Lifestyle: Am I addicted to the internet?

Is there anything better on a Sunday to stay tucked up in bed with a cup of coffee and a book? I didn't think so. 

It's very rare that I get a weekend off in the job that I do so I'm taking every effort to appreciate the laziness that is so associated with a Sunday. The weather has been absolutely awful recently so there is nothing more satisfying than getting to stay in bed and catching up with a book you've been wanting to read for absolutely ages. 

I started reading The Girl In The Spider's Web last week when I was on holiday but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. Being thrown back into work and not finding anytime to read since, has made me grab this precious Sunday with all that I've got and devote it to finishing the next instalment in one of my most favourite book series in years. In this ever technology addicted world, I find it harder and harder to stay focused on reading a book. 

The more I look at my phone or my laptop, the less I find myself reaching for a book. Last year I got a kindle for Christmas which I was really happy about because I thought it would get me right back into reading again. And whilst it did for a good while, I find myself reaching for a book less and less as time goes on. I believe that the more I'm sucked into my laptop and phone, the less I let myself live in real life and that even means losing old hobbies I love like reading and drawing. I actually blame getting drawn into my phone for the now apparent lack of ability I have to concentrate on a book or even sit through a movie. I can't be the only one that goes to cinema and gets tempted to check my phone throughout the viewing? Even going on holiday last week, I checked my phone throughout the day whilst I was in Turkey where on the other hand, Georgie didn't connect to WiFi the entire time. The mere thought of not even connecting to the internet for a few hours makes me a bit anxious.

I recently drove up to my friends place a couple of hours away, and I decided to leave my phone on charge at her house whilst we went out for a curry. I didn't really want to do it but I thought I'd test myself on it; baring in mind I'm also a socially anxious person so I love having my phone on me for a bit of a distraction; I did leave myself wondering, do I use my phone to distract myself SO much that I no longer know how to function without it? Well, I found I was actually quite a bit shaky. Not particularly obviously so, but enough that I noticed and found it uncomfortable not having that distraction. 

So what I'm trying to deal with now is living more without being so dependent on technology or the internet. I think I need to find more of a healthy balance between using it occasionally but also not finding myself desperate for it if I'm offline for more than a couple of hours. 

I can't deny it though, I love my life on the internet; so many of my friendships evolved because of it, right from the days of Myspace, through to Twitter and Tumblr. It's incredibly hard to disconnect from a space that makes you feel so positive. 

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be testing out leaving my phone off for short periods of time, gradually making it longer and longer to see how I cope and all so I can get back into things I love like appreciating getting time to read and maybe even start drawing again. 

Do you have any tips for me? 

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xo