entertainment

I read a few shocking statistics in a book today. I know that entertainment can fill up a lot of time. For those who watch TV it is an overwhelming amount of time. Add time spent on our phones and it blows the mind. Here is a sample of the statistics:

The average American spends around one thousand hours a year watching TV. By the time they reach sixty five they will have watched TV for almost ten years of their life. That is just plain old depressing.
Now for the middle aged and younger generation we are looking at five hours a day spent online via computer, phone, or tablet. In a lifetime we will have spent fourteen years connected to the Internet. Add TV time to that and a quarter of a century will have been filled with staring at one screen or another. This could be worse than a prison sentence.
Smart phones ... a whopping eighty percent of users are found to check their smart phone within fifteen minutes of waking up in the morning. Others check their phones repeatedly all day long, almost as if they have a nervous tic. One in four Americans will not go to the bathroom without their phone in hand.
I have not brought up video games yet! One hundred fifty five million Americans regularly play video games. Four out of every five households have a device used to play video games. So now if we add in gaming time it is reported that children are spending an average of seven hours a day facing a screen. They sit for at least another six hours in school.
Childhood obesity is growing at an alarming rate. Hmm, perhaps it has something to do with technology at their hands in abundance. Snacking goes hand in hand with technology and pretty soon a day consists of sitting and snacking. Technology also interferes with sleeping. On average a sleep deprived person will consume an extra three hundred calories per day. They will snack more frequently than a well rested person. With texting being the means of communicating with friends, it is causing a lack of true communication/doing activities with friends. Children today do not do what I did as a child. Going outside to run, bike, and go on adventures with friends is foreign to them. They are missing out on burning calories. They cannot properly release built up energy. Socializing with friends does not happen. All of this leads to not only physical health problems but suffering in their mental and behavioral health as well.

I do not want years of my life to be spent online, facing a screen. We are at a time that we need to use our phones/Internet. I know we have no way around that as it is how this generation does a number of things. But to waste literal years of our life by spending it looking at a screen? No thank you.

I do not want a computer or phone to become the closest relationship I have. Sadly that is what is happening to most people in our world today. They spend most of their waking hours on their phones instead of with family members and friends. Real people and real relationships are being put on the back burner these days. When we go out to eat we see couples sitting at tables. But instead of looking at the person opposite them at the table, they are staring down at lit up phone screens.

The greatest tragedy is people do not realize what they are missing. They feel as though they have a full life and are keeping up with everyone via social media. But it is all superficial. It is an empty life. In fact studies have shown that having trouble logging off is leading to stress and depression instead of "happiness".

Lets use our phones and computers when needed. But after the needs are met lets log off. Lets get outside and see the places that most are only seeing on TV. Lets keep ourselves fit and healthy by giving our bodies the exercise and proper nutrition needed. Instead of watching the Ninja Warrior lets see what our bodies are capable of, which is actually a lot more than you may think. Lets join in on family conversation around the dinner table. Lets keep our friendships alive and well by being a true friend. We cannot be a true friend if we are never available to talk to. If we are a great distance away letters are way more meaningful than Facebook messaging and we could use phones for what they were originally first used for; talking. Lets have a meaningful life that will not have wasted years that we will regret later on. Lets live life to the full and rid ourselves of the recurrent distractions caused by phones, computers, tablets, TV, and video games.

-Ashley Trask
-September 20, 2016