UNPLUG
Unplug from Technology (from Time to Time) : Blog
Sonja Velkavrh
TV, computers, smartphones, the web ... they all play a significant role in our life. Some people have become downright addicted. Most of us come home from a sedentary job to lead a sedentary life. Even doctors complain that their work has been reduced to writing diagnoses and reporting. After all, we live in the digital age.
Can you name one person that doesn’t have a smartphone? Nowadays, even toddlers and small kids want to have smartphones, which is not at all surprising. They want what they see ‒ and every day they see their parents and older siblings holding a smartphone in front of their face. Of course, they ask themselves “Why can’t I have it then?” Wouldn’t you?
When we really think about it, we start to question our own relationship towards our smartphone. It occupies every single minute of our day, and we don’t have any time left to truly THINK. We take it everywhere and use it all the time. Emails, messages, social networks, instant chats, browsing, taking photographs, reading, writing ... you name it. Social media are infinite sources of information that might interest us, give us new knowledge, and new questions to find answers to. Which is great! But looking at happy pictures of our friends, reading interesting blogs and funny tweets makes us actually quite unhappy. “Why can’t I feel such happiness? Why can’t I write such an amazing blog? I wish people would like my posts more. I’ll never travel to this beautiful island.” Et cetera, et cetera. You get the idea, right? This is just another means for our subconscious demon to torture us without any actual cause. It fills us with jealousy, loneliness, low self-esteem, and a feeling of worthlessness. We all have those feelings somewhere deep down. Some feel it more, some less, some frequently, and some rarely. On one hand, all these negative emotions are there to let us know that it’s time to change, which is good. But being exposed to them every single day can be detrimental. We subconsciously feed off these negative feelings and eventually we hit the wall. We begin to have an unhealthy relationship with them. So we have to step aside and recognise the type of useless information that may affect our feelings and make us lose our positive outlook in life.
Research has shown that smartphone use is directly related to anxiety. Have you noticed the drastic growth of depression and anxiety in our society? We just want to understand. But maybe the triggers are all wrong so they take us to the wrong place. Anxiety and depression seem to have become global pandemics. And it frightens us, but we don’t really know how to conquer them. “I won’t let this happen to me,” is a step in the right direction, but in order to do this we must assume critical distance and relieve stress that has become our constant companion.
This should be our motivation, our goal to put smartphones aside when we come home; to talk to the person sitting next to us, rather than the one on the other side of the planet. Do your kids a favour and stop your pointless scrolling on Facebook when they are around. Don’t you feel embarrassed on the bus? Wouldn’t you rather read a good book and set an example? Get rid of the feeling that you’ll miss something if you leave your phone on the table for two seconds. Researches show that people who spend most of their time online feel like they’re missing something important when they are disconnected. We even have a name for this phenomenon: the fear of missing out, or FoMO.
With smartphones we are in constant connection to our social and professional network, but this can lead to obsessive-compulsive checking of new emails and posts, which can result in the state of constant fear of missing an opportunity. And there you have it. Before you know it, you become anxious for no reason … and one further step away from your true self.
Recognise the impact your phone has on you, and establish balance. If we have to be connected all the time, we might as well take some time to disconnect. Why? To stay healthy. To find a peace of mind.
Can you name one person that doesn’t have a smartphone? Nowadays, even toddlers and small kids want to have smartphones, which is not at all surprising. They want what they see ‒ and every day they see their parents and older siblings holding a smartphone in front of their face. Of course, they ask themselves “Why can’t I have it then?” Wouldn’t you?
When we really think about it, we start to question our own relationship towards our smartphone. It occupies every single minute of our day, and we don’t have any time left to truly THINK. We take it everywhere and use it all the time. Emails, messages, social networks, instant chats, browsing, taking photographs, reading, writing ... you name it. Social media are infinite sources of information that might interest us, give us new knowledge, and new questions to find answers to. Which is great! But looking at happy pictures of our friends, reading interesting blogs and funny tweets makes us actually quite unhappy. “Why can’t I feel such happiness? Why can’t I write such an amazing blog? I wish people would like my posts more. I’ll never travel to this beautiful island.” Et cetera, et cetera. You get the idea, right? This is just another means for our subconscious demon to torture us without any actual cause. It fills us with jealousy, loneliness, low self-esteem, and a feeling of worthlessness. We all have those feelings somewhere deep down. Some feel it more, some less, some frequently, and some rarely. On one hand, all these negative emotions are there to let us know that it’s time to change, which is good. But being exposed to them every single day can be detrimental. We subconsciously feed off these negative feelings and eventually we hit the wall. We begin to have an unhealthy relationship with them. So we have to step aside and recognise the type of useless information that may affect our feelings and make us lose our positive outlook in life.
Research has shown that smartphone use is directly related to anxiety. Have you noticed the drastic growth of depression and anxiety in our society? We just want to understand. But maybe the triggers are all wrong so they take us to the wrong place. Anxiety and depression seem to have become global pandemics. And it frightens us, but we don’t really know how to conquer them. “I won’t let this happen to me,” is a step in the right direction, but in order to do this we must assume critical distance and relieve stress that has become our constant companion.
This should be our motivation, our goal to put smartphones aside when we come home; to talk to the person sitting next to us, rather than the one on the other side of the planet. Do your kids a favour and stop your pointless scrolling on Facebook when they are around. Don’t you feel embarrassed on the bus? Wouldn’t you rather read a good book and set an example? Get rid of the feeling that you’ll miss something if you leave your phone on the table for two seconds. Researches show that people who spend most of their time online feel like they’re missing something important when they are disconnected. We even have a name for this phenomenon: the fear of missing out, or FoMO.
With smartphones we are in constant connection to our social and professional network, but this can lead to obsessive-compulsive checking of new emails and posts, which can result in the state of constant fear of missing an opportunity. And there you have it. Before you know it, you become anxious for no reason … and one further step away from your true self.
Recognise the impact your phone has on you, and establish balance. If we have to be connected all the time, we might as well take some time to disconnect. Why? To stay healthy. To find a peace of mind.