Getting enough digital downtime? Looking for ways to bring a bit more real world balance back into your day? Here are three steps to ensure that the online world is improving your life, not running it…
How much time do you spend online? Many of us aren’t particularly conscious of the hours we clock up looking at our screens; whether that’s logging in to check out the news in the morning, trading messages with friends during the day or scrolling Twitter while watching Netflix to wind down in the evening.
But if you’re not careful, the online rabbit-hole can suck you in so far that it becomes tough to maintain any balance with your off-screen life. If you have a job that also requires you to be online, or at least aware of your phone, most of the day, you might find that you never properly get a chance to unplug.
There are a lot of benefits to the online world. Could our grandparents have imagined being able to chat free of charge to people anywhere in the world, buy a new outfit without getting out of bed, or conduct our working lives from our kitchen tables if we wanted to? But too much of it can leave you feeling a bit wrung out and disconnected. There’s a growing movement towards digital mindfulness and wellness that’s designed to encourage people to switch off a little more and switch on to the rest of their lives.
It’s not about giving up your phone or other devices entirely. For many of us that’s not something we could do even if we wanted to. But it’s about putting some boundaries around their use, being purposeful in how they fit into our lives, and making sure they don’t start taking over.
Here are three tips to think about to give yourself a digital wellness boost
Stop and think: Is this adding to my life?
We’re so used to crediting our smartphones with all the conveniences of modern life that we often don’t look critically at our online use
But if you’re starting to question your connectivity, a good place to start could be how your online habits make you feel. Which bits enhance the rest of your life, and what actually dampens your mood?
It can be easy for Facebook to start to feel a bit like a competition that it’s impossible to win. Big news events can turn into anxiety fests on Twitter.
Instead of sticking to your habitual use because it’s become so ingrained as what you do, run a stocktake of what you do online and what you really enjoy. If you work out that you like a particular app because of the community it gives you, for example, see if you can find other ways online to nurture and expand that – and cutback on the stuff that isn’t giving you the same joy.
Is it taking over all your time?
With your phone in your pocket or handbag, it’s easy to fall into the digital world every chance you get.Waiting in a supermarket line? Check your messages. In a traffic jam? Start scrolling your newsfeed or checking your emails. But that feeling of being always connected can be draining and alienating. Try to set some boundaries around the times at which you’ll be online and when you’ll carve out some device-free space to talk to people in person, focus on the task at hand or just today dream, without the help of a screen.
Studies have shown that having your phone close by when you’re spending time with a friend or family member, even if you’re zoning out and just watching television together, can make you feel less close to them.
You could set some rules such as not using your devices in certain areas of your house or at certain times of day or only for a set amount of time on particular apps.Check which apps are sending you notifications that keep sucking you in – you can often turn these off.
Be conscious of how it works
Social media in particular is designed to hook you and keep you there, for advertisers to promote their wares to you.
But if you’re conscious of how algorithms work, and why particular platforms might be showing you messages, alerts or content, you may be able to examine them more critically and disengage more easily.
One of the most common examples of this at work is when you read a particular article while logged in toFacebook and it then shows you more and more content of the same sort. In the worst case, that can lead to people believing misinformation or ending up with a skewed and one-sided view of an issue, believing the whole world feels the same way they do.
Work out independently which media sites you trust and go direct to them for your news as much as you can – and apply a healthy dose of cynicism to any ads you see popping up again and again.
The online world is a huge resource, but users feel happier and healthier when it’s them in control of it – rather than the other way around.
Disclaimer: The content provided in this article is intended as an overview and as general information only. While care is taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information provided is subject to continuous change and may not reflect current developments or address your situation Before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article, please use your discretion and seek independent guidance.
