Recreation vs. Amusement | Thoughts on Smart Phones & Rest
Dumbing Down My Smart Phone
This summer, I decided to “dumb down” my smart phone. Practically speaking, what this looked like for me was removing most of my apps that often serve as a distraction and leaving the ones that serve more utility purposes. The most impactful changes for me were removing email and social media from my phone - mainly accessing those from my computer at intentional times throughout the day. Of the apps I left on my phone, the ones I’ve used most often this summer have been Messages, Camera/Photos, Music, Maps, & Weather, occasionally using Podcasts & Audible here and there, too.
Making these changes has made me much more mindful and aware of how I had previously been using my phone on a regular basis and has given me a good chance to re-evalutate my phone habits. One major idea has sort of stuck out to me lately is the idea that there is a difference between recreation & amusement.
Recreation vs. Amusement
An excerpt from Myquillyn Smith’s book, Welcome Home, helped put words to this concept for me. Her book is about creating a hospitable home throughout the seasons of the year without the pressure of spending & consuming more, but she touches on deeper concepts of minimalism, abundance, contentment, & embracing imperfection which is what makes her book as refreshing as it is practical. In Chapter 7, she introduces the idea of the difference between recreation & amusement. To clear up the semantics here, the word recreation means “to be re-created”, whereas the word amusement literally means “to not think.”
We often put both of these words in the same general category of rest. In a way, they both can be restful to a degree, but I think they have very different end results, especially when had in large quantities. Re-creation is a break from our work that still takes active participation. Examples of recreation could be reading a book, going for a hike, walking on the beach, or watching the sunset. Amusement is a break from our work where we get to sort of shut off our brains or “veg out,” as we often use the term, while something holds our constant attention. Examples of amusement could be watching a show on Netflix or… scrolling on our phone. 👀
Both recreation and amusement can give us a much-needed break from our work, but they tend to have different results after a long period of time. Re-creation often leaves us feeling inspired, renewed, “re-created,” and rejuvenated. Whereas, long periods of amusement often leave us feeling a bit emptied. Can you relate with this feeling? A long walk and chat with a friend takes effort and participation, but it leaves my cup feeling totally filled up. Whereas binge watching several shows on tv often leaves me with a bit of a blank stare, craving more, knowing that no matter how many episodes I watch, I won’t really be satisfied.
I think there’s a time for both of these things in our life. I thoroughly enjoy being amused by a good show or movie and I don’t feel guilty about that. But there does seem to be a tipping point where amusement is no longer restful and starts to become soul sucking instead. I want both amusement and recreation in my life, but I hope to fill my life with more of the latter.
Smart Phones & Rest
This concept really clicked with me as I’ve been self-analyzing the way I have used my smart phone and the purpose it has served in my life.
Can you relate with this scenario from my own life? I make it to the end of a big day full of photo shoots, editing, emails, and book keeping, playing with the kids, changing diapers, making meals & cleaning up messes (on repeat), folding the laundry, putting away the dishes, sweeping up the dog hair (on repeat), and just all the regular rhythms of daily life. I finally get the kids to bed, and put back to bed about 5 times, and I sit my booty down on the couch and I am TIRED. I just want to do nothing. But, not completely nothing, because I am easily bored and the silence is unsettling, so I pull out my phone and scroll through Instagram, respond to some emails, do some online perusing, adding things to my cart that I’ll probably never actually buy, and then, whoa, all of a sudden it’s late. My husband, who had a similarly busy day, has a similar posture on the couch across from me. Then off to sleep we finally go, until the morning, when we get to wake up and do it all over again.
Again, I don’t think we need to feel guilty about having amusement in our lives. The amusement of watching funny Instagram reels or finding interior design inspiration from Pinterest or perusing a cute boutique’s online sale. But I do think that the tipping point of life-giving to soul-sucking is closer at hand then we think. It’s nice to “turn off our brains” for a moment, to veg out, to unwind. But even better than doing these things on our phone after the kids go to bed, I think, is the recreational rest of talking with our spouse over a card game at the table, taking our dog for a walk around the neighborhood, or reading a book.
In short, what I have realized through self-reflection of how I previously used my phone, is that I was using my phone for amusement purposes, far beyond what was actually serving me well in my life, in a way that was not congruent with my values or longterm goals. I went to my phone to seek rest from a long day, but it often left me feeling empty and un-rejuvenated for the following day.
I want my life to be far more full of recreational rest. The type of rest that gives me a break from my work of the day, though it might require active participation, the type of rest that “re-creates” me and restores me for the next day of work ahead.
New Habits
I’ve made several changes during my “dumb phone summer” that I plan to keep around for the long run that I think will contribute to my goal for recreation > amusement. Here’s a few practical ones I’m trying to implement:
Removing social media from my phone, unless checking in on my businesses or posting something, and therefore not scrolling social media endlessly on my phone
Not perusing the internet from my phone - there’s a time and place for searching the internet for home decor inspiration, reading health blogs, & looking up 2023 hair cut ideas (all things I love to do), but if I limit these types of internet searches to my laptop, instead of my phone, I’m less likely to fall into the never-ending black hole of internet searches
Put my phone on the charger for the last hour or so at night in exchange for doing something more recreational, connection with my husband, or just getting more much needed sleep
What do you think?
What do you think about this distinction between different types of rest? Do you look to your smart phone for rest? Do you actually find it waiting for you there? What might be a few simple changes you could make to increase the recreational rest you experience in your life?