Why we have to talk about Mobile Phone Hygiene

16th October 2024Afrowoman1Beauty Counter & Wellbeing, Blog0

Dear Black Women – What are you changing for your wellbeing?

There’s always a new health food. Or we’re told to eat this or don’t eat that. Sometimes we’re even told to eat superfoods. Like everyone else, I sometimes find this all so confusing!

So, I’ve been thinking more about the everyday small things that I can do to improve my wellbeing. I think that lifestyle always has to be considered along with nutrition. Lifestyle covers your nutrition, sleep and rest, exercise, spending time with others and relationships. It’s the way you live everyday and your habits and routines.

Starting with my mobile phone….

The tools we use to help us run our lives, in this case the mobile phone is something I focused on recently. I asked myself, how long am I spending on my mobile phone and what am I looking at? I decided to start with the length of time on my phone. So I’ve been taking note of the Monday morning notification which provides a summary of how much time I’ve been on my phone.

We know what happens when using our mobiles; sometimes we loose track of time. When you’re using your phone for a mix of checking social media, the news, chatting with friends and doing important things like calling the plumber. Yes the amount of time spent on the phone will increase.

photo of woman talking on the phone — Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

While the goal is to reduce the amount of time I spend on my phone, it’s important to be clear on what is causing you to spend large amount of times on your mobile.

For myself, I’ve looked at these things:

Ask myself what am I looking for? News story or checking social media
What do I need to do instead – e.g. do I need to cook dinner instead?
Is it healthy for me to look at this content on my mobile?
What am I at risk of not having or doing better if I stay on my phone? For example, does being on my phone longer mean that I’m not going to the gym? Or does it mean I haven’t called friends and family?

This doesn’t end with the checklist above. I see this as something I have to think about and take action on every week. Like when there’s a sudden busy time with family commitments. Or if I’m preparing for Christmas. It’s easy to forget to think about my Mobile Phone Wellness habit. I’m learning that Mobile Phone Hygiene is definitely something I’ll keep on paying attention to.