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Jocelyn’s Jottings: Consider smart screen time resolutions this year

Looking back at the stories we have done over the year is always an interesting task.
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How much time do you spend on your phone every day? (File photo)

Looking back at the stories we have done over the year is always an interesting task.

Next week’s newspaper will feature a year in review for Revelstoke, including a list of the most viewed stories on our website.

It is an interesting experiment, as we are also gathering submissions for the BC Community Newspaper Association awards.

I enjoy comparing which stories I think are award worthy, with which ones are the most popular amongst our readers, as they sometimes don’t line up, though, often our best stories are also well read.

As you consider resolutions for the New Year, I would like to encourage you make a resolution about internet use, and that comes in three fold, all things which I am also working on.

First, limit your screen time.

I find myself instinctually reaching for my phone whenever I have a few minutes of free time, but there are so many better things that I could be doing from jumping jacks to reading a book to taking a minute to enjoy our amazing mountain views.

I find that the more time I spend on my phone or in front of any screen, the more unhappy and unmotivated I am. Do you ever feel the same?

Second, think critically of the content you are seeing and seek out the content you want to see.

With all of the logarithms and cookies and other programs that track our internet use and show us things it thinks we want to see, I encourage you to take a minute and step outside that cyber bubble.

What are you actually seeing? Is it representative of what is actually going on in the world? Is it from a reliable source? When was it published? Where is the source based – is there a local alternative?

It is so easy to stick within our newsfeeds, but that isn’t necessarily where the best content is, or even the most important information.

Third, read more than the headline before you share or comment.

Even with seemingly unlimited access to information, mistruths, rumours and misunderstandings still happen.

Just a little something else to consider, while you are working on other changes in your life.

I am usually to focused on saving money, eating healthy and exercising to consider anything else, but sometimes little things like this make all the difference.