocket, thinking you’ve received a text message only to check and find nothing. That doesn’t happen to me anymore! I still make sure all of my calls come through, but every other notification is set to Do Not Disturb. Everyone around me knows to call if they have an emergency and otherwise, I will get back to them when it’s convenient for me. If you’re looking for a way to cut down on your daily screen time, I highly recommend giving Do Not Disturb a shot. It changed my relationship with technology for the better and I will never go back.
#EARealbabe
cover image via Stellar Magazine