Staying Simple With Electronics

So, today I just wanted to share a little bit about my ways of dealing with electronics and a few thoughts on that and I am hoping that this can be come a discussion of ideas and sharing about what works for all of you, also what you have found not to work. I know that there is a huge variety of thoughts on this and I don't want to sound like I have it figured out because I don't think I do but maybe this can give new ideas for dealing with things if this area of your life is not as simple as you would like.

  So I am talking about keeping things simple in the area of cell phone use, social media, e-mail, etc. I think that a huge part of living a simple life is to make sure that everything you do is done thoughtfully and hopefully prayerfully. That you lead the life that you want, not the one you feel you just happened to have. That you are conscientious about how you spend your time, your talents and your resources.

 Because I want to live a life on purpose I have thought about each of these areas and am trying to use them in a wise way - not heedlessly. Here is what is going on in my life in these areas:

• Cell Phone. I do actually have a smart phone now. When Ken got a new one (he has needed to have a good cell phone for work use and he does also use it for personal use on a regular basis) he gave me his old one. The joke with friends and family is that I have a phone but it is never charged. That isn't quite true, but it is close. I really have not wanted to become attached to my phone so I pretty much never carry it on my person and when I am at home it generally stays in my purse up in my room (where I can't hear it). I check texts and voice messages around once a month. It used to be longer and it is sometimes less now but it still is not often. On our trip I did use Facebook on it a lot as we were trying to keep a log of the trip there but otherwise I don't use it much. I have always considered it to be more for emergencies. Because I don't use it much (and don't want to) I simply get minutes through Tracphone and I am not on a plan. So my phone costs us around $100 a year. We do have a land line phone (which I know is becoming obsolete) so people can generally reach me if needed. We have an answering machine on it which I check regularly. Or if I am with Ken he will have his phone on him. But over all I don't feel like being on call every minute of the day. Another thought on Cell phones - Ken puts his on a sleep mode for the night so that he will not get interrupted. We both try to opt out of any group text messages. It eats up what text message services I have available to quickly and I don't check it much anyway and with Ken he really doesn't like the interruption  that every little text brings to his day since it dings and he feels he needs to check it.
• Social Media. I obviously do blogging. :-) I like to share on here and I enjoy reading other blogs but as any regulars have noticed when life has gotten super busy some in the last few years my blogging participation has dropped. So when I have time I do it but when I can't I don't. I have found blogging a great way to share and to learn from others. I have found it very beneficial and though I know it can be a waste of time I have not generally found it to be. I try to do most of my blogging after the kids are in bed while Ken is watching something on TV so I am not missing family time to do it.
  Then there is Facebook. This has been one of my biggest mental struggle areas. Is this beneficial or not. Should I go off forever? Should I take an extended break? Why do I struggle with getting off of it once I go on? It has really been an area where I can struggle with self-discipline. It also can be a super useful tool, free video chats and instant message with Mara when she was away and being able to stay connected with family and friends that live a long ways away. But sometimes I think we connect mainly through Facebook and don't develop our relationship in other ways. Anway, I am still working to manage this one. I am seriously considering only allowing myself to go on Facebook on Saturdays. I decided this wouldn't work well while Mara was in Texas but not that she is home again I think we could do it. I just struggle with knowing how to deal with people that use facebook messanger to contact me but I guess I could check my phone more often for that. I would love to hear your thoughts on Facebook.
  I am also on Pinterest which has been a time waster a few times but mostly a very useful tool. I love using it for organizing. I am not on snap chat, twitter, instagram or any other social media. I think I will keep it that way.
  I do also enjoy watching or listening to things on Youtube sometimes. Mostly I do it while I am working (I started doing it most while arranging flowers for my business) on something in my office. I have found it very useful for learning many things or being inspired or challenged. We do enjoy listening to music on their too - using that or CDs in our van are pretty much the only ways we listen to music here. But though I think it has been very useful (I did use it a lot as we were learning about Medieval times) it can also be a time waster so I have to be careful.
• E-mail. My biggest help in keeping things organized and not overwhelming there has been to try and answer e-mails promptly and delete the ones that I have taken care of (or put them in a folder if they have information that I may need to look up later). I am not perfect at this yet but my e-mail is not overwhelming the way it used to be. I am also working to unsubcribe from everything that I don't care about that gets sent my way. Sometimes I wonder if unsubcribing really works but I am hoping it does. Sometimes I think it takes months to get it done.
• TV. We have it but I made a policy way back when we got it that the kids and I just wouldn't turn it on. That has held true for the most part. I did go against that during Hurricane Katrina, a few times with the Olympics , President Reagan's funeral and I think the Royal wedding before the last one but that is about it. :-) Ken does like to watch some sports on it and I have watched a few football games with him lately - not so much because I love it but because I love to spend time with my husband. We do also tend to watch presidential debates together. We watch movies around once a month as a family.

I don't do any video/facebook games or any other entertainment on the computer or phone so I think I have covered my electronic distractions but I would love to hear how you deal with these things. We are still working at getting all these things figured out with my older children (the 3 oldest because they all work/go places on their own) now that they have phones.

  Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts and methods!