Multitasking is cliched. We are expected to multitask. Use smartphones, tablet or our computers and act like robots. Thanks to Google, we are becoming dumb. We no longer use our mind for working. We no longer use our body to go out and play. What is the use of going to a playground when you can play games on electronic devices?
We are just becoming slaves to Google, Apple and Facebook. Our entire life history can be accessed on Facebook and Google, hail no privacy! We are always flooded with notifications, messages and updates. We don’t have any social life anymore. Every moment of our life is spent being a couch potato or as a smartphone slave. We have transferred our addiction to our kids. Kids and technology can never be a good thing. Thanks to our habits, kids do not understand the concept of playing, reading books or even like to have hobbies.
Technology is like that exotic model. We want it, we fight it, but we cannot resist it. No wonder, therapists are telling us to “let go.” Sounds so vague, how do you even manage to let go? How do you disconnect from electronics?
What do we do when are online?
Apart from working, we have so many online tasks – gaming, socializing, watching videos, reading and so on. Even when we are not online, we are online. There is no life without electronics. Most of us who are working on our computers, we use it for leisure activities.
Our electronics addiction might not be so healthy. We are using our mindless and our gadgets more. Gone are the days when we used to take out time to socialise, play board games and go on vacations. Now we cannot imagine life without our smartphone. We take our phone even to our shower.
Did you know that even a word has been proposed for the phobia of being out of contact with a mobile phone? Nomophobia, i.e. no mobile phone, is that term. Nowadays, people have anxiety attacks if they don’t have access to their mobiles. Believe it or not, there is also ringxiety – fear of missing notifications.
Problems of being too connected to the internet:
- Suffering from fatigue from using too much of internet.
- You might have heard of the saying, never mix business with pleasure. But there’s no saying of combining technology with our social life. Internet disconnects us from people around us.
- We don’t have any real friends left. We have hundreds of friends on Facebook, but we don’t have personal contact with anyone.
- Our creativity and capacity to innovate have declined with the overbearing presence of internet connection in our life.
- With globalisation and modern technology, our capability to come up with original ideas has gone down. Students, writers, singers rely heavily on Google to do research, find songs, copy content and modify the existing work and sell it as their own.
Internet Addiction Treatment:
If you want to try to disconnect from internet addiction desperately, then here are some things which can be beneficial:
- Have a timeout from your mobile. Switch it off 2-3 hours before bedtime to unwind with your kids and family.
- Maintain a strict No phone policy in the shower, dining table, family gatherings and so on.
- Get in touch with yourself. Wake up, meditate, exercise, eat – go through your morning routine.
- Do not start your day by replying to emails. You will notice a whole lot of difference in your life by starting your mobile day later.
- Create a place in your home devoid of gadgets. Maybe it can be a place of solitude where you can read, sit peacefully and stay away from the world.
- Invite your friends and relative for a barbecue night. Have a party at your home where everyone has to keep their phone in a bowl. That way, you can enjoy quality time with them.
- You might be busy with your work, and you might not be able to do without a phone. But it would be better to allocate specific timings for checking your email, replying to messages. Chances are you don’t need to work on weekends. So switch off your mobile, set boundaries and enjoy a relaxed weekend. Inform your colleagues that you will not be available on weekends and go off the grid.
- Maintain a daily log to see how many times you are accessing Facebook, Twitter and your phone notifications. Switch-off your notifications, put your phone in DND mode and cut down the number of times you check your phone.
- Join a class for learning a musical instrument, Zumba, Pilates or anything that catches your fancy. The idea is to have some hobbies which can help you relax after hectic work.
Switch to a traditional phone to avoid the constant bombardment of notifications. - Keep your phone in your hotel room while you are on vacation. Enjoy the sightseeing without worrying about what you need to upload on Facebook.
Go Zen
Live in the moment and come out of the virtual world. Learn to listen more, give attention to people around you. Soon, you will be enjoying the new you!
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Also Check : How to Keep your Kids Safe on the Internet?
