Paying Attention to my Attention
It’s an Everyday Thing.
I am a person who uses my phone very often. I never go anywhere without it. I am always reachable and always able to delve into the world of social media distractions. Even right now as I type this my phone sits next to me vibrating every few minutes. Notifications pop up on my laptop in the corner of my eye, calling me to check what’s going on.
Trying to be Attentive.
Over the past week I have made many observations about how I act when engaging with social media. I usually lie down or slouch. I use it as a distraction or to avoid talking to people. I check it mindlessly and without much thought. Usually about halfway through the day I have nothing left to read because I have already scrolled so far back. I kind of check out of reality. I usually zone out and scroll very fast, knowing what interesting things I am looking for.
It’s a Skill.
I have perfected the skill of quick scanning as you go through things on your feed. A post has to have something that catches my eye or I don’t even pause. I spend an average of 2 seconds on a post when scrolling through. I have also noticed that I become very hyper focused on my phone, often ignoring the world around me.
Mindless and Constant.
I have to consciously remind myself to not check my many social media platforms. I mindlessly take my phone out constantly, without any thought. I also act different when I post on social media than when I am just scrolling. I usually am excited and interested. I check back to see how many like and comments it got. I have so many social media accounts(I even have a twitter for my fish). I switch between them and check some more times a day than others.
Motivation.
I think some of my motivation behind constantly being on social media is being so far away from all my friends. Keeping up with what’s going on in my friends lives when I am not around. I want to know what everyone’s doing, what they are involved in, and even just where they are.
We Have to Pay Attention.
The more aware I become of the amount of time most of us spend mindlessly wading through the abyss of social media the more I realize we have to learn how to know when its too much. Now, I am not saying that social media is a bad thing that should be avoided at all costs. I just mean to say that we need to be aware of how much time we are spending on it and how it is effecting the rest of our lives.
