Screen Time?

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We talk a lot about the dangers of too much screen time for our children and how it is affecting them socially, emotionally, and physically but how are screens affecting the adults? Why aren’t the news reporters talking about this? Are our children in front of the screen so much because we are that example? I know I have been because so much of my time is spent on the computer for work and online education. Then, when I’m not in front of my computer, you might find a smartphone or a television nearby. In other words, I am addicted to the screen.

I spent a little time on the internet today googling “screen time” and all the articles that popped up were related to children and nothing on adults or even people in general. Could the effects they are seeing in children actually be affecting everyone? This question took a more specific search.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zionfiction/20893918141 

What I found is that we are affected in much the same way. Depression can set in, we are less healthy because we’re not as physically active, and sleep can is offset when we are on our screens just before bed. Aren’t these the same issues they are finding in children?

As I scrolled down the search results, I began to find articles asking if adults should have screen time limits too and that screen time rules aren’t just for kids anymore. One article caught my eye by stating that a British neuroscientist says screen time is turning adults into “volatile three-year-olds” and it all has to do with the amount of time we are spending in front of our computer screens.

Now, I’m not here to tell you how much time is good or bad to spend in front of your screen. I’m all for you making your own boundaries. For me, the amount of time I am in front of a screen is dictated according to my work and school load. However, every chance I get, I will be making better choices for my downtime and making sure that I am spending more time physical, emotional, and socially present and engaged.

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New Semester, New Class

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For what seems like forever, I have been doing online college. It started many years ago when my dream of finishing my college education finally became a possibility with Brigham Young University Idaho’s Pathways Program. It was designed for people like me wanting to get a college education but didn’t have the means or time to step onto a traditional college campus.

Now, here I am, in my senior year, two and a half semesters away from finally achieving my goal of that college bachelor’s degree. And yet, I have found myself in another class requiring me to write something for the worldwide web. When I decided to go back to school, I never dreamed it would involve the world in such this way. Although, if it takes a village to raise a child, maybe it takes the world to get a college education. 

So, here I am, using this blog site I created many years ago for family things for yet another class, for another assignment. When I was a kid, it was my dream to be a writer. To have people read and be entertained by my ramblings. Today, I just hope to keep you awake long enough to get enough words in my word count but keep you wanting to come back to see what next I have to write about for my social media class. 

What, may you ask, is a social media class? In a nutshell, it’s a class where you learn about social media and how to make it successful for a business. Some things we have learned so far are how to write for a blog site, tricks to be successful at blogging, and getting to know the audience. This is all in hope that someday, someone will hire and pay me to spend all day on social media. Who wouldn’t want to be paid to spend all their working hours on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Isn’t that every teenager's dream? 

Here’s to another fun semester at Brigham Young University Idaho. Come back and check in often to see what fun things I have learned this week.