Screentime Challenge

On day one, you were asked to review your day-to-day surroundings and activities with an open heart to find if there were inconsistencies with what God wants our homes to look, sound, and feel like and what our homes actually look, sound, and feel like.  Today we’ll continue that exploration with one specificity:  screens.

Maybe you aren’t in the majority and screen time is not a major component of your day. If that’s the case, today will be an easy challenge for you.  If, however, you are like most of us, a big chunk of your day is spent either scrolling a smartphone or scanning a computer or television screen for entertainment.  The numbers are staggering.  CNN reported last year that Americans spent upwards of ten hours “consuming media” daily.

Are you wondering if you read that right?  Ten hours?  That’s what the research suggests.  And while much of this screentime may be innocent, it’s still likely a waste of your time – valuable time.  We are asked in Colossians to Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2). Most likely, whatever it is we are focused on for hours (and hours) each day does not have a focus on “things above”.

This gets difficult fast, however, because after a long day of work, school, or taking care of our daily responsibilities, we simply want to kick back on the couch and relax.  After the stress of the day, we feel that we need to veg out to the latest Netflix series or mindlessly scroll through our phone or computer.  We tell ourselves that we deserve that time to unwind.  It’s so easy.  It’s so relaxing.  It’s so accepted.  It’s what we do.  But should it be?

You might say it depends on what is on that screen.  So let’s find out.  What is on our screens?  Does it honor our God?  Does it increase our faith?   Does it change eternity for the better?  Is the focus on things above?  Can we replace it with something that does?

Our challenge for today is to be specifically mindful of what our eyes are seeing and what our brains are taking in.  The task is to be aware.  The best way to be aware is to set in place a phrase you’ll say (either mentally or aloud) whenever you engage in any media-consuming behavior.  Each time you power up a screen, say to yourself, “I’m going to spend the next fifteen minutes catching up on the news.”  Then, once you’ve pulled yourself away, say the phrase again, but correct it for what you actually did. For example, “I just spent five minutes catching up on the news and thirty minutes on social media sites.” If you are willing, writing this down will make a difference, but remembering to keep track of such an ingrained habit is tough. We’ll leave the record-keeping up to you, but we will refer to it during tomorrow’s devotion.  The main goal here is to simply take note of the leisure time you are spending on screens and what sort of content is on them while they have our attention.

Today’s Challenge:  Monitor your screen time.  Be mindful of what shows you watch, which apps you use, and what Internet sites you browse along with how much time you spend on each for the next twenty-four hours. Each time you dive in to a session of online scrolling, television watching, or any other type of screen play, make a note (on your phone or on paper).  Speak your intention beforehand and follow up with another phrase afterwards with the reality of the time spent (and on what tasks).   Begin as soon as you complete this reading.