Skip to main content

Why Taking a Technology Fast is Good for You




Technology allows you to multitask – you are in a meeting but also watching for incoming texts from your spouse, or you are finishing a document while keeping an eye for incoming emails. Some workplaces expect you to be on top of your in-box at all times of the day. And then there is playing catch-up with the “likes” and “profile updates” on the social networking sites. One study found that the more people engaged in media multitasking, the higher their depression and anxiety levels tended to be (Becker et al., 2013). Use of social networking sites has also been associated with lower life satisfaction and worse mental health. This may stem from detraction from face-to-face relationships, reduced investment in meaningful activities, increased sedentary behavior, internet addiction, and erosion of self-esteem through unfavorable social comparisons (Shakya & Christakis, 2017). In addition, individuals prone for depression, while using social media sites, are more likely to negatively perceive the quality of an interaction, engage in frequent social comparison, display problematic or addictive social networking site use, and tend to ruminate more. These behaviors in turn may continue to maintain or exacerbate depression (Seabrook et al., 2016). 

Besides depression, other health conditions associated with problematic smartphone use include anxiety, risk of sedentary behavior (leading to weight gain and reduced exercise), carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic neck pain, increased headaches, accidents, and poor sleep quality (Ratan et al., 2021).

To summarize, technological advancements that keep you wired and connected have a baneful effect on your well-being. It is, therefore, a no-brainer to give yourself electronic time-outs. Use this no-screen time to let your mind rest and relax. Set your smartphone aside for a couple of hours every evening and keep your weekends email free. Turn off or batch the app notifications – the pings and prods you get to check your apps. These notifications can be habit-forming because they condition your brain to respond to an external trigger (the ping) by pairing it with a rewarding experience (temporary relief of boredom, uncertainty, insecurity, anxiety, etc.). Other helpful ways to disconnect from your smartphone as suggested by an article in Time include the following (Haupt, 2022):
  • Hide your social media apps in one folder that is not displayed on your home screen
  • Keep your smartphone facedown or a bit out of reach
  • Make it less easy to unlock, especially by using a passcode instead of Face ID
  • Gray out the display screen to make it less appealing
  • Make a list of what you want to use your smartphone for and stick to it
When you are not distracted by notifications, tweets, texts, or emails and are mindful about the task on hand, you will realize that everything becomes joyful, even the mundane because you are not getting stressed by the compulsive checking behavior.

To learn more about evidence-based self-management techniques that promote mental health and well-being, check out Dr. Duggal's Author Page.

HARPREET S. DUGGAL, MD, FAPA

REFERENCES

Becker, M. W., Alzahabi, R., & Hopwood, C. J. (2013). Media multitasking is associated with symptoms of depression and social anxiety. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, 16(2), 132-135.

Haupt, A (2022). Why taking a phone break is so good for you. Time, October24/October 31, 18.

Ratan, Z. A., Parrish, A., Zaman, S. B., Alotaibi, M. S., & Hosseinzadeh, H. (2021). Smartphone addiction and associated health outcomes in adult populations: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 12257.

Seabrook, E. M., Kern, M. L., & Rickard, N. S. (2016). Social networking sites, depression, and anxiety: a systematic review. JMIR Mental Health, 3(4), e50.

Shakya, H. B., & Christakis, N. A. (2017). Association of Facebook use with compromised well-being: a longitudinal study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 185(3), 203-211.







Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Value-Based Goals: The Antidote for “Success Depression”

A disconnect between your present accomplishments and your core values may make you suffer from success depression  wherein despite “having it all” (e.g., successful career, stable relationships, healthy children, etc.), you still struggle with depression and view your accomplishments as hollow (Zettle, 2007). The cure for this malaise is to clarify your core values and have goals and actions that are driven by these values. Psychotherapist Russ Harris describes values as our heart’s deepest desires for the way we want to interact with the world, other people, and ourselves. They are what we want to stand for in life, how we want to behave, what sort of person we want to be, and what sort of strengths and qualities we want to develop (Harris, 2009). Values are subjective; what one may consider as a value (e.g., being famous) may be considered as being cocky by another person. Moreover, values do change with time. For instance, you may value social popularity and raising a fa...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Poor Listening Styles to Avoid

When we talk about communication, we mostly focus on speaking, writing, and reading. Listening is seldom emphasized as a primary form of communication, even though listening enables us to satisfy an individual’s deep psychological needs – to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, and to be appreciated (Covey, 2020). We mostly listen not to understand but to prepare response, judge, or interpret information through our own motives and frame of reference. These poor listening styles can be subsumed under these 10 categories (Covey 2014, Harvard Business Review Press, 2019): 1. Spacing out or ignoring is when you zone out because you are too preoccupied with your own thoughts. This does happen to all of us, but you don’t want to be labelled as a spacey person if this keeps happening to you.  2. Pretend or removed listening is where you may be multitasking and give the speaker the impression that you are paying attention using fillers like “yeah,” uh-huh,” “right,” “cool” or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are You Suffering from Loneliness?

What is loneliness? Loneliness is a fundamental aspect of life; at some point, everyone will experience it to varying degrees. Even though it is recognized as a public health concern (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023), there is still a need for more discussion about what the experience of loneliness entails and how to recognize it in oneself or others. For starters, loneliness is the distressing feeling you experience when there is a discrepancy between the interpersonal relationships you wish to have and those you currently have (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). It is not the number or frequency of social contacts but your subjective appraisal of the quality of relationships and the satisfaction with the relationships that influences loneliness (Heinrich & Gullone, 2006). Moreover, loneliness is not synonymous with social isolation, nor is it an inevitable consequence of being alone. You can be in the company of others and still experience loneliness, whereas you may not feel...
Post a Comment
Read more