What our phones do to us
More and more people have started to pick up their phones instead of a book. I do it myself, you do it yourself and your friends do it. We are in a phone-demic. The constant screen-time harms our mind, body and mental health. It drains us from within. It is simply lost time that you and I wasted.
Spending time on social media or randomly scrolling through Netflix is stressful. At least for me and I am assuming most others as well. It has immense negative consequences on our body and especially our mind. Young people, specifically teenagers, are amongst the worst affected. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) US hospital admission of girls between 15 and 19 for non-fatal self harm have increases by 62% since 2009. And for girls between 10 and 14 that number has shot up an insane 162% (!) since 2009. Guess what was first available on our smartphones in 2009…social media!
It is true that correlation does not prove causation. But an increasing amount of studies point to a causal link between usage of social media and mental health disorders. It truly is a type of pandemic.
How reading can help
I often hear people say that they would love to read more but just cannot find the time to do so. This blog is for those people. I have found myself wasting time with the phone, TV, on Netflix and behind the Playstation. But in 2019 I discovered reading. What a blast!
In writing this blog I want to encourage you to get away from the phone and pick up a book. It doesn’t matter what kind of book. Start with an easy one or read Schiller or the Bible, whatever. The joy that I have found in reading is immense, this blog aims to pass this joy on to you. But if you have already found that joy (good for you!), I hope I can still offer some inspiration.
Let us put the phones down together, find the time to read, find the joy to read and let us escape from The Reading Dilemma!
Joe