Practicing ‘digital wellness’ techniques is about balancing your relationship with tech.
A phone-strapped writer gives it a go for two weeks.
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But in the last decade, my ability to focus on the page has shuddered to a halt.
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The one place where Idontstruggle to concentrate?
Am I less successful, less happy than everyone else?
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Or is my pocket supercomputer warping my self-esteem?
Something needs to change.
Thankfully, where there is a problem of mindlessness, these days,there is a mindfulness-based solution.
Google now frames the concept of digital well-being as having a balance with technology that feels right for you.
But what does that actually mean in practice?
But thats just the tip of the iceberg for research linking smartphone use with poor mental-health outcomes.
One study found excessive smartphone use to be asignificant predictor of depression in emerging young adults.
Certainly,social media, in particular, also has its own set of ills.
Its the most unfair comparison, and it puts a damper on our joy.
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So, why cant we stop reaching for our phones, anyway?
And why cant we put the damned things down?
I wouldnt be able to pay my bills and organize my kids childcare.
And I wouldnt be able to organize any real-life meetups, as all of my friends are on WhatsApp.
So, is a balance possible?
Amy Blankson, co-founder and CEO of theDigital Wellness Institute, believes so.
And that makes sense.
So, how can I manage my relationship with my smartphone, without giving it up altogether?
Thats where practicing digital wellness comes into play.
Ask yourself: Whats the opportunity cost of not being aware of what youre doing and endlessly scrolling?
Ask yourself: Whats the opportunity cost of not being aware of what youre doing and endlessly scrolling?
Other smart ways to set tech boundaries?
This helps re-center us in our own lives so that mindless scrolling becomes an afterthought.
To start, I forked out $65 for an annual subscription to an app calledBlocksite.
Every time I tried to access, I got a disapproving message instead.
Unfortunately, being completely excluded from social media did become a problem for my studies.
This time was well spent, so I know I cant quit the site completely.
Instead of turning to social media in bored or frazzled moments, I started scrolling the news instead.
Realizing I couldnt be trusted to control myself, I remembered the advice about boundaries.
When I went to bed, at least, the phone did not.
Off the bat, I found that my sleep improved.
If I woke up at night, instead of scrolling, I simply waited to doze off again.
I felt noticeably calmer and more levelheaded in the mornings.
And during the day, my phone felt less magnetic.
Throughout the course of my experiment, I also became aware of my husbands frequent phone use.
After two weeks, I truly feel like Ive made progress.
Of course, I still get bored and overwhelmed, and I still experience the urge to scroll.
This means I have to think about what access Ill need for the day and be proactive about it.
When I started researching this piece, I was pretty convinced that smartphones are generally bad.
I honestly thought Id have to give up a lot.
Blocking apps definitely have a time and a place.
But ultimately, we are the ones in charge herenot the phones.
We have to set our own rules, and we have to stick to them.
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