Category: Addiction News

Digital Burnout: How to Deal

In 2021 we work, relax, learn and connect with loved ones, all through the same medium, it’s no wonder that we are all experiencing digital burnout to some degree, especially after nearly a year of lockdowns. We have featured digital burnout before, but never in the setting of a pandemic

What is digital burnout?

‘Burnout’ is a psychological term that refers to the state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. Digital burnout is classed as a specific type of burnout that is triggered by the prolonged and excessive use of digital devices.

In the last year we have spent more time online and in the digital space than ever before. Ofcom has found that, in the UK at least, adults are now spending 40% of their time watching TV and online video – that doesn’t even include the time we spend working. So it comes as no surprise that in a recent Gallup poll it was found that 75% of respondents said they’re experiencing digital fatigue. Digital burnout is on the rise.

Here are some pandemic-tailored-tips to help you overcome your digital burnout and rebalance your relationship with technology.

Log off

Our first suggestion is pretty self-explanatory- log off! We know it can be easier said than done but if you are experiencing digital burnout then it should be your first step. If you were experiencing burnout from work you would take it seriously, so make sure you prioritise your physical and mental health as it relates to digital burnout too. If you are working remotely and cannot take a day off, then at least take the weekend.

Unplug all your devices and spend the whole weekend, 5pm Friday until 9am Monday offline. Even that little amount of time will make a huge difference. If you can afford to take longer by all means do- perhaps a week or even 10 days. Each extra day that you allow yourself for recovery will enable you to reduce that fatigue and burnout and recover faster.

Get outside

Part of the problem associated with digital burnout in this pandemic age is that we are not only spending hours more time on our devices, we are also spending hours less time outside, rarely leaving our houses except for essentials. Before the pandemic, we naturally went outside regularly, to commute, to meet friends, or for exercise. Now many of those reasons have been taken away, so we are holed up inside. This has a huge impact and will worsen any symptoms of digital burnout significantly. So, our advice is to get outside. The mental health benefits of going outside are innumerable. Even 20 mins outside each day will aid your recovery no end.

Find analogue alternatives

One of the reasons that digital burnout has reached such a peak during this pandemic is that the analogue alternatives that used to fill our time are gone. We can no longer meet up with friends so we need to video-call them to spend that quality time. We can no longer work in an office so all our time is spent on similar Zoom calls to attend meetings remotely. Some of these cannot be reduced if we want to continue to function effectively, such as working remotely. However, in all other aspects of our lives there are analogue alternatives and implementing them will make a huge difference. You could try catching up with your friends ‘old-school-style’ over the phone instead of on video-call. Or maybe knitting instead of watching TV tonight. There are many ways to reduce your dependence on screens, and thereby hopefully your burnout, even in a pandemic.

Set boundaries

For the past year we have been living in a far less boundaried world. Our colleagues have been able to see into our homes, our bedrooms have become offices and we have run our entire lives through one or two devices. It’s time to set some boundaries and reinstitute the natural order of things.

In small homes especially it will be difficult to find physical spaces which you can differentiate from others in order to make home offices but in all homes boundaries can be set around time. For example, “I will turn off my phone at 7pm every night“. At the beginning, when you are in the worst phase of burnout it will serve you better to institute strict rules with little flexibility and harsh timelines, these can change over time but at the beginning they will help you recover whilst you are moving on.

These tips will help you to recover from digital burnout and fatigue whilst you maintain a work-life balance. Remember the single best thing you can do, is log off.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

How to Find Digital Detox Moments in Every Day

In recent years, and particularly in 2021, we are struggling more and more to find digital detox moments in our day. A YouGov poll found that more than half of respondents admitted to their screen time going up in lockdown, and that makes sense. We now use our phones to work, learn, connect, relax and even to simply distract from the reality of our new normal. We are checking our smartphone every 12 minutes and 34% of us check it within 5 minutes of getting up in the morning.

It is no wonder that our attention spans have decreased and we are no longer able to give our work and our lives the same undivided focus we used to. We need those digital detox moments in order to be able to function at the same level- our tech habits are denying us much needed downtime to maintain our ability for deep-thinking. So, we have put together some tips to help you rediscover those digital detox moments which used to be more easily found, before our world moved on screen.

Get outside

As we featured in another recent article on things to do instead of scrolling on your phone, one of the best things you can do to recenter yourself is go outside. According to Harvard going outside improves happiness, concentration, healing and, more obviously, fitness. Our devices were not designed for use alfresco so it is much harder to get distracted by social media or never-ending news notifications. One way to increase the effectiveness of this strategy is to leave your phone at home. Without it you won’t have the crutch of music, a podcast or the occasional check for emails- you will have to focus on the world around you. If you choose to go outside without your devices regularly you can integrate it into your routine and gain back those invaluable digital detox moments on a regular basis.

Link digital detox to your routine

It is very difficult to stick to new resolutions, there is so much going on in our lives that we struggle to remember and implement them regularly. One way to get around this is to tie your digital detox moments to habits that you already engage in. You could tie it to brushing your teeth morning and night, eating, walking your dog or any other habit that you complete without fail daily. That way you will remember it and be able to stick to it.

Cheat code: If you are struggling to get started on a mindful practice why not use an app such as HeadSpace to help you get in the zone?

Commit

When it comes down to it, the most important step of your journey to regaining your digital detox moments is to commit. There will always be things you can do instead of taking some time to be mindful! So, you need to reexamine your attitude to digital detox and prioritise it the same way you prioritise food and exercise. Our mental and brain health is just as important as the physical so value it in the same way mentally. Once you have made this shift to seeing digital detox moments as a non-negotiable, it should be easier to incorporate them into your day-to-day.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

Dealing With Digital Addiction

There is no clear quantitative definition of digital addiction. However, many of us will recognise symptoms of digital addiction in ourselves: for example, excessive and even compulsive use of social media. These all-too-familiar symptoms will likely have been heightened during lockdown, as the restrictions and cold weather leave us feeling that we have little option for connection and entertainment beyond what our tech offers us.

These are challenging times, and with work, education and socialisation all moved to online spaces, digital addiction is neither unexpected nor something to be ashamed of. However, it is crucial for our wellbeing that we establish a healthy relationship with tech, and a good digital-life balance.

If you think you may be addicted to your technology, there are steps you can take to rebuild and rebalance your relationship with tech.

1. Reflect on your digital habits

Self-awareness is the first step towards tackling your digital addiction. Identify the largest consumers of your time – for example, certain social media sites or games – and think about what causes these excessive usage patterns. Interrogating the thought process behind the times you reach for your phone will help you think more critically about whether you actually want and need to go on your phone, and whether it is good for you.

2. Find other ways to deal with these triggers

Continuing with the theme of self-awareness, knowing how to deal with the triggers that cause you to spend large amounts of time on screens will help you rely less on your tech. Whatever sets this off – be it an emotion, environment, or even just the time of day – can be satisfied with analogue alternatives. Find offline hobbies that can distract you and give yourself a purpose, to prevent you from resorting to your tech.

3. Set yourself limits

Setting screen-time limits is an excellent quantitative goal which will count as a significant step towards curing your digital addiction. The nature of the limits set is up to you, and will vary person to person. When setting them, it is important to be strict with yourself but not overly harsh. These limits should not deprive you of activities you enjoy, such as watching TV or socialising with friends; they should simply ensure that you are maintaining a good digital-life balance.

4. Prioritise using technology to socialise

Long hours spent with nothing but our phone can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. However, technology is not inherently a bad thing, and in many cases enriches our lives – especially at the moment, when we are relying on online spaces to maintain contact with friends and family. Do not feel that you have to sacrifice these moments now that you are more conscious of your screen-time. Instead, prioritise usage that simulates real life connections, rather than gaming or aimlessly scrolling through social media alone.

5. Join an online support group

Technology can have positive effects and enable us to feel more connected to other people. Online peer support groups have been found to help people establish healthier digital usage patterns. Sharing your struggles and journey with others can help your self-evaluation.

Most importantly, it will allow you to recognise that you are not alone. Digital addiction is something many people struggle with, but by following these tips you will be able to ensure you are getting the most out of your tech.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

Five Things To Do Instead of Scrolling on Your Phone

A lot of us began the year with good intentions and new resolutions such as: “I am going to spend less time on my phone this year”, “I am going to leave my phone behind when I go for walks” or “I am going to find something to do instead of scrolling” but how many of us have been able to stick to it? Over 25% of Brits in a YouGov poll stated that they wanted to use their phone less in 2021. Over 50% of children also said that they wanted their parents to use their phone less this year, (20% more than those who wanted their parents to quit smoking!) So clearly the success of our digital detoxing is important to all generations!

One of the biggest difficulties we face when we start a digital detox, or make the resolution to log off more, is what to do with all that time. It is hard to put your phone down and find things to do instead of scrolling when that used to take up hours of your day. So, here are five things that you can do to help you stay offline today.

#1 Write a letter

The art of letter-writing is somewhat out of fashion but that doesn’t mean that people don’t want to receive them- most people will be overjoyed to find something other than bills in their post! Why not choose a friend or a family member and write them a letter today? It doesn’t have to be long or about anything important, you could tell them about your walk, say thank you for a gift or remind them of their importance to you. Letter-writing is a lovely way to get offline whilst still connecting with loved ones (especially as they only way to communicate for months has been through screens).

#2 Plan to see a friend

Another thing you could do to connect with your friends instead of scrolling on your phone is to plan to meet up. During lockdown that could be challenging, but the plan doesn’t have to be for next week. You could plan a holiday you want to take together, a trip to a sporting event, your first night out once the clubs open or a pamper session; it is important to have things to look forward to right now. If you are lucky enough to be able to meet up you could plan a walk or bike ride near your home, you will be amazed the difference company makes.

#3 Write down some goals

This year we have already written quite a few pieces about goals, our top tips for resolutions and even more ways to help you put your phone down. In both we talked about the importance of goal setting as a way to frame your resolutions. If you want to log off why not tie that to another goal? Perhaps you want to get fitter this year, learn a language or get back into crafting? Whatever task you choose, tying it to logging off can make it easier to stick to, so write down your goal today and try to carve out time to focus on it, and away from your screen, regularly.

#4 Clear out your ‘junk drawer’

Most of us have a ‘junk drawer’ whether that be a drawer, wardrobe, spare room or attic and a lot of us have had sorting it out on our ‘To-Do’ List for at least a few months. So, why not tackle it today? Put down your phone right now, get some bags ready and clear it out. We can promise you it will be incredibly satisfying. It will also likely take up a significant amount of time offline and give you the chance to get active. What’s not to love?

#5 Go outside

On the theme of getting active, another great way to stop yourself from scrolling on your phone is to get outside. Phones were not designed for the natural world so it is harder to use them outside anyway. The mental health charity Mind says that going outside has innumerable physical and mental health benefits. So, just by going outside you could lower your blood pressure, decrease your stress and even help with moderate depression. Win-win-win!

Just five ideas of alternative ways to spend your time instead of scrolling. Let us know if you have any other favourite ideas so we can share them too.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

How to Handle Screen Time in a Pandemic

This #ChildrensMentalHealth week in the UK, we are focusing on how to handle screen time with children in the pandemic. One study comparing screen time in January 2020 with January 2021, has discovered that there has been a 100% increase in website and app visits, by four to fifteen year olds in the UK, with the average daily time spent on them increasing by 15%.

Of course, as children are stuck at home and learning online, it is totally understandable that their screen time will have increased, as it has for everyone. But for children in particular, this can be damaging. One area of concern is eyesight, with data published recently uncovering a 300% increase in shortsightedness amongst six to eight year olds, potentially caused by online learning. In another study, overuse of social media, screen time and mental health issues were all raised as the primary worries of parents during the pandemic. These studies suggest that there are plenty of concerns felt both in both academic and parenting circles about how to handle screen time in the pandemic.

We’ve put together some basic questions that you can ask of yourself, to help you gauge how much screen time your children should be exposed to.

Is this helping or harming?

The first and most important question to ask is what is the purpose of the screen time your child is engaged with? Much of the cause for increased screen time during the pandemic has been that schools have been closed for months, forcing children to be educated online instead of in a physical classroom. These hours on Zoom with classmates and teachers offer a very different purpose and result than the hours watching YouTube videos for example.

Therefore, when deciding which types of screen time to reduce and manage you must gauge the effect. One might even decide that online gaming with friends from school for a limited time could be considered a positive as it offers the social interaction children are losing in this time. How you evaluate your child’s use of their screens is up to you, but make sure that any blanket statements such as “you’re not using screens after school” are nuanced by an understanding of the positives and negatives of various forms of screen use.

Which screens are most detrimental?

As well as evaluating what uses of screens are helpful vs. harmful it is also useful to evaluate which devices themselves are the most detrimental. For example, we often forget that the TV counts as a screen and so discount it from our rules on screen time. However, 22% of 12-15 year olds have stated that TV watching led them to neglect their school work. So, consider all devices, no matter how big or small, in negotiating screen time with your children.

What does harm look like?

In order to create a system for evaluating screen usage across time, devices, and generations we must first define what ‘harmful’ screen time would look like. This can be a personal consideration as only you will know what it looks like if your child’s behaviour seems to be impacted by screen time. However, there are some common themes, which we have written about before, that you can rely on to help you pick up on when a change may need to be introduced.

Sleep is a good indicator of screen time intruding on the rest of our lives as sleep can be very badly impacted by excess screen time. Concentration and general mental health are also markers to watch. So, if you notice that your children are more tired, less focused and generally in a worse mood- it is time to evaluate their time spent on screens.

Understanding that screen time has inevitably rocketed, and that there’s a limited amount you can do about it, will help you see that you shouldn’t be overly anxious about any too-strict count of hours on a device. Focus on the basics; whether your child is healthy, happy, sleeping and eating well and enjoying life, and if their time on screens is enhancing, or detracting from any of that, and you can’t go wrong.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

How to Ensure Digital Wellbeing When Learning From Home

This week is #childrensmentalhealthweek in the UK. In the pandemic, this will resonate with more people than ever before. The move to online schooling has been reported by many to have had a negative impact on children’s mental health. Long hours spent on Zoom or Microsoft Teams has left many experiencing ‘Zoom burnout’, left unmotivated, stressed, and isolated.

In addition to this, not knowing when this period of online learning and homeschooling will end is also putting a strain on children’s mental health. Initially, in the UK, it was supposed that they would be able to return to school after February half-term. Unfortunately, with lockdown extended until 8^th March, this will not be the case. Not only this, but they have no clear answer as to when they will be able to go to school again and see their friends.

No wonder that this can be an anxious and isolating time for them.

Therefore, it is important that their digital-life balance is not unhealthy and that their digital wellbeing is protected. In a time where so much of our lives have been moved to online spaces, maintaining a healthy relationship with tech is vital. A year ago, if you had been told that your child would spend six hours staring at a screen each day, you would most likely have protested in disbelief. Of course, these are strange and worrying times, but we cannot let this compromise our children’s mental health.

How can we protect children’s digital wellbeing?

The greatest concern is the sheer quantity of time children are now spending online. From a physical health perspective, one area that is a concern is their eyesight. Prolonged hours staring at screens can lead to permanent eyesight issues, as well as headaches and eyestrain in the moment.

Protect their eyes

To protect their eyesight, encourage them to look away from the screen every 20 minutes and focus on something else across the room or out the window. They don’t need to stop listening or focussing on what’s going on in their online lesson; they just need to give their eyes a 20 second rest.

To add to worries about the physical impacts of online learning, the educational value of remote online lessons delivered to children may be declining as time has dragged on. Whilst teachers are doing their utmost to ensure the quality of education children, it is very difficult for them to monitor behaviour, engagement and attainment from the other side of a screen. This is exacerbated by the fact that due to feelings of anxiety and isolation, combined with the monotony of learning from home, children may be losing motivation for their learning.

Design digital wellbeing breaks

To keep them interested, and for the sake of their attention span, it is important that they take frequent screen breaks and manage their time well. Try to carve out periods of time to be spent entirely screen-free, and spend it doing other enjoyable activities, such as going for a walk or doing something creative. This will give their brain a well-earned break from their lessons, as well as hopefully easing any feelings of stress or boredom that may have developed during the long day of online lessons. Don’t frame these as ‘screen time breaks’, try to emphasise the activity they are engaging in, instead of highlighting what they are leaving behind.

Remind them they’re not alone

Most importantly of all for their mental health and digital wellbeing, try not to let them be upset if they feel they have fallen behind, or are struggling with their work. Remind them that many children are in the same boat with them. It is simply that, because they are not all doing their work in the same classroom as in pre-pandemic times, they cannot see how others are faring, and perhaps struggling the same way.

It’s a tough time for children but we can ensure that they get the maximum benefit out of screens for learning, without letting excess time impact their mental health. You can find more tips for maximised productivity for digital learning here.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

3 Techniques for Changing Tech Habits for Good

We know how hard it can be change your tech habits permanently; we have been writing about the addictive nature of tech and the digital sphere for years! 66% of UK smartphone users even admit to suffering from nomophobia, the fear of being away from your phone, which we discussed in a recent blog. If the very act of taking some time away from our screens is causing us stress it is no wonder those well-intentioned new years resolutions to change our tech habits are not working!

So, we have put together 3 short and easy tips that should help you to finally make those resolutions real, taking them from the aspiration to action in each of our lives.

#1 Copy someone who is doing it better

This is the best cheat code out there! It can often be hard to take the nebulous idea of “changing your tech habits” and turn it into concrete actions in our lives, copying other people is one way to skip the complicated steps of deciding where to institute boundaries and what you want your relationship with tech to look like and jump right to the end. First, look around your friends and family and try and think of someone who has a better relationship with their tech habits than you. Perhaps it is someone who also works from home but seems to have a good balance or leisure vs. work, or it is someone who brags about their amazing sleep and concentration?

Next, talk to them about their boundaries with tech. Do they have it at meal times, in the bedroom, or on the loo? Do they have a routine for when they don’t go on their phone? How do they handle the issues you are struggling with (such as being unable to ignore notifications?). All you have to do then is copy their habits. If you live with them, this will be even easier, if not you could get them to write you a daily schedule showing how and when they use screens for you to live by (and adapt if absolutely necessary) until you find your groove with logging off.

#2 Be playful

All of this talk of boundaries, health benefits and statistical analysis of your screen use can seem a bit intense. If a methodological or scientific approach is not working for you that’s fine! Instead you could try treating changing your tech habits as a game and being a little more playful. You could set up a competition between your household/ bubble to see who can use social media the least in the next week (you can monitor this through screen-time). You could pick up a hobby from your childhood to take the place of the time you would normally spend doom-scrolling, or you could make a game out of living as much as possible without your phone. For example: 10 points for navigating without a phone, 5 points for completing your morning routine without touching your phone and give yourself a reward once you reach 100 or similar.

#3 Let your daily routine replace resolutions

Resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep. Over 80% of New Year Resolutions fail and they are supposed to be 10x more likely to succeed than those made during the year! So, our big secret to help you change your tech habits is to tie your new resolutions to routine. For example, if you make coffee every morning after getting up, tie picking your phone up for the first time to after you have washed up the cup. If you are used to locking up at 10 each night, why not lock and turn off your phone at the same time? Tying your new habits to old routines will make them much easier to remember and follow, and you will finally be able to change your tech habits for good!

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

5 Ways To Fit Mini Digital Detoxes Into Your Day

It’s a challenge during a pandemic fitting in long periods of time away from screens, but there are very many good reasons why we should still be taking some breaks. Here’s why, and some ideas on how to spread mini digital detoxes throughout your day.

For some time, we have been aware that screens and blue light can cause what’s been dubbed ‘digital eyestrain‘. As screen time has soared over lockdown, so have concerns for the long-term impacts of this on our eyesight. Now, there are heightening fears that eyesight may be deteriorating due to excessive time spent looking at screens.

Eyesight deterioration is something that can be prevented if the source is spotted early and protective measures are implemented. If too much screen time is hurting it, we need to ensure we are only looking at screens when absolutely necessary. By incorporating some mini digital detoxes into our day, we can give our tired eyes the break they need.

1. Don’t go on your phone immediately after you wake up

This is the easiest way to prolong the time spent away from tech. Give yourself the chance to wake up, and your eyes the opportunity to adjust, properly, before looking at a screen.

You likely know for yourself that going on your phone immediately after you wake up is not healthy; it often causes eyestrain and headaches as our eyes try to adjust rapidly. For tired eyes, the sudden blue light and tirade of information is an assault on the senses.

2. Block off breaks, to be spent away from tech

This is especially important if your work involves you staring at a screen. Set yourself breaks and spend these doing something that allows your eyes to relax. For example, move about or go for a walk. Do not spend your breaks away from your work screen browsing social media on your phone!

Eyesight charity Fight For Sight recommend the 20-20-20 technique: for ever 20 minutes you spend staring at a screen, look away for 20 seconds, focussing your eyes on something 20 ft away. This technique is also mentioned in our founder Tanya Goodin‘s book ‘Stop Staring at Screens‘.

3. Use a screen time blocker

You may struggle to stay off your tech in your designated times. That’s ok – it can be difficult.

Luckily, many phones now have a built in screen time tracker which allows you to set yourself limits. These can be useful if you easily get engrossed by your phone. Use this in combination with any one of a myriad of other apps which can block specific websites and apps and help you stick to your digital detox breaks off screen.

4. Keep food and tech apart

Meal times are a perfect way to seamlessly incorporate digital detoxes into your day. Use them as an opportunity to put away your screens and let your eyes relax. This is especially important for dinner time, as your eyes will be most weary by then and you should be starting to wind down for the evening.

5. Schedule an analogue hour

Think of some hobbies and activities you enjoy doing that do not involve screens. Then schedule an hour each day for them. Not only will this help you achieve a healthy work-life balance, it will also make you spend time away from your tech on a mini digital detox without you even thinking about it.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

3 Ways to Take Smarter Screen Breaks This Year

Thanks to Covid, despite all our best intentions we’re all spending hours every day online, which means we can’t do a digital detox in the same way we could have before: we need to take smarter screen breaks.

Around the time of the first UK lockdown, 2000 Brits were surveyed and over 55% of them reported they were concerned about their rise in tech use. However, it’s now been nearly a year since the pandemic struck and little has changed. We can no longer wait until restrictions are lifted before we make meaningful changes in our relationship with technology. We know that every 30 mins of screen time for toddlers is linked to a nearly 50% increase in expressive speech delay, and even in adults, excessive screen use can damage the brain! We’re now nearly all working from home, or being educated from home, so we need to learn how to take smarter screen breaks in order to balance the necessity of screens in the pandemic with our mental and physical wellbeing.

#1 Protect your sleep

One of the most damaging impacts that excessive screen use has is on sleep with a definitive link having been found between increased time spent on tech during the day and decreased quality and quantity of sleep at night. So, one of the ways that you can take smarter screen breaks this year is by limiting your phone use around bed times and in the bedroom. We have written a lot about this in the past because we feel so passionately about protecting that time. There are many ways to go about this, you could leave your phone outside of the bedroom, institute a ‘bed time’ for your phone, or commit to not going on your phone until you have had breakfast. Whatever strategy you choose, will enable you to be spend significantly shorter periods of time online, and, crucially, protect your sleep.

#2 Relax offline

Another area of your life primed for smarter screen breaks is that of relaxation and entertainment. During lockdown 50% of people admitted that they were watching significantly more TV, combined with working remotely and attending online school, this adds up to a large increase in screen time: we are spending all of our working days online and then relaxing in our breaks by watching TV, or even just videos on social media. So, in order to cut down on the amount of time we spend online we recommend you try to limit entertainment and relaxation to offline activities as much as possible. You could try puzzling, board games, charades, reading or even just listening to the radio or a podcast. All of these will enable you to unwind away from screens.

#3 Tie screen breaks to your schedule

If you’re still struggling to take smarter screen breaks then we would recommend a good habit hack of tying those breaks to pre-existing parts of your routine. For example, you could decide that when you have your lunch break you leave your phone where you work and instead be mindful of what you eat, or you could leave your phone behind for your daily exercise. You could even ban it from certain rooms of the house (such as the kitchen and bedroom) so that there are physical boundaries to help you enforce your routine-based boundaries.

Bonus: You can even use the settings in your phone to help you- in most smartphones there is now the option to set time-limits for certain apps or for times of day, meaning that the phone will prompt you to turn it off.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in all areas of our lives, not least our relationships with technology, but we hope that these tips will enable you to take smarter screen breaks in 2021 and rebalance your relationship with the digital world.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

Here’s How Social Media Is Making You Anxious

For many of us last year, social media was our comfort blanket. Isolated from friends and family, we resorted to spending time together virtually instead. Social media was an – albeit cheap and incomplete – replacement for the physical contact we were unable to have at that moment.

However, people’s usage of social media is also causing them stress and anxiety. Constantly comparing ourselves and our own lives to what we see online causes us to feel inadequate and anxious as a result. FOMO contributes to this, and too-heavy weighting of the importance of interactions on social media, such as ‘likes’, also causes anxiety.

In particular, seeing something alarming online can heighten stress. When we see distressing content on the news, our fight-or-flight response is activated. Similarly, our emotional states may shut down to give way to our senses as we struggle to process the overwhelming information or images in front of us.

Yet despite our heightened alertness and the adrenaline pumping around our body, we cannot react. How could we? Usually we are miles away from the events taking place.

Nevertheless, we are stuck in this state of anxiety and fearfulness. Our heart beat may have risen, or our chest may feel tighter all of a sudden. This exemplifies a 2013 American study into the health effects of exposure to harrowing media, which showed that even just viewing images of traumatic events can evoke anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms. As the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety’s Thea Gallagher explains, to be traumatised by an event, you don’t necessarily “have to be there”.

And what respite do we get from this? Very little. Doomscrolling made a name for itself in 2020 as the habit of continually scrolling through negative news online. The onslaught of bad news – topped with the knowledge that there is very little we can do about it – makes us both miserable and anxious.

Sleep quality, mental health and social media usage are a triad which depend heavily on one another, bidirectionally. It is well known that sleep deprivation and other unhealthy sleep patterns can worsen a person’s mental health. Many people suffering from poor mental health turn to social media, usually as a distraction. However, their social media usage could in turn exacerbate their mental health issues, or result in even unhealthier sleep patterns. Hence if boundaries are not set and we do not listen to our health needs, this triad could end up as a vicious, almost inescapable circle.

If you feel yourself slipping into this cycle, a digital detox may be necessary. This is where you take a step back from tech, especially social media, and give yourself time away from it. This enables us to reevaluate our relationship with our tech, and realise the effects it has had on us.

Social media is not intrinsically harmful. But, like most things, when not consumed in moderation it can be. If the idea of being away from social media makes you anxious, you may be addicted. Follow these tips here to learn how to curb your social media addiction, do a digital detox and let yourself relax.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com