Into the Tech-Free Yonder...
Over Labor Day weekend, as is our tradition, my husband and I went with some friends camping about 4 hours north of Phoenix. There is beautiful, clean air filled with the scent of pine trees, humidity coming off the trout filled lakes, and the sounds of bugling elk woven through the aspen trees at night. What you won't find is cell phone service.
Commence panic.
(GIF courtesy of Buzzfeed.com)
I will admit, that even though we go to this place every year, I am always surprised that there is no cell service initially. Eventually this gives way to the feeling of relief. For the entire weekend, I will not feel the need to be tethered to the weight of notifications and Facebook likes. It's just me, our dog, and a hammock between those aspen trees- my own personal digital detox. It isn't until I can put my feet up and turn the actual page on a book that I am remind just how addicted to technology I really am.
In a recent story on NPR, the topic of Internet addiction was explored, particularly in response to a mother's anguish over her teenage daughter's addiction, which had led to two suicide attempts (and subsequent hospitalizations). The author of the story, Lesley McClurg, talks with psychologist Jeff Nalin. Jeff, who has treated teenage substance abuse for years, points out that the tricky part about treating Internet addiction is that there really is no way to escape it. Unlike alcohol or cigarettes, which can be hidden or flushed down a toilet or simply not purchased, technology is a part of our every day lives, from ordering food to giving us directions to obtaining our degrees. Jeff likens Internet addiction to an eating disorder; you can't live without food, so you have to manage your behavior around food, much as an Internet addict will have to manage themselves around technology.
Like other addictions, Internet addiction starts as recreational use. Our friend finally convinces us to join Snapchat or Instagram. Before we know it, we are looking at it before bed time every night or first thing once when we wake up. We check our phones every 6.5 minutes, ever at the ready in our back pockets. We make sure that the notification vibration level is set to maximum, to ensure we never miss a tweet. Eventually the addiction hinders our personal relationships, social skills, school work, jobs, and even our health, just like an addiction to an illicit substance.
Other researchers say that using the word "addiction" is a stretch, and that we have to take the amount of screen time into context before labeling someone an Internet addict. For example, a teenager who spends a lot of time playing video games may be building skills to make them a great graphic designer someday, or the CEO may be getting updates on an important project that is near completion. We are all aware that our lives have been made easier through technology. Our doctors can see our x-rays immediately, our car engine lights can be diagnosed rapidly, getting lost in a new city is a thing of the past.
For me, it's the social media; getting wrapped up in the posts, the tags, the political arguments. The day after the election in 2016, I changed my profile picture to a black square and sent a text to all my friends that I needed a break from social media for a while. They all did as well. And while my Facebook sabbatical only lasted a week, I realized then how hooked I was to it. It was then that I turned off all the notifications and hid the application deep within my phone. No longer would my phone tell me what was happening on Facebook- if I wanted to know, I'd need to dig to find out. And that took more time than I was willing to spend. I felt this was similar to freezing your credit card when you are trying not to use it all the time.
And it has helped. It's changed how I manage notifications on other applications. For crying out loud, why does Candy Crush need to update me on anything?! Or Instagram. Or Pinterest. I turned them all off, off, off. And my brain has been better for it.
Now to convince my husband to do the same.
And that we need to go camping more.
Where there is no wi-fi.
And more hammocks.
And books.
References
Commence panic.
I will admit, that even though we go to this place every year, I am always surprised that there is no cell service initially. Eventually this gives way to the feeling of relief. For the entire weekend, I will not feel the need to be tethered to the weight of notifications and Facebook likes. It's just me, our dog, and a hammock between those aspen trees- my own personal digital detox. It isn't until I can put my feet up and turn the actual page on a book that I am remind just how addicted to technology I really am.
In a recent story on NPR, the topic of Internet addiction was explored, particularly in response to a mother's anguish over her teenage daughter's addiction, which had led to two suicide attempts (and subsequent hospitalizations). The author of the story, Lesley McClurg, talks with psychologist Jeff Nalin. Jeff, who has treated teenage substance abuse for years, points out that the tricky part about treating Internet addiction is that there really is no way to escape it. Unlike alcohol or cigarettes, which can be hidden or flushed down a toilet or simply not purchased, technology is a part of our every day lives, from ordering food to giving us directions to obtaining our degrees. Jeff likens Internet addiction to an eating disorder; you can't live without food, so you have to manage your behavior around food, much as an Internet addict will have to manage themselves around technology.
Like other addictions, Internet addiction starts as recreational use. Our friend finally convinces us to join Snapchat or Instagram. Before we know it, we are looking at it before bed time every night or first thing once when we wake up. We check our phones every 6.5 minutes, ever at the ready in our back pockets. We make sure that the notification vibration level is set to maximum, to ensure we never miss a tweet. Eventually the addiction hinders our personal relationships, social skills, school work, jobs, and even our health, just like an addiction to an illicit substance.
Other researchers say that using the word "addiction" is a stretch, and that we have to take the amount of screen time into context before labeling someone an Internet addict. For example, a teenager who spends a lot of time playing video games may be building skills to make them a great graphic designer someday, or the CEO may be getting updates on an important project that is near completion. We are all aware that our lives have been made easier through technology. Our doctors can see our x-rays immediately, our car engine lights can be diagnosed rapidly, getting lost in a new city is a thing of the past.
For me, it's the social media; getting wrapped up in the posts, the tags, the political arguments. The day after the election in 2016, I changed my profile picture to a black square and sent a text to all my friends that I needed a break from social media for a while. They all did as well. And while my Facebook sabbatical only lasted a week, I realized then how hooked I was to it. It was then that I turned off all the notifications and hid the application deep within my phone. No longer would my phone tell me what was happening on Facebook- if I wanted to know, I'd need to dig to find out. And that took more time than I was willing to spend. I felt this was similar to freezing your credit card when you are trying not to use it all the time.
And it has helped. It's changed how I manage notifications on other applications. For crying out loud, why does Candy Crush need to update me on anything?! Or Instagram. Or Pinterest. I turned them all off, off, off. And my brain has been better for it.
Now to convince my husband to do the same.
And that we need to go camping more.
Where there is no wi-fi.
And more hammocks.
And books.
References
Becker, J. (2017). 7 Important Reasons to Unplug
and Find Space. Retrieved September 11, 2017, from Becoming Minimalist:
https://www.becomingminimalist.com/unplug-please/
McClurg, L. (2017, May 18). Is 'Internet
Addiction' Real? Retrieved September 11, 2017, from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/05/18/527799301/is-internet-addiction-real
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