Digital Detox
You’re standing among a group of people you don’t know while waiting for a friend. Instead of engaging in a conversation, you reach for your phone. You’re sitting in traffic, your mind wanders, and you pick up your phone. You’re working on homework, and you feel like you need a brain break, so you open your phone. You remember you need to remind a friend or co-worker about a project. Instead of having a face-to-face conversation, you shoot them a quick text. Twenty minutes after you hit send, you realize that you have been scrolling through social media the whole time.
If any of these are remotely close to sounding like you. You’re addicted to your digital device. In fact, if you have a device, you’re likely addicted. Our phones are actually designed to release the same chemical reaction in our brains as other addictions like gambling. Constant scrolling is designed to give our brains a rush of dopamine--the chemical responsible for pleasure. The release of dopamine creates a habit. Too much, and you’re addicted.
The dopamine rush is the same reason you keep checking for new social media posts. The same reason you open your phone for every single notification. The same reason you feel the phantom buzzing effect in your pocket (that feeling your phone is vibrating even when it isn’t). And the same reason you hate seeing the little red circles next to an app. You just need to clear it. All of these are part of the dopamine effect in your brain.
But by now, most of us already know that. If not, well, you do now. What you might not realize is how much those little devices impact how we interact with the “real” non-digital world. Our addiction to smartphones has dramatically altered how we relate to people, what a healthy relationship looks like, and how we cope with the real world. Checking your phone in the middle of a conversation, texting another person who is in the same room. Ignoring friends and loved ones because you have been lured into a digital reality instead of engaging in actual reality. These might seem minor and even a little humorous. But the hard truth is that these behaviors are dangerous to our relationships and our mental health because our phones have become an unhealthy coping mechanism. They have become the wrong kind of hobby.
So the challenge today is simple. Focus on real people in the real world. Turn off notifications when you are in a meeting, classroom, or hanging with friends. Be present at that moment. Not connected to your device. When you’re home, leave the phone in a specific location. If it’s not near you, you’ll be less tempted to open it and start down the rabbit hole of endless scrolling. Hobbies are great. They are uniquely designed to engage our minds in something different–something that grows us. But allowing the digital reality to help us cope with the physical creates more harm than good.
A few simple (and easy) adjustments can make a world of difference for your mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Challenges/Points:
In an age of information and digital distractions, it’s more than likely you are addicted to your device.
The rush you get from swiping through your apps is the same rush a person receives from other addictions like alcohol, gambling, or drugs.
Our phones have created the wrong kind of hobby, one that is damaging instead of encouraging.
Questions:
Before reading this, do you feel you were addicted to using your device? Why or why not?
Do you find yourself looking at your phone while talking with another person, in class, or in a meeting?
Who do you know that can help you to be present and not connected to your device?
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