Put the Phones Down

by Anonymous

​I know being on your phone is just relaxing. You can find funny videos, leave comments, and “socialize” but it doesn’t hurt to take some time off. Look around and read what’s around you. Addiction is a real thing and it can control people. Just having time in your daily schedule to just put your phone down can help your mental health and stress. Some other tips for this is reading a book in the morning when you wake up and before you go to bed, this reduces the chance of insomnia. Insomnia can happen easily from staying up late or waking up early to be on your phone. Don’t go onto social media in the mornings. Instead, start your day off with some light reading, a small walk, a healthy breakfast and most importantly drink some water. All these will help you have a better and happier day. 

For me, I love reading on my phone and watching Tik Toks, but the more I watched Tik Tok videos the more I realized how wasteful it was of my time, I'm not saying Tik Tok is horrible and to never be on it again, I'm just saying to have your own limits. Even set limits with your friends, when you have toxic friends who just want to talk about drama then it brings you down with them. Don’t be involved with friends who want to gossip or talk about drama, it's really unhealthy and just brings your whole mood down. 

The more I got onto my social media the more timid and drowsy I felt throughout the day. So I decide to change it up and instead get up in the morning, make my bed, drink a glass of water, and read a small book or go for a walk. This change made me full of energy and really improved my mood when I was off my phone away from the negativity and drama. I realized how much of my time I was wasting watching videos and playing games that I would forget about the next day. So I ask the question, “Is a one hour scroll session on Tik Tok Or Instagram gonna help your mental state and help you at all in the future?” My opinion, I don’t like Tik Tok or many social media sites now and I really like to set app limits on my online books because even though I am reading I am still damaging my eyes and it makes your health drowsy and it's unhealthy when you stare at a screen. If you know you have an addiction, which most teenagers do, then pick up a new hobby or actually socialize in person and set your phone aside. 

Just simply putting your phone aside for one day and maybe going for a walk to the park or doing a new hobby and not worrying about your phone can improve your mental state a little. You will see a change for the better. People will actually notice what’s going on around them and realize that living in this moment is what you got, so why waste your time on the video game when it’s not gonna mean anything after you're done. Addictions need to be tamed or people will become weak and desperate over their phones.