Internet And Social Media Are Killing Us, Here's How Digital Mindfulness Can Help

The first thing most of us search for -as we wake up - is an electronic device, mostly our smartphones. In an age where the entire generation is hooked to the internet and various social networking sites, it's not difficult to imagine that we are moving in a direction that is will take us to an extremely unhealthy way of living. Or, perhaps, are we already in trouble?

While some of the things we subscribe to are good and helpful in their own ways, an overdose of social media and the internet, however, is taking a toll on our lives, both online and offline.

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The social media addiction has reached a point where an average person checks his smartphone once in every four minutes, that is even if you don't have a notification. Experts say it is necessary for us to be aware of our digital life and know how to balance it with our life offline.

"When you spent time scrolling through your news feed or when you are interrupted by a notification, that is not giving you satisfaction and it is mindless" Vinayak Garg a Delhi-based Digital Mindfulness expert said.

Digital mindfulness, Garg said is about having a healthy relationship with your digital life.

"You should be in control of your life and not the other way around where your life is run by social media and smartphones" he added.

Today's generation has become so glued to their smartphones that mental health experts have begun treating it as a medical condition. Nomophobia aka Smartphone separation anxiety is described as a mental illness caused by technology, or lack of it. It is described, simply, as the extreme phobia or fear of being without a mobile phone or without a signal on one¡¯s phone.

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According to scientists from the City University of Hong Kong and the Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, it¡¯s because smartphones are so advanced and personal to us that they¡¯ve actually become an extension of ourselves.

As well as storing meaningful photos and messages, mobiles act as a gateway to an enormous range of apps, websites, and services that let us quickly access content that¡¯s important to us.

¡°As smartphones evoke more personal memories, users extend more of their identity onto their smartphones,¡± the research, which is published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, says.

"Smartphones have become the biggest detractor in life in general. Even if you were not a heavy user, it gradually creeps in and you become dependent on it and get used to checking it every time it pings," Garg said.

He said that the problem lies with the design of social media and not with the users.

"Social media, by its design is meant to make the user addicted to it and spent more time there. Something like a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram has this endless newsfeed where you can keep on scrolling. For the likes of Netflix and YouTube, there are suggested videos which will play automatically once you complete viewing one video. What is happening here is the burden to stop is being transferred to the consumer," If you look at the like button on social media, when you press the button, it gives a small animation, it is part of the addictive design," Garg explained.

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In 2017, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had famously claimed that the streaming giant¡¯s biggest rivals aren¡¯t Amazon, YouTube, but sleep.

¡°You know, think about it, when you watch a show from Netflix and you get addicted to it, you stay up late at night. We¡¯re competing with sleep, on the margin. And so, it¡¯s a very large pool of time,¡± he had said.

"An average person checks his phone every four minutes, unlocks his phone 150 times a day and spent 3-5 hours daily on their phones. The weekly average is almost 40-45 minutes, which is equal to a fulltime job. The time spent is even higher among school and college students" Garg said.

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Garg said the effect of this addiction is a host of mental health issues like depression and anxiety. It also limits the individuals social and interactive skills. This is in addition to the time wasted doing nothing but mindlessly consuming something.

Garg who has been helping people on a digital detox for the past few years explained his mantra for a balanced social media life.

"I don't attend calls before 12 AM clock until and unless it is an emergency. Another thing I do is avoid dedicated apps for every single thing and use the web version instead. As far as notifications are concerned, one should only allow notifications from necessary apps like tour work email. Another important thing is to turn your phones display into grayscale.

"This takes away a lot of addictive features and marketing strategies of social media apps. Also on social media, you don't have to follow every page or person. Follow only those enrich you or inform you. If it is not a work email, use it only once or twice a day. It is better to spend more time on social media in one go than constantly coming back every few minutes," he said.

Over-dependence of anything could prove dangerous. In case of internet and social media, there is an increasing number of cases that hint towards the need of an immediate care and cure of the problem.