Critically Thinking About How We Spend Our Time
Radical changes have happened without us thinking about them...
This is an interesting 1 minute video showing how Americans annually spent their time, and how it has changed over roughly the last century…
When you watch it a second time, note how much time is spent on Family a hundred years ago (41%) to now (4%), or Church (10%—> 2%).
No one forced us to make these changes, they were all voluntary…
Is our physical health better than a hundred years ago?
Is our mental health better than a hundred years ago?
Is our spiritual health better than a hundred years ago?
So the overall question is: Do you think these changes were for the good?
Fortunately, it is entirely under our control as to how we (and our family) spend our time. Are you choosing wisely?
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Social media is like eating nothing but sugar. The body starves to death looking for real sustenance. Real friendships. Real life. You can't find the meaning of life on Facebook. There's an epidemic of loneliness in our population today. Social media has done more to harm kids and adults than just about anything. Just my opinion, of course. I haven't watched TV in over 35 years so when I see it now I'm astounded at how stupid it is. That being said, I'm sitting here reading John's post on my laptop and when I'm done, I'll go back to watching the footage of this year's Iditarod. (It's how I end my winters. If I can't be running it, I can be watching it.).
Regarding the video and it's suggestion of social media replacing perhaps more valuable uses of that time, we know that "screen time" has been increasing over at least the last 2 decades. As child I and my sister were allowed 1/2 hour a week of TV (that was in the 50s.) Today I use the computer a lot but I find, through this winter, for example, that I have been watching instructive videos regarding, primarily, information I need to become a competent off road motorcyclist which incudes riding skills and motorcycle maintenance. Also, a good bit of time is going into increasing my geography knowledge of the world. Early in my time I did a solo touring bicycle ride around the world (2-1/2 years, 1978 - 2000) meeting an estimated 10 new people each day and having to buy food and find my way around in 12 languages of which I had one, English, plus high school French--which turned out to be very valuable and you can bet I got better at it-- the others learned on the fly as one does, so my greater appreciation for the planet began. I can't travel abroad at the moment (life has gotten in the way) but through the motorcycle traveler videos I've been throughout most of South and Central America, the Middle East, Russia, The 'Stan's, Asia including a good bit of China, Mongolia and South East Asia more of Australia than I'd visited earlier. I'm learning. My only comment is that I think the "screen time" and that used on social media should be examined more closely, not pigeonholed. Not all use of that media is the same, the values potentially varying greatly. And, of course, Critical Thinking applies as we broaden our experience becoming life long learners and become, as we age, solo and sometimes lonely travelers into each our own universe of the expanding mind.