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Today’s Topic:
Is spending too much time on the computer bad?
I think the obvious answer to this question is yes. Anything that is too much, is bad.
Too much sun is bad for you. Skin cancer, really painful sunburns, etc
Too much candy/sweets are bad for you.
Too much sleep can be bad, or a signal that something is wrong with your body.
Individually though, these can all be good things as well. The sun provides a wonderful source of Vitamin D, has helped my jaundiced kids get better, and is a mood lifter for me and many others on depressing days.
Candy is yummy, and a great treat or reward for accomplishing something.
Sleep is necessary, though most of us struggle to find that perfect balance. Without sleep we don’t function to the best of our abilities. Sleep lets our bodies relax, and take a breather. (speaking of sleep, I should probably get some!).
So what about computers? Too much time spent on the computer can be bad. That doesn’t make the computer bad, or any amount of time spent on it bad. As with all things, we need to moderate it. Evaluate your day.
Let’s try a little exercise shall we? Take a 24 hour day. 12am to 12am. Break it down. How much time is spent sleeping? For me it’s probably 7-8 hours, depending on when the kids get up, and when I go to bed. Now how much time is spent eating? Are you taking the time to prep meals for your family? Or are you making them fend for themselves while you check out what happened on facebook while you slept? Are you enjoying a sit down dinner with the family, or are you pulling out the tv trays for your kids, while you check the nightly news on the computer?
The rest of the day here depends on what your profession is. How much time are you at work? How much time do you spend cleaning? If you have kids, how much time is spent playing with them, helping them with homework, doing what they want to do?
Now how much time is left, and how much time has been spent on the computer? Are you spending too much time on the computer?
If you can relate to this, you’ve spent too much time on the computer.
I’ll be the first to admit, that there are some days, I have spent too much time on the computer. Things begin to get neglected, but I just can’t pull myself away from this online world we have created. I have to though. My kids need me, my husband needs me. My house needs me! I can gladly say though, that I have never been guilty of the above picture! When I pin something, I make it eventually too. That’s a whole ‘nother topic though!
For the last almost week, I have been without internet. We moved into our rental house, while we look for a new home, and the internet has yet to be connected. I am finding so much joy in just sitting down with my kids, especially my little Princess R. Just holding them, and doing what they want to do. It’s not that I wasn’t doing this before, but I was always on the move before. Something always had to be done, including online things, that I just didn’t take the time to truly enjoy and relish in the spare moments I had with my kids. Living without internet has been a nice step back.
However, we just moved. I don’t know anyone in this very small town yet. I have wanted to shed some tears over many a topic. There’s a nice bunch of my mom friends scattered across the internet, that I missed, because I knew they could give me words of advice in a much needed time of emotional upheaval. I wanted to let some vents out, that I didn’t want to burden Mark with. You know guys, they want to fix everything, and sometimes we girls just need to be heard with no fixing involved. Plus I just felt bad complaining to Mark. Get this, though! Since I couldn’t vent to my online friends, I did to Mark, and he was a good listener. So lack of internet/computer actually brought our marriage relationship closer too. (I still missed my girlfriends though).
Stay tuned later today for a guest post on some fun Summer Activities to get you off the computer and outside!
Next week’s topic:
Who would you choose to be shipwrecked on a desert island with?
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We just had to install a program that logs my 13 year old son off of the computer when his 2 hours a day time limit is over. I think this is generous he would never leave the house or talk to another kid other than while playing a game if we didn't limit his time. I think to forbid game playing on the computer doesn't help teach kids how to manage technology use.
super awesome you've been really enjoying your family without the internet!! I feel like you sometimes when our internet is down, so disconnecting from my bloggies lol 🙂
Some people can become addicted to the use of computers, which can have negative consequences for their lives.