By Health & Wellness Editor Kathy Whelan
Do you ever catch yourself glancing at your phone during meals, conversations or meetings? When you’re upset, do you sometimes use your phone to soothe yourself? Do you use it to cope with boredom? Do peoples’ social media posts leave you feeling envious or sad? If any of this is so, you are not alone.
In the 2020 Netflix film The Social Dilemma, Americans are described as “hopelessly addicted” to technology. Others have observed our “popcorn brain,” a mental state characterized by scattered thoughts, fragmented attention and minds that jump quickly from one thought to another like popcorn kernels in a heated pot.
This is a serious matter for our health. Digital distraction can lead to sleep deprivation and sedentariness, which may cause problems in our physical health. Heavy social media use is linked to increased rates of anxiety and depression due to the negative effects of social comparison and FOMO, the fear of missing out on social activities. And our digital habits can erode the feeling of life satisfaction that gives us a sense of wellbeing, which is increasingly seen as crucial to whole health.
Some forms of addiction – to tobacco or alcohol, for example – can be handled by giving up the addictive substance altogether. But technology is different because it benefits us in so many ways. It allows us to communicate quickly and broadly and puts research literally at our fingertips. Sometimes, as when it connects individuals seeking organ transplants with potential donors, it is even lifesaving. It can be hard to live with technology, but life would be difficult without it.
As more is learned about technology’s detrimental effects, generational differences have emerged. Not having grown up with technology, baby boomers may feel less affected than younger people. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, focuses his concerns on Gen Z – those born after 1995 – as the first group to grow up in a “phone-based childhood.”
Regardless of generational differences, this is something everyone should consider. Even if our digital habits are of little concern to us, we should think about them as parents, grandparents, teachers or other role models because we are all affected by the habits of others. And we should care about the digital health of our society as a whole. By practicing a thoughtful approach to technology, we can make a difference not only in our own lives but in the lives of those around us.
To become more aware of our own habits, we should take time – away from our devices – for self-reflection. We need to be honest with ourselves as we closely examine each of our digital habits with questions like these: How does this habit make me feel? Is it serving me well or not? Is it adding to the quality of my life or taking away from it? For example, does scrolling on my phone at night interfere with my sleep, affecting my mood, productivity and behavior the next day? Does viewing others’ social media posts diminish my self-confidence? Am I using my phone to dodge difficult emotions instead of facing them? Does glancing at my phone while with others harm my relationships?
Next, we need to answer a crucial question: Why does any of this matter to me? Maybe we want to be as effective as possible at work. Perhaps we want to be the best parent, partner, grandparent or friend we can be. Or we may simply want our behavior to bring something of value to the world. The answer to this question provides motivation.
When we identify a habit we would like to change, we should shape a goal specific enough that we’ll know success when we see it. For example, “I will check my phone for the last time at 8:00 pm every day.” Like any kind of change in our health, we should work on one goal at a time, starting with something we feel reasonably confident of achieving. Then we should pursue it in small steps – “I’ll start by doing this every Monday” – until, with repetition, a new habit is formed.
Taking the time to engage in this work will help ensure that we – not our digital devices – are in charge so we get what we need from them and leave the rest behind. This will improve not only our own health but that of those around us. As others see us taking this thoughtful approach, we will become part of the solution instead of being part of the digital problem.
Kathy Whelan left a successful Wall Street legal career when her doctor warned that her lifestyle of overwork and lack of self-care were not sustainable. She had always been interested in the relationship between lifestyle and health, so eventually Kathy returned to her undergraduate alma mater Duke University to become a certified Integrative Health Coach, with additional training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Integrative Health Coaching is based in the neuroscience of behavioral change. Kathy calls it the missing link in addressing individual and national health crises. It’s the foundation of her unique health and wellness coaching for corporate and individual clients. Kathy’s work has been featured in media including The Boston Globe. Learn more at www.whelanwellness.com