What is screen addiction?
Screen addiction, or problematic smartphone use, is when the time you spend on the screen (on smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) starts to negatively affect your life offscreen—your relationships, productivity, and physical and emotional well-being and health. [1]
It affects us all to certain degrees, either from first or second-hand experience. But even though problematic smartphone use can have dire effects, like anything else in life, it comes down to balance. Technology is here to stay and cutting it from our lives completely or ignoring the good it can do, is not going to solve the problem of screen addiction, nor is it practical.
If you are serious about finding balance between your life onscreen and off, here are a few things you can do:
Reflect
Cal Newport, author of the book, Digital Minimalism, says we should ‘decide what digital tools we allow in our lives, for what reasons, and under what constraints.’ [2]
We need to ask ourselves why we gravitate towards technology every spare second. Is it for the rush of dopamine that comes with the instant gratification of technology? Is it to procrastinate certain important tasks? Is it to relax or avoid social situations? Or is it simply a habit?
Whatever it is, you need to be aware of the ‘why’ before you can figure out how to make technology serve you best.
Boundaries are important
After you have your ‘why’, reflect on the situations where you are most dependent on the screen and if you can, write them down in a notebook. Now look at your list and write down a few alternatives. For example, if you know that you gravitate towards your phone on your break times—making your break times far longer than they should be—maybe you can decide to take a book with you on break instead and leave your phone locked in your desk.
We are all unique and what works for some might not work for you, that’s why you need to know your temptations and limits and set your own boundaries.
An important thing to note is that most technologies—especially social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.—capitalize on your attention.
Time stamp: 00:00-06:43
Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google, explaining how tech companies manipulate users to get their attention.[3]
You might not have control over what big tech companies do, but you do have control over your own actions. So, what boundaries will you put in place that will ensure the best use of technology and the best use of your time?
What is most important to you and how can you prioritise it?
Tips and Tricks to start you off
After reflection comes implementation. The Center for Humane Technology has a few good tips to help you take control of your life onscreen. Like:
1. Turn off all notifications that aren’t from real people,
2. Go greyscale on your phone, and
3. Delete the apps from your phone that make you waste the most time. [4]
Other things you can try to maximise your productivity and help your wellbeing are:
1. Go on a social media fast.
Choose a day to go social-media-free and stick with it. Use that time for reflection, building the relationships in your life, and being astonished at how much free time you have. You might just want to make it a weekly event.
2. Wear a watch that only tells time.
Don’t rely on your phone to give you the time. Nine out of ten times you’ll get distracted and forget the reason you picked up your phone in the first place.
3. Keep a notebook or journal handy.
Write down any important tasks, memories you don’t want to forget, ideas, what you are grateful for, etc. Anything of importance, jot it down on paper. Emphasis on paper. Not only will you remember it more, you won’t be tempted to fall into a social media vortex by making a note on your phone. You can always digitalise the information later if need be.
Finally: Make life fun for yourself.
The online world might seem easier and brighter than the real one, but it is a mere shadow of the things you can experience first-hand offscreen. Technology is amazing, but it was always meant to be a tool, not a way of life.
Todd Essig, a psychologist, had a patient who spent most of his time playing World of Warcraft. This college student’s life was in shambles and he turned to video games to escape from the shame he felt. In the report, Essig remarked that
‘his problem was not that he played WoW too much. His problem was that he lived too little.’ [5]
By being afraid of hurt and failure found in the real world, he had closed himself off from the good things life had to offer as well.
If we live every day intentionally and spend our time wisely, we will enjoy life—and the benefits of technology—so much more.
In conclusion,
· Acknowledge: Screen addiction is a problem
· Reflect: Find the ‘why.’
· Implement: Set boundaries and have a list of alternatives
· Live intentionally: Become aware that life onscreen pales in comparison to life offscreen
References
[1] S. &. A. J. Horwood, "Problematic smartphone usage and subjective and psychological well-being," Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 97, pp.44–50, 2019.
[2] C. Newport, "7 Tales Of Digital Minimalism," Spirituality & Health Magazine, vol. 22, no. 2, p. 46, 2019.
[3] T. Harris, "How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day," Youtube, Jul. 28, 2017 [Video File]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C74amJRp730.[Accessed: 05 March 2020].
[4] "Take Control," [Online]. Available: https://humanetech.com/resources/take-control/. [Accessed: 05 March 2020].
[5] T. Essig, "The addiction concept and technology: diagnosis, metaphor, or something else? a psychodynamic point of view," Journal of clinical psychology, vol. 68, no. 11, pp. 1175–1184, 2012.
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