We live in an advanced digital age where constant stimulation has become terrifyingly normalized.
Do you need to buy something? Online shopping.
Need a question answered? Google and Artificial Intelligence are there whenever and wherever you need them.
Need to relax and reset? Television, social media, video games, the possibilities go on and on.
Consistent assignments or work on computers and iPads, easy access to limitless music and television, and of course, the World Wide Web and social media are always at the tips of our fingers. There are very few moments in our lives when we are not tuned into technology, or at least able to access it.Â
I usually want to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the world, whether that’s political changes, social trends, or a variety of influential content about life and career improvement. However, I also started to realize that I was using social media as an escape, mindlessly scrolling to decompress after long days of overworking my brain and searching for a distraction from my own life. Recently, I have been trying to be more mindful of how I feel when I go on social media and what is prompting me to reach for my phone.
Navigating the Psychological Consequences
I think our society also needs to engage in more meaningful conversations about how constant stimulation, especially through social media, is affecting our minds. While modern advancements in technology have enabled us to do amazing things, learn more, and stay connected, it still scares me sometimes just thinking about how our brains are currently being (and will be) altered by dependency on technology. In the past few years, we have seen that online communities are not only replacing our physical social communities, but also changing people’s ability to interact outside of online spaces. Navigating anonymity, learning social cues, practicing compassion, and establishing self-confidence are all overlapping and conflicting factors that are changing how people perceive us and how we perceive others within digital vs. real communities. And this doesn’t even begin to cover how exposure to fast-paced technology and social media is affecting youth development across social and academic levels.
Where Do We Go From Here?
It’s hard to determine a pathway forward when the world we live in is so technologically unprecedented. However, our main focus should be on upholding our values outside digital spaces, especially regarding independent creation and creativity. In my own life, I have been using social media as an excuse or distraction to avoid being productive, even if I am not consistently doomscrolling. Although I’m gradually reducing my screen time, I realize I’m still dependent on it. I’ll often scroll when I come back from a long day of classes or in between assignments when I’ve been working for hours on end. I’ll say I use it to decompress, but why? Why does my brain decompress with screen time? Or, even further, why do I feel like I’ve been programmed to believe it’s a decompression method?
Social media is usually what I turn to for a good laugh, learning something new, and inspiration for different activities or goals I have in my life. But as I’m inspired by people achieving things on social media that I want to do, I’m simultaneously lessening the time I could be spending actually doing the things I want to do. This realization really helped me transition from all planning I was using social media for to starting the activities I had long been wanting to do.
Here are some recommendations I have that might help you start to reduce your overall screen time: 1) Time limits on certain apps can reduce excessive use where you’ve noticed high dependency or easily losing track of time. 2) Designate no social media (or chosen tech) days. I think this could be a good challenge to be strategic about how you manage and monitor your time on various screens. 3) Pick up a hobby; and no, it doesn’t have to be anything crazy. This can be anything that gets your body or your mind moving in other, tech-free ways, such as journaling, reading, drawing, crocheting, walking, yoga, scrapbooking, sports; the list could be endless. Of course, these aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions for screen time, especially as our schools, jobs, and other institutions may be subconsciously encouraging technological dependence with increasing remote/online opportunities. At the same time, I believe it’s even more important that we intentionally find practices and activities we enjoy outside of technology and take care to nurturing those pieces of our lives too.