Digital Diets
Like any reasonable young adult, I have no concerns whatsoever about my reliance on technology or unhealthy Internet habits. By which I mean, I have no concern about my overall health because apparently nothing has consequences…
Ok, of course I worry about my reliance on technology and my unhealthy internet habits. But to be honest, I try not to think about it too much which in turn maybe isn’t the healthiest approach. I’ll blame my frontal lobe. In all seriousness, I think about my technology use almost daily and since the latest couple updates to the iPhone, every Sunday I get a notification about my weekly screen-time stats. Those stats are not something I am proud of, and ever since March when some big global occurrence happened (not sure what that was) that caused me to stay home all the time and refrain from in person social interactions, those numbers just jumped. Over the summer, the stats decreased a bit but it only picked up when school started again. At first I was confused about this because I am a studious student who spends practically all of her free time doing homework. And then I realized… Because for some reason social interactions came to a halt, that meant that in person classes also did as well which meant that I relied on my laptop like food. Trust me, if I could, I would do in person classes again in a heartbeat but that isn’t the safest option right now.
Spending all day on my laptop or my phone has caused me a lot of stress. I think any young kid’s ideas about being on their tablets all day is like a dream, but I bet that nowadays they might be quicker to rethink this. Not only do I have my classes on Zoom, I have to turn in all my assignments on my computer. As an English major, it used to be that I just turned in papers online, but now I literally turn everything in from discussions to annotations to simple worksheets. All of the schoolwork also makes it so that I am more tired and less willing to interact socially with friends. Suddenly, texting isn’t just a nice break and excuse to catch up with my friends. It just becomes another part or task on my to do list that involves yet another use of my tablet or phone.
One way that I try to reduce any stress or anxiety that I may have due to my excessive use of technology is that I try my best to limit technology and homework at nighttime. Blue light is a real problem when it comes to trying to fall asleep at night, and like any young person I need my sleep! Sleep is important for everyone. If I really want to be on my phone, I try to make sure it is only for texting or reading on my Nook or Libby app. Since high school, I honestly think that this has helped a great deal. I also set my phone to “do not disturb” after 10pm and have it set so that only my immediate family members and close friends can text me and I get notified. This has helped to decrease any negative distractions that digital technologies may play in my life. Technology is changing so rapidly all of the time, so staying up to date with my mental health when it comes to tech is important and is something that we should all be aware of. Diets aren’t just for food after all…
