Technoference is the term that refers to "technology interfering with relationships". We talked about technoference in our last class and it really got me thinking about how technology affects my relationship with my husband. Unfortunately, as I started observing technoference in my life in general, I realized it occurred way more than it should in my marriage.
My husband works for an IT company, so he is ALWAYS on his laptop and his phone. This is normal for him since it's part of his job, but it becomes a problem when it takes over our alone time we have together. Of course, I am part of the problem too. Once I started monitoring the technoference in our relationship, I realized that while my husband is sitting with me and trying to have a conversation with me, I'M ON MY PHONE. Like what? I rarely get time to be with him, so I have no idea why this is happening. I think it's just one of my bad habits. Also, every time we eat dinner, we eat in front of the TV. I guess we do this because it's any easy way to wind down for the day, but seriously, these are some bad habits we really need to get rid of.
Since then, I have been very conscious about when I am on my phone. I try to put it down more and focus on the one thing I am actually doing, trying to not pick it up every 15 minutes to see what's new on Facebook. Especially when I am with my husband, I do NOT use it unless I'm showing him a funny video I saved to show him. Also, my husband and I discussed technoference together, and we decided that we would eat dinner at our kitchen table like normal people instead of eating in front of the TV so we could have that extra time to talk and catch up with one another. We also decided that when he was done with work for the day, he would try to leave his computer alone so we could spend time together without that interference. Of course there will be exceptions when he needs to work late or keep calling a client throughout the night until he reaches him, but it's already made a difference in our relationship after like 2 days. We have realized that spending quality time is really important to our relationship and our feelings, so we are making it a goal to always have some alone time every night without any technoference.
xo
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I think it is awesome that you are making a conscious effort to battle technoference and that it's working for the better. There are times when I've made a conscious effort to put my phone away, especially when I'm just trying to pass the time, but I can definitely do more to improve that effort. I never imagined that technology would rob me of potentially great moments in my relationship with others.
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