According to communications regulator Ofcom, the average daily time adults spend online has increased by almost an hour during the UK spring exclusion. With many countries once again under severe pandemic restrictions, many of us are once again questioning whether our strong reliance on technology is affecting our well-being.
It is true that digital devices have provided new means of work, education, connection and entertainment during shutdown. But the perceived pressure to be online, the tendency to procrastinate to avoid tasks, and the use of digital platforms as a way to escape distress have the potential to turn healthy behaviors into habits. This repetitive use can develop into addictive patterns, which in turn can affect a user’s well-being.
In our recent research, we looked at how we can empower people to have healthier and more productive relationships with digital technology. Our findings can be applied to those who suffer from digital addiction, as well as those who feel that their digital diet has been unhealthily balanced in the loneliness and uneventfulness of lockdown.
Screen time and addiction
Digital addiction refers to the compulsive and excessive use of digital devices. The design of digital platforms itself contributes to this addictive use. Notifications, news feeds, likes, and comments have been shown to contribute to a battle for your attention, leading users to spend more time on screens.
Screen time is a clear measure of digital addiction, although researchers have noted that there is no simple way to determine how much screen time one can experience before it becomes problematic. As such, there is a continuing lack of consensus on how we should think and measure about digital addiction.
During a global pandemic, when there is often no alternative to canceling Netflix or holding video conferences with friends and family, screen time as an indication of digital addiction is clearly ineffective. Nevertheless, research done on the intervention and prevention of digital addiction provides insights into how we can all deal with our digital technology in a healthier way during an exclusion.
1. Set limits
In the course of our research, we found that effective limits can motivate users to better control their digital usage. When setting boundaries, the goal for which you choose to work must meet the five SMART criteria. This means that the goal must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
For example, instead of setting your goal as ‘I will reduce my use of digital media’, you will effectively plan it as ‘I will not watch Netflix for more than one hour on weekdays’ and measure your success objectively.
2. Online support groups
This may seem a bit paradoxical, but you can actually use technology to promote greater control over your screen time and digital overuse. One study found that online peer support groups – where people can discuss their experiences with harmful technological use and share information on how to overcome these problems – can help people adjust their digital diet in favor of their personal well-being. Even an open conversation with friends can help you understand when your technological use is harmful.
3. Self-reflection
Meanwhile, raising your self-awareness about addictive usage patterns can also help you manage your digital usage. You can do this by repeatedly identifying applications we use and recognizing the triggers that cause this excessive consumption.
Self-awareness can also be gained by reflecting on emotional and cognitive processing. It involves the recognition of feelings and psychological needs behind excessive digital use. ‘If I do not immediately respond to a group conversation, I will lose my popularity’, is a problematic thought that leads to longer screen time. Reflecting on the truth of such thoughts can help people to get rid of addictive patterns of digital use.
4. Know your accelerators
Gaining self-awareness about addictive usage patterns can actually help us identify unmet needs that are causing digital overuse. If we do, we can pave the way for defining alternative behaviors and interests to meet those needs in different ways.
Mindfulness meditation, for example, can be an alternative way to relieve tension, fear or anxiety that is currently leading users to digital overuse. If you feel that your digital overuse can be just plain boring, physical activity, cooking or using offline hobbies can provide alternative forms of entertainment. Again, technology can help make this possible, for example by creating your online groups for simultaneous exercise, which provides a hybrid solution to unhealthy digital habits.
5. Prioritize the social
We must also remember that our relationship with digital media reflects our inner drive. Humans are inherently social beings, and interacting with others is important to our spiritual well-being. Social media can enhance our opportunities for social contact and support various positive aspects of mental well-being, such as peer support and improving self-esteem. The involvement of the media to be purposeful during an exclusion can support our mental health, rather than harm our well-being.
Ultimately, technology companies must also understand and be transparent about how the design of their platforms can cause damage. These businesses need to empower users with explanations and tools to help them make informed decisions about their use of digital media.
While we may consider it a legitimate user requirement, it seems like technology companies are in the early stages of delivering it. In the meantime, it’s a good basis to form positive digital habits during the new closures introduced this year, to reflect on when and why we’re going to our screens.
This article by John McAlaney, Associate Professor of Psychology, Bournemouth University; Deniz Cemiloglu, researcher, University of Bournemouth, and Raian Ali, professor, college of science and engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, are published from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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