Are your digital habits draining you? Here’s how to take back control
Feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and distracted? Chances are digital overload is to blame. Here’s how to tame your tech habits.
If you feel like you’re being bombarded with texts, alerts, notifications and pings, you’re no doubt experiencing digital overload.
Digital wellbeing and neuro-productivity researcher Dr Kristy Goodwin says smartphones are infiltrating every aspect of our lives.
“Technology has its tentacles into every part of our lives, both professionally and personally,” Dr Goodwin told The House of Wellness radio.
How digital overload is penetrating our lives
Research shows the average Australian adult will spend 17 years of their life on their phone.
“Thirty-three per cent of our waking hours we will dedicate just to our phones alone, let alone our laptops and computers,” Dr Goodwin, author of Dear Digital, We Need to Talk, says.
You don’t even need to be looking at your phone to be distracted.
A US study found smartphones can sap your attention, even when it is on silent and placed face down.
“If we could still see it, it dropped our cognitive performance by around 10 per cent,” Dr Goodwin says.
“Put bluntly, just seeing our phones can be a brain drain.”
Could you have digital dementia?
Research has found excessive screen exposure can cause chronic sensory stimulation which may increase risk of cognitive, emotional and behavioural disorders similar to those seen in adults in the early stages of dementia.
“We just can’t remember the sheer volume of information that is coming our way these days,” Dr Goodwin says.
“We often blame it on other issues like perimenopause or menopause, but the reality is we’re being digitally bombarded.
“I don’t know if anyone else feels like they’re the emoji of the head exploding.
“I feel that sums most of us up these days, because information is just constantly being thrust at us.”
How to create healthy phone habits
The good news is we can tame our tech habits by creating digital boundaries, Dr Goodwin says.
She recommends:
- Turning off any non-essential alerts.
- Bundling or batching alerts. Choose what time of the day you want your notifications coming to you, rather than having them drip-feeding through constantly.
- Creating VIP lists. When you don’t want to be distracted, put your phone on focus or do not disturb mode. Everybody gets blocked, except those on your list.
- Putting your phone, tablet or laptop somewhere you can’t see it.
- Creating a digital curfew for the whole family. Ideally switching devices off at least 60 mins before bed, and leaving them in a “digital depot” for the night.
- Being a good digital role model for your children. You can send powerful messages by enjoying regular, screen-free time, and using devices in positive ways.
Listen to the full interview with Dr Goodwin on The House of Wellness radio show.
For more tips on dealing with technology:
- Why digital hoarding is the new clutter and how to free your online life
- Why you need a digital cleanse
- Why IRL friendships are good for you in the digital age
Written by Bianca Carmona.
