For the final page of the zine I thought it would be good to talk about digital detox in a way that will either warn the reader or potentially offer ways to avoid it. Feedback has suggested that I offer the tips at the end of the zine in order to keep it positive rather than negatively warning of the dangers. I have copy and pasted some of the information that i have found which I will use to influence what I decide to write on that back page.
We need to reduce our dependence on technology if
we want to keep innovating
Have you ever felt like you were too dependent on technology?
Maybe you felt a sense of anxiety when you couldn’t find your phone, or maybe
you realized you don’t know how to navigate to your friend’s house without the
help of your phone-based GPS app.
Despite the
labels that baby boomers hate technology and that millennials are obsessed with
it, the reality is that all
generations embrace digital life to some extent, though some are more cautious than others
when it comes to accepting our level of technological integration. The reality
is, technological dependence is destructive, both on an individual and on a
societal level—and we need to reject that dependence if we’re going to keep
innovating.
The dangers of technological dependence
The overuse of technology can lead to our dependence on it, in
multiple ways. These are just a few of the potential consequences, which exist
on an individual level:
1.
Anxiety and depression. The excessive use of mobile devices has been linked
to anxiety and depression, as well as other mental health problems. This could be
explained by a variety of influences. For example, the constant bombardment of
news and information can leave you feeling numb to the real world, and being
obsessed with digital interactions can leave you deprived of real-life
relationships.
2.
Impatience. Technology has also made us impatient. Knowing that most
people have 24/7 access to their social media messages or email inboxes makes
us expect replies within a few minutes. Being able to access articles on any
subject makes us less tolerant of anything that takes more than a few minutes
to learn or master.
3.
Memory. Studies
show that avid use of smartphones to take photos, videos, or notes can
impair our memory. The exact mechanism at work here isn’t known, but it’s
hypothesized that because our minds recognize that the information is being
stored elsewhere, it’s less important for us to remember it—so we don’t
dedicate the mental resources to remembering it. In other words, you know you
can always call up a list of actors in a specific movie on IMDB, so you never
bother committing that cast list to memory.
4.
Addiction. While
the exact definition and legitimacy of “technology
addiction”
is debated, it’s clear that for some people, technological dependence can
become so extreme that it causes severe anxiety whenever technology is
inaccessible. This may manifest as an addiction to social media, gaming, porn,
or any number of other tech-rooted engagements. Do note that technological
addition is an extreme version of the problem; just because you get the urge to
check your phone for notifications on a regular basis doesn’t mean you’re
addicted to it.
5.
Skills. Using
a smartphone or other technology regularly to replace or enhance a skill may
also gradually reduce our ability to access that skill. For example, if you use
a smartphone to navigate to locations in your city, you may never learn to read
a map or navigate without the aid of a GPS device.
Why the case for modern cyborgs is invalid
fact, it’s
arguable that we’re
already cyborgs.
A cyborg is an organism with both natural and cybernetic components that drive
its functionality, improving on the capabilities that either category of
components would have on their own.
For example, your phone is incapable of forming abstract
thoughts or introspecting. Your memory isn’t reliable enough to have
photo-perfect representations of past events. But together, you can view all
the details of a location you’ve visited in the past, and consider its
significance in a broader context.
In this way,
proponents of technological dependence describe cyborgism as a way of outsourcing
certain functions that we can’t otherwise generate on our own. And if that
sounds revolutionary, consider that we’ve been using this for centuries; books,
for example, are a way for us to commit long swaths of information to
multi-generational permanence—a feat that would be impossible, given our
natural cognitive limitations.
Would you criticize someone for being dependent on a book or
journal to house their memories the same way you’d criticize them for taking
too many smartphone photos?
The problem with this viewpoint is that it neglects the sheer
power of modern technology. The scale at which we’ve developed in the past
decade is fundamentally unlike the trajectory of past generations.
Instead of introducing a gradual improvement or iterative form
of assistance, we’re overwriting entire functions of our brains and bodies. As
a metaphor, shoes serve to protect your feet from the dangers of walking on
questionable terrain, but if you rely on a wheelchair when you don’t truly need
one, your leg muscles would eventually atrophy.
The role of technological dependence on
innovation
We also need to consider the role that our technological
dependence could have on innovation, and the progression of our societal
capabilities. If we become wholly dependent on certain types of technology, to
the point where we’re unable to live comfortably without them, we pigeonhole
ourselves into using variations of that technology.
For example, if we become too dependent on smartphones, our line
of technological progression will, for an extended period of time, force us to
come up with smaller, faster, and more convenient smartphones, rather than
innovating something entirely novel.
Take, for
example, an anecdote from history; in 1894, people relied on horses for
transportation, with metropolitan areas boasting
50,000 or more horses. All those horses came with problems, such as manure, horse
corpses, diseases, and speed problems. Relying on straightforward innovation,
people would have continued coming up with better ways to manage horses, such
as automated systems for cleaning manure or training programs to make horses
faster—rather than inventing the automobile (which is what ultimately
transpired).
In other words, depending too much on one of today’s
technologies blinds us to future, better technologies.
Finding the balance: individuals and groups
The cost of becoming dependent on technology, at its most
extreme, is our mental health, our cognitive capabilities, and the future of
innovation. So what can we do to mitigate our dependence on technology, both as
individuals and as groups?
I’m not saying we need to outlaw technology, or deliberately
limit our use of new technologies that have the potential to significantly
improve our lives. But we do need to find a balance.
As an individual, that means limiting the time you spend
engaging with technology, and relying on your own cognitive capabilities as
much as possible. In a group context, it means resisting the temptation to
accept any technology as a given, or as the new norm.
We need to acknowledge the destructive and limiting potential of
technological dependence without demonizing technology altogether, and we need
to work together to accomplish this.
In recent years, our reliance on our mobile devices
has skyrocketed as an increasingly large number of applications are developed.
Little pieces of our lives are outsourced to our smartphones in the name
of efficiency and enhanced communication. Despite all of this, here are
16 reasons reduced mobile dependance can benefit your life.
1. To be engaged in
conversation
You are never really present when your mind is
anticipating the vibration or ping of an expected text message. Good
conversation is found when two people are invested in the moment, devoting
their time and attention to the other.
2. To create more
than you consume
Mobile phones are more often a product of
consumption rather than creation. Granted, there are exceptions for those rare
individuals who produce stunning mobile photography or well-crafted written
stories. However, the vast majority of casual creators are using our phones for
intake. If we’re consuming, we aren’t creating. At some point, you need to
break away and put all of that knowledge to use.
3. To relieve the
mental burden
Reducing clutter–physical, spiritual, mental or
otherwise–relieves a huge burden on your mind. Every item you get rid of
is an item your mind doesn’t have to keep up with.
4. To break your
addiction
Have you ever noticed those people who pull out
their phone, unlock it and tap through a few apps looking for notifications
before locking it again? And then they do it all again a couple of minutes
later. Though we might not recognize it, much of our society is addicted to
their mobile phones. It’s no surprise–we turn to our devices for shopping,
directions, communication and many other conveniences of life.
5. To find value in
yourself
Texts, tweets, emails, likes…they have become a
social currency putting a price on attention and worth. Breaking away from that
will help you find value in yourself, not in your notifications.
6. To reduce
distractions
Two hours of uninterrupted time is far more
productive than three hours split up into six half-hour blocks throughout the
day. Each time we have to re-begin our process, we have to find that flow all
over again. This takes up valuable, creative time. Turning off the
notifications cuts down on the amount of distractions and interruptions in our
work period.
7. To free up more
time
We spend approximately two hours on our mobile
devices each day. If we cut that down to 30 minutes a day, we’re giving
ourselves over 22 full days a year of time we could spend on projects. Of
course, this obviously doesn’t apply if you’re a mobile phone technician or
something.
8. To be aware
Awareness has a lot more to do with your mental
state than simply lifting your eyes off your screen, but getting your head up
is a start. Being “in the moment” is often achieved simply be taking notice of
your surroundings and being acutely aware of your senses. Take out
the earbuds, turn off the notifications, and be present.
9. To strengthen
your mind
It is incredible how much of our life references
our mobile devices. When we need to solve a math problem, we pull out the
calculator app. When we need to get directions, we pull out the map app.
When we need to be entertained we pull up Facebook or Twitter or the latest
mobile game craze. Limiting your interactions with your phone strengthens your
mind by forcing you to tackle daily problems yourself. Math, directions,
entertainment… join the DIY generation.
10. To reduce petty
communication and force deep face-to-face interaction
Nothing replaces in-person interactions–not
text, a phone call, or even Skype. Removing the digital barrier to
interactions cultivates greater opportunity for face-to-face communication with
others.
11. To separate
work life from home life
Stories are rampant of the spouse who gets a phone
call or email concerning work after he or she has left the office. Perhaps
it interrupts dinner with your wife or a relaxing evening with your husband.
The lines have been blurred, in large part, by the accessibility of
colleagues after-hours. Managers know that a phone call or an email
notification will catch the employee’s attention. By limiting mobile
usage, you mute the accessibility and enact a very real boundary between
work and home life.
12. To reduce drama
I can’t tell you how often I have heard people
complain or whine about the social media posts in their feed. But they don’t
stop looking for more. Social media is a drama magnet, encouraging people to
hash out controversial issues through a limited medium which often results in
irritation, gossip or worse. Just stop going where the drama is.
13. To learn to
love books again
Books hold a wonder that few, if any, mediums
possess–the stories draw you in for a long-form journey that our
short attention span culture does not seem to fully appreciate any
more. Moving away from the screen gives you more incentive to re-discover
the magic of a good book.
14. To strengthen
your eyes
Though the facts are widespread, it is evident that
long amounts of time in front of a screen can weaken your eyes. Be sure to
catch some off-screen time when you can!
15. To lengthen
your attention span
News alerts, 140-character tweets, 500-word blog
posts and text messages have all contributed to the shortened attention
span. We want soundbites now, which causes us to miss out on some of the
long-form content. I recently read Surprised by Joyby C.S.
Lewis, and though I had to train myself to enjoy a story that took 90% of the
book to set up, the ending was well worth the investment.
16. To force you to
think/plan ahead
What if you didn’t have a way to call if you broke
down? What if you didn’t know how to reroute if you got lost? What if
you weren’t able to Google something on the spot? I believe the ease and
availability of the internet and smartphones has given way to a culture
that doesn’t plan ahead anymore. Problems are often dealt with as
they come up when, perhaps with a little forward-thinking, they could have been
avoided in the first place.
Remove temptations
We know that when you decide
to start a healthy eating regime you’d clear your kitchen and fridge of all
unhealthy options, and we understand that that’s going to be impossible for
technology. After all, you probably use it every day, like we do. So what we
suggest is that you start thinking now of a good place to put your phone and
tablet when you’re spending time offline during the 30 day challenge. It could
be in a designated drawer, a cupboard, another room, or simply out of sight in
your bag. It’s going to be a lot easier for you carrying out the challenges if
your smartphone simply isn’t visible. Start thinking now of that ‘safe’ place.
Buy an alarm clock
Honestly, we say
this so often we feel like a cracked record but if there was only one digital detox tip we could give you it would
be this! So often phones are encroaching on our rest and sleep time because
they’re in our bedrooms. And they’re in our bedrooms because we use them as
alarm clocks. So do yourself a favour and buy a cheap one before you start the
challenge.
"You don't need a
$400 phone to be your alarm clock," Greenfield says. A cheapo alarm clock
will work just fine (or the very cool cube one
pictured above from Uncommon Goods).
Keeping your phone away from where you're sleeping means that you don't have
easy access to it before you go to sleep or right after you get up. This will
make falling asleep easier... and it'll also make it easier to get out of bed
and on with your day in the mornings. "Before you go to bed and after you
wake up, you buy yourself between ten minutes and half an hour of time – or
longer — without your phone," Felix says.
Stop sleeping with it
This is a biggie. I bet you’d never consider
sleeping in one room while your phone charges in another. I’d also place bets
that you charge it near your head, or on the nightstand next to you.
The thing is, you’re sleeping, right? So why do you
need to have it near you?
The convenience of it is exactly what’s holding your
addiction. When you physically remove it from your presence, you voluntarily
stop yourself from needing it 24/7. And when you wake up, you’ll actually be
more inclined to get out of bed and start the day, rather than lay there to
immediately catch up on everything you missed.
Take Part in a No-Text Weekend
If you can’t part with your phone for any second,
how about let’s revamp how we use it? Before texting, talking over the phone
was a convenient way to have a real, impactful conversation with someone. And
it still is!
So, how about taking a pledge one weekend or once a
week (or, take part in the new movement September 23
through 25)
to resort to any form of communicating besides texting. And yes, Facebook
Messenger and WhatsApp are included. Challenge yourself to meet in person, or
schedule plans in advance so you don’t have to text back and forth about it.
Like No-Text Weekend’s website says, “Choose forks over phones at dinner” for
once—you won’t regret it.
Go for Paper
Apps are great, especially when you’re trying to
balance a billion activities. But ask yourself if you’re missing out on
opportunities to switch over to pen and paper.
Put it into
Perspective
The best way to break any addiction is to get to and
address the root of the problem. What are you so afraid of missing on your
phone? What are you waiting for? What are you most anxious about?
Make these fears easier on yourself—if you’re
waiting on an important email, set an OOO message that makes it clear how to
reach you if it’s urgent. If you’re afraid of missing out on all the latest
stories and updates, set up a reader like Feedly that tracks your favorite
outlets for you and has them all waiting for you when your phone’s back in your
hand.
Then, think about the trade-off: Would you rather
bury your nose in your phone, or catch up with your friends over lunch? Would
you rather read through those email newsletters, or grab a drink with a former
colleague? Would you rather scroll mindlessly through Instagram, or go for a
run? It’s not that you can’t do both, but when you look at it like this, the
decision to put your phone down becomes much easier.
Breaking your dependence doesn’t mean you have to throw
out all your gadgets. It’s about monitoring yourself and making choices. Those
text messages and alerts might make you happy in the moment, but living a
balanced life will make you happier all the time.
Make a to-do list of real things you
want to do during the day — and don't check email, Facebook, or Instagram until
it's done.
Take a social media vow of silence for a
set amount of time and make it a recurring event.
Take a set amount of time — an afternoon, a day, a
weekend — and vow that you won't post anything to social media during that
period. Then make a habit out of it.
It might feel hard or lonely at first, but that's
actually part of the process or unlearning potentially damaging behaviours.
"There's this idea that if other people don't know you're doing something,
it has no value," Greenfield says. And that's a major problem, because it
means we spend more and more time documenting what we're doing, instead of
living our lives. "When you become an observer of the experience, rather
than an experiencer of the experience… you're not really
present," he says. Research backs that up: You'll be less likely to
remember things if you spend the whole time taking pictures, rather than taking
it all in.
Carry a book with you. Or a
magazine!
Put your phone on silent before
every meal... and then put it away so that you can't see it and aren't tempted
to look at it.
This is just good manners. And it
also forces you to connect better with the people around you. Win-win!
"What the smartphone [at the table] does is it conveys to everyone you're
with that you're not really there," Greenfield says. "You're
physically there but psychologically you're not."
Don't be that person.
Be aware that you might actually
experience symptoms of withdrawal. Seriously.
This is just a heads up, so if
you do experience it you don't feel like you're going crazy (and knowing about
it might help you power through).
In his research, Greenfield found
that about 50% of survey respondents exhibited signs of withdrawal when they accidentally
left their phones behind, or when their phones weren't working. Signs of
withdrawal can be feeling agitated, upset, distracted, and incredibly stressed
out about the lack of connectivity.
And it makes a lot of sense, if
you think about it. Greenfield says your compulsive cell phone behavior is
basically created by a Pavlovian conditioning system — when you hear the ding
of a text message or new email, or even when you reach into your back pocket to
take your phone out to look at it, you know that there’s a possibility that
something great could happen. Not every time, but sometimes. And when something
great does happen, your brain gives you a hit of dopamine and you experience
actual pleasure. And then you begin to crave that pleasure.
And then your cell phone behaviors can begin to look a bit… compulsive.
And then when you don't have
your cell phone around, you lose that source of pleasure. Cue the anxiety!
Millennials
The millennial generation are experiencing a well-known burnout from the pressure of always having to achieve, be productive and essentially build themselves as individuals. The campaign aims to bring awareness to our phone reliance and how we will subsequently burn out if we do not SWITCH OFF and take some important downtime, guilt free.
We like to have multiple stimuli available at all time as a protection against boredom and to achieve the feeling of ultimate productivity. The idea of having too many tabs open on a digital device feeds into the idea that our brain too cannot multitask as well as we think and that the guilt in relation to constantly feeling productive needs to be shown to be a problem - downtime is just as important as a high level of productivity.
"Cognitive overload is a big problem with internet use, there is so much going on in cyberspace that our mind tends to go numb, we lose the ability to carry on conversations face-to-face." Suller
"Energy flowing in too many directions makes us ungrounded, and unfocused."
Dr. Elizabeth Trattner
57% of smartphone users expect friends and family to respond to messages immediately or at least within a few minutes.
Switch is a display typeface for content based on productivity, screen time and general awareness about digital reliance and the well-known guilty feeling of taking some downtime. The typeface design illustrates the millennial generations reliance on technology - seeing it as a means of productivity, a distraction from needing to ever feel boredom and the reassurance that they are constantly 'connected'.
The typeface design is a visual representation of these tabs being open with the aim to create an overwhelming feeling. The even spacing of the full letterforms still visually lacks a sense of uniformity and organisation as the filled parts of the letters become the focus and appear to be unevenly kerned. This essentially demonstrates the sporadic amounts of attention we are capable of as we attempt to switch between tasks and stimuli.
"Our computers/phones have become an extension of our brain. They have become an adjunct to our memory, or our creative source. The tabs are another version of our working memory. We treat our computers as if they have an unlimited capacity, just like we treat our brain."
Marc Hekster
A report by Association for Psychological Science looked at the rise in depression and suicide in adolescents. It was found that teens who spent more time on smartphones were 'more likely to report mental issues' than those who spent more time on 'non-screen' activities like sport, and socialising.
THE BREAK UP
KICK YOUR PHONE OUT OF BED
PRIORITISE YOUR OWN LIFE
FIND ANOTHER TIME FILLER
FORKS NOT PHONES
DONíT PAY ATTENTION TO ITS CRIES FOR ATTENTION
SPEND LESS TIME TOGETHER
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