Finding Balance in a Tech-Savvy World

I recently got my first iPhone. I knew I should get a smartphone because of my Psychology of Social Media class, as I needed to be able to access the internet and I don't have a personal computer yet. With very little knowledge of any of the choices for smartphones, I chose the option that I knew best, the iPhone. Having used an iPad mini on my mission, I figured that it would be an easy transition into using the iPhone, and it was.

From the moment I got my phone, I knew that I had started a battle with the temptation to become enslaved by the technology now in my palm. It's a battle that I will likely be fighting for the rest of my life, but I know that it is worth the fight. While I understand that technology is wonderful and can help us do so much good, it is a distraction in many ways and can be used for evil purposes as well.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency gave a talk in General Conference about focusing on the things that matter most and not letting distractions keep us from doing the work we have been called to do.

"Sometimes the things that distract us are not bad in and of themselves; often they even make us feel good. It is possible to take even good things to excess...We need balance in life."

I know that President Uchtdorf's words are true. We cannot allow ourselves or our families to become slaves to technology.  A Book of Mormon prophet said, "O be wise; what can I say more?" In all things we need to use wisdom.

There are dangers of overusing our technology. After spending most of a day using my new iPhone, for good things, I had quite the headache from staring at a little screen. There are physical, mental, and social consequences of using technology, and we are beginning to see it more and more in the world. I have decided to set limits for the way I use my technology. I turned off notifications to social media on my phone so that I am not prompted to check whenever I see a notification. I do not have any games on my phone. I turn off my cellular data unless I need it so that I can only use the internet at certain places that have wifi. I don't text or listen to music while I'm walking (though that is partly because of the music geek in me that likes to listen to the music around me). All in all, I am finding that while my phone is useful for a lot of things, I don't have to use it for everything, and I want to keep it that way.