Krawczak

I’ve written about this before, mostly as it relates to children as that’s where most data has been focused. Screen time is leading to decreases in emotional intelligence, an increased inability to solve problems and think critically, and a decrease in building and maintaining healthy relationships, among other negative outcomes.

Another study, Understanding America Study – administered by the Center for Economic and Social Research at the University of Southern California – has now found that there is a growing crumbling of conscientiousness, especially among young adults. Many experts believe the internet is the culprit.

Conscientiousness, according to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is, “exercising attentive care to avoid errors or omissions; concerned with doing something correctly.”

Dictionary.com describes the adjective as, “governed by conscience; controlled by or done according to one’s inner sense of what is right; principled.”

Based on those definitions, research shows that we now have a decrease in the desire to do things that are right and to the best of our ability. Think about that. How is that showing up in your world – your work life, social life, with family and friends?

I experience it consistently. Clients are frustrated and see much higher numbers of employees and potential employees who don’t want to do more than the bare minimum, who believe good enough is just fine, and who don’t seem to operate by any inner moral code.

I also see it in groups I volunteer with. People show up and do a little work at a quality level that is disappointing. They leave the clean up for others. It is getting increasingly difficult to find people to organize projects.

How is the internet to blame? The internet is causing us to be more easily distracted and careless. It is leading to less tenacity and causing people to be less likely to make and deliver on commitments. The internet is filled with distractions like constant hyper-engaging digital media. The way we interact online is negatively influencing the ways we interact with people offline, including less concern about not following through on commitments.

Combine this information with the growing lack of self-awareness and it is a recipe for a very distasteful society.

There is good news, though. You can choose how you utilize screens, including what you use them for and how much time you spend on them. If you have been influenced

negatively by screen time, including social media, you can undo that negativity with some relatively easy actions. Once you admit that screen time is harming us, the most difficult part about changing course is accountability.

It is so easy to pick up the phone or tablet and scroll when you’re bored, have time while waiting for an appointment or to pick up a kid from practice, or even when you would just rather be doing something other than what you know you really should be doing (like work or laundry). But if we know something is bad for us and we can recognize how it is harming us (if you can’t see how screen time is harming you, let’s talk), then it is worth it to find ways to stop that behavior.

This time of year is a great time to start down the path of less screen time. Try going for a walk and leaving your phone at home. If that causes you separation anxiety, then bring your phone with you but shut it off (you’ll have it in case of an emergency) or put it on silent at the very least. Then, spend the walk using your senses to notice the world around you. There are amazing scents right now from lilacs to fresh cut lawn. The feel of the sunshine on your skin, and a little breeze brushing by. There are so many sights. From the rabbits I literally just watched chase each other around the yard as I write this to the hundreds of different kinds of flowers. The trees that are in full beautiful bloom and the birds searching for food for their babies, there is much to see.

Say hello and smile to anyone you pass along the way. Repeat a positive mantra in your head as you stroll.

These are all things we miss when we are engaged in a screen instead of life around us.

Engaging in life dis what is more likely to lead to greater happiness, improve health, greater degrees of conscientiousness, increased emotional intelligence, better relationships and greater success. Stop allowing screens to change you in negative ways and steal the person you were created to be. It’s a choice you get to make that no one can make for you. Make the conscientious choice about your screen time.