Finding a Good Digital Diet
If there’s one thing that comes up over and over again when talking about mental wellbeing in today's world, it’s social media. I’ve listened to countless podcasts that talk about how social media usage can lead to poor mental health and I’ve spoken to lots of people who at least partly attribute being in a negative headspace to spending too much time engaging with technology. From low self esteem and cyberbullying to poor productivity and data security, there have been a whole host of issues related to the digital world. So whilst the internet definitely has its upsides - it has kept a lot of people in work during the pandemic and allowed us to stay connected to friends and family - it’s clear that boundaries need to be put in place around its usage to protect and nurture our mental health.
I like the phrase ‘digital diet’ because it reminds us that we are consumers of this stuff. Just like we have the choice over what food we consume, how much we consume and when we consume it, we have the same choices when it comes to social media. We can create a healthy digital diet, but it’s not easy. These apps are designed to be addictive. They want to keep you scrolling and consuming content because ultimately, it makes them money. The Social Dilemma on Netflix is a great documentary that goes into this is a lot more detail - it’s terrifying! If we want to change our relationship with technology and social media, we have to actively work at it.
“In a world of heightened connectivity, it’s easy to feel like we always have to be available to people. We don’t. Boundaries are important. Messages don’t need replying instantly and you don’t need to feel like you are available at all hours to speak to people.”
As I write this I am taking some time away from my phone. Just a couple of days - nothing too drastic, but as a business owner whose main channels of communication with my audience are Facebook and Instagram, I felt scared of deleting the apps. I felt like I’d miss important messages, I felt like I’d be letting you down by not sharing content, and I felt like I’d miss out on seeing what my friends and family are up to. But particularly over the past 6 months my usage has become very unhealthy. Mindless scrolling has become far too much of a regular occurrence and I decided enough is enough. I’m all about setting healthy boundaries and it’s time to practice what I preach. I have decided that I want to change my relationship with social media and am actively working to put measures in place to support this. If you’re feeling the same way and want to join me on this journey to cultivating a more positive relationship with your phone, I’ve outlined a few things that have been helpful for me below.
Don’t bring phones into the bedroom (or bathroom!). If you use your phone as an alarm, you can get an alarm clock very cheaply online to replace it. It doesn’t take an expert to conclude that looking at your phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night probably isn’t the best thing for your mental wellbeing, not to mention your sleep. The time that you would normally spend scrolling could be replaced by reading a good book instead (perhaps one from this list).
Temporarily delete the apps. If you want some time away from social media, rather than just setting the intention and keeping the apps on your phone, it can be more beneficial to actually delete them. Mindless scrolling is often so ingrained that even if we decide that we want time away, we can find ourselves reaching for our phones and opening the apps without having any conscious awareness of it! I’ve been there. Actively deleting them from our phones resolves this problem.
Set time limits and respect them. A lot of phones now have the functionality to restrict your access to specific apps once you’ve spent a certain amount of time on them. You can use this tool to set up time limits on social networking apps and respect the restriction when you’ve reached your limit. It’s all too easy to dismiss the usage alert and carry on scrolling (again, I’ve been there!), so once you’ve reached your time limit, put your phone down.
Implement boundaries. In a world of heightened connectivity, it’s easy to feel like we always have to be available to people. We don’t. Boundaries are important. Messages don’t need replying instantly and you don’t need to feel like you are available at all hours to speak to people. This has been a big learning for me. I have set boundaries now where I try to only reply to emails during working hours (not weekends or evenings) and I give myself permission to not reply to social media messages as soon as they come in. I still reply promptly, but not feeling guilty about not replying that exact second gives me space if I am in the middle of something to reply when I have time. It also makes my response more in depth as I can focus my full attention on it. Our phones demand a lot from us day to day, so setting boundaries are so important to assume control, rather than letting the phone control you!
Just to reiterate that I am no expert on this, but I have done my own learnings through research and listening to others, and know that mindful technology consumption is something that many of us are struggling with right now. I know that I’m not alone in feeling like I have had an unhealthy relationship with my phone over the past few months, so I really hope that the above steps help you to cultivate a more positive digital diet. Please get in touch if this resonates with you and do let me know if you have any tips of your own that you are implementing! I’d love to hear from you.
Stay safe,
Nikki x