By Nisal Rukshan
The world is transforming day by day with innovations and upcoming strategies. These innovations have a greater impact on human lives in various means and ways. Especially digitalization is now at the fingertips of humans.
All of us conversing about the Digital era or Digitalization. Actually what this digitalization means?
Digital or Digitalization includes specific steps from basics. Once an organization or individual follows those steps then it will convert into Digital or Digitalization.
It’s a technical process that begins with Digitization. Digitization means transforming some analog specialties into digital. For example in a company, we have old printed documents that imprinted their essential company policies. When we need to find an old document, we have to search through the record room hours. But, if we digitized the documents previously, we can simply scan the documents and could search for them from the place where we saved them in a digital device. (Computer/ tab/ iPad).
Likewise, for digitization, we can use Scanning, Optical character recognition (OCR), Recording, etc.
Next, we digitalize those digitized details via the internet in an analytical way for the benefit of organizations. It could be a product or a service. Then this Digitalized product or service we can offer to outsiders for the aces as a product or service through the internet using a simple process.
Today most of us consume digitalized devices for various requirements. It varies one from to another. Not only with a device but even with a purpose. Digital transformation enables us to enhance our effectiveness and efficiency in different stages of life.
But meantime it causes some dysfunctions, changes, and attitudes in the lives of human beings. Such conditions are known as Digital Addiction. It happens automatically due to long stays with digital backgrounds forgetting, chatting, watching videos, Emails, Text messages, Video games, and Watching TV, Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and computers. Simply it increases the usage duration of the person with a digital device unknowingly to the person.
This caused a series of issues like reducing sleeping patterns, causing eye strain and vision problems, leading to the increased occurrence of migraine headaches, attachment anxiety, Depression, etc.
This has created greater health issues in the world, as well, in Sri Lanka among students, youngsters, Middle Aged, and sometimes among the aged population too.
The method of overcoming those issues is called “Digital Detox” which means “a period when a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices such as smartphones, computers, and social media platforms”.
This context rapidly emerged due to the issues found in the excessive usage of the internet among individuals and it has increased harming mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of individuals.
What is this social media detox?
The social media detox explains when a user stays away from the use of social media for a considerable time, that impact improves the mental well-being of individuals who have undergone complications.
Even some studies revealed that the positive impacts of social media detox changes in mood, better productivity, improved sleep, and reduced anxiety.
How social media affects you?
As social media, we use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and so many other applications to stay connected with our friends and loved ones.
However, the invariable judgment and fear of missing, open to highly sensitive content on social media have greater impacts on users.
“Time spent scrolling through social media has the potential to promote unreasonable expectations as we see influencers posting an often filtered and edited version of their seemingly perfect lives. This can trigger feelings that others are having more fun or living better lives than you are, potentially harming your mental health. The increasing popularity of photo filters has also been linked to poor self-esteem and self-image as we manipulate our photos to change our reality online,” says Myra Altman, who holds a Ph.D. and is VP of Clinical Care at Modern Health.
Signs of need for a digital detox
If anyone has symptoms of, Need of checking their smartphone every few minutes, Feeling of social withdrawal, Unable to concentrate on their task due to social media effects, Stress, anxiety or feel depressed after checking social media, Imposter syndrome, or feeling insecure about where you are in life, Feeling obligated to respond immediately to emails and text messages and Disturb in slumber recommended and warned to go for a digital detox with the guidance of medical health experts.
How to do/identify a digital detox
Most people need to detox but they don’t know how to start it. It’s important to keep an understanding of why you’re detoxing from your digital devices. The aim is to form limitations that guaranteed the use of technology in a way that returns and mechanism for. In the end, the person needs to decide about a good time you are dedicating online.
Setting out achievable goals
This can be a goal of staying away from using the technology of digital screens, and social media by limiting daily screening durations.
Boundaries and limits
Distracting from electronic devices is sometimes impossible. However, setting up boundaries will have a better impact on spending time with electronic devices. Those limits can be one of the followings:
At a time working out
Instead of online music during workouts downloaded music with disconnected data may help you to concentrate on tasks without receiving notifications consisting of distractions.
During the time of sleep: sleep experts advise directly from the digital screens at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
Time of waking up: Soon after you wake up, if you check your mobile it may consist of some unexpected news. So it could affect anxiety and stress leaving you feeling the anxious whole day. So it needs to wake up soundly without outside distractions and stay fresh in the present moment.
During having meals: a time you are having meals, you may scroll your screen up and down. So then you may not a conscious of how much you eating, you are eating .then you will miss mindful eating which creates complications during digestion.
The times spent with loved ones: distractions of smart devices during conversations with loved ones may create spaces and less strong interrelation. So it needs to keep away those devices or set boundaries to have better communication, and strong and deep interrelationship among relatives, family members, or loved ones.
Some tips like New hobby without a digital base, Walk Run or Hiking, Going to the house of a friend closer to you which you haven’t gone a long time, Read a book (new or old one again) Journal about how you’re feeling right now, Joining for charity works, Try to cook the new meal and Practice mindfulness can achieve digital detox systematically.
With all of these attempts then you can gain the benefits of Decreased anxiety and depression, Improved focus and enlarged productivity, Better sleep, Significant connections in real life and more freedom to enjoy life.
Pictures from internet
By Nisal Rukshan Bsc (hons) in Counseling Psychology