A few weeks ago I wrote a post on social media detoxes. Today, I want to dive deep into Digital Habits as a whole. We live in a world where technology is no longer a luxury, its a necessity. Which is why being mindful of your digital habits is EXTREMELY important.
This post is inspired by Jim Kwik’s youtube interview with Jay Shetty, you can check it out here – Brain Expert ON How To Learn Faster, Remember More & Find Your Superpower
Take a moment to think about how much time you spend interacting with technology on any given day. You’ll be able to come up with a LOT of instances. You are spending time on your phone, watching TV, working on your laptop, playing animal crossing (I still don’t understand this obsession haha), and so much more.
So, pretty much your entire day revolves around technology in some way. Thus, we can somewhat say that your PRODUCTIVITY is DIRECTLY RELATED to your DIGITAL HABITS, right?
Which is WHY being mindful of your digital habits is so so important. It’s essential if you want to be able to live a fulfilled life.
Today, I want to outline the 4D’s of how digital habits affect your life. This is to give you some perspective to help you think harder about how you’re interacting with technology.
4D’s of Digital Habits!
1) Digital Deluge (or Overload)
There is SO much content out there, and we have access to ALL this content. To be honest, we have access to TOO MUCH content. It can be overwhelming for most people when they realize exactly how much content there is on these digital platforms.
We can get answers to any question we have simply by asking Google, we can get access to people’s lives through social media, we have access to music from all over the world on Spotify and we have a bottomless pit of TV Shows and Movies on platforms like Netflix.
There is an OVERLOAD of information and entertainment sources out there. I’m not telling you to completely stop consuming this content, but think about it THERE IS SO MUCH!
But on the flip side, we also have CONTROL over what information we choose to consume. In this Digital Deluge or Overload, YOU as the consumer have control over what you choose to spend your time on.
Being mindful of what you’re consuming, and how much you’re consuming is important because you don’t want to be buried under this huge pile of content. You need to be able to pick and choose what is most important for you, and what will HELP you in your life. IGNORE THE REST.
Ignore those WhatsApp forwards that aren’t adding any value to your life, scroll past cat videos and tik toks you’ve seen a million times on social media. Tailor your social media habits so that the algorithm actually starts giving you content you’d enjoy and value.
Follow and subscribe to people who post meaningful content that can help you with your growth. The idea is to pick and choose what you want to spend your time on. Do you want to spend an hour scrolling through tik tok, or spend an hour watching an interview on Impact Theory (one of the best youtube channels out there FYI)?
When you realize that there is an overload of content and that YOU have a CHOICE when it comes to what you want to consume, you’ll be more mindful. Make a shift in the way you consume information on digital platforms. Ask yourself, is this going to help me with my growth and learning?
2) Digital Distractions
Most content out there is a DISTRACTION that will not add any value to your life. As humans, it’s normal to be distracted by entertaining content, but you need to figure out if this distraction has become an addiction.
I’ve done this before, when I didn’t feel like studying I would get on Instagram for HOURs just looking at content that did not help me in ANY way! I wasted so much of my time just consuming distracting content.
Think about this, have you ever decided that you’re going to spend only 1 hour watching TV and then spent over 3 hours watching TV? This is because of those distractions. This distracting content will create curiosity which will get you hooked so you’ll spend more time on a digital platform.
Usually, the most successful people are able to step away from this content because they’re mindful of what they decide to consume.
So, make a shift today to step away from the distractions and be mindful of your digital habits and how they’re affecting your time.
Once again, I’m not asking you to completely detach yourself and go cold turkey on digital platforms, just be mindful of the way you’re using them. Don’t let the digital distractions take up all your time!
3) Digital Dementia
This is an interesting one. Think about how much you rely on technology for your day to day tasks.
You have a calculator on your phone, you have a calendar, and you have google answering all your questions.
We as humans are spending less time thinking and relying on technology to perform day to day tasks for us. Yes, technology can help us be more efficient, but it can also do the opposite.
When you’re relying on technology to do more for you than required, you’re in a state of Digital Dementia. In this state, if technology/digital platforms are taken away from you your ability to function is severely affected.
We need to be exercising our brain and using technology and digital platforms to enhance our abilities. Instead, a lot of us have handed over too much to technology, in turn, we lose out on our cognitive power and thinking abilities.
We’re thinking less because we’re letting technology do all the work for us. Instead, we should be using technology to be more efficient so we can think MORE!
Try this, if you have a question instead of typing it into google go to a library to find your answer. You’ll be using more of your brain power when you do this. If you have basic maths to solve, don’t pull out a calculator do the calculations in your head. If you want to learn something new, don’t google the cliff notes pick up BOOKs and read them instead.
There is so much we can do to rely less on technology and more on our brain. Because tomorrow if the internet shuts down what are you going to do?
Once again, consume content that adds value to your life, step away from distractions, use your brain and don’t rely on digital platforms to run your life.
4) Digital Depression
With an overload of content, with a million distractions and with digital dementia the last ‘D’ is digital depression. There is so much content to consume out there that it gets harder and harder to find your own purpose.
Social media platforms make you compare yourself to others, TV shows distract you from your purpose, the News is depressing, the excessive content is overwhelming for anyone.
It’s easy to waste away hours and then wake up to realize years of your life have passed with you mindlessly consuming digital content that has just helped you waste time.
You will reach a point where you’re in a state of digital depression. Where reading about anyone’s success on social media, or news about the world will make you question yourself and demotivate you. You don’t want to let digital content have this kind of control over you.
Digital depression will demotivate you, leave you uninspired, and leave you with a whole lot of insecurity and self-doubt.
You don’t want social media to control your relationships, you don’t want youtube videos to consume your thoughts, you don’t want TV shows to become your world. You need to STEP OUT of this digital world and into the real world! Where relationships are built on connections not likes, where thoughts are inspired by the world around you, where your identity is shaped by your learning and not your followers.
Which is why, social media detox’s, time limits on digital platforms, and limiting screen time is so important. When you find a balance of how much digital content is HEALTHY for you to consume, and you know how to be mindful of how you consume it, it will be easier for you to steer away from digital depression.
The 4D’s is why being mindful of your digital habits is important. You don’t want to be buried under the deluge, or waste time with distractions, or have digital dementia or depression.
If you want to live your life to the fullest, take time to look at your relationship with digital platforms, be mindful of every piece of digital content you consume and most importantly don’t let it control your life.
When you step away and analyze your habits you will be able to be more productive and build a healthy relationship with technology.
Check out my post on Social Media Detox’s if you’ve enjoyed this post!
I really hope this gives you the necessary perspective to help you be more mindful of your digital habits! Sound of in the comments to let me know what you think!
Here’s to the start of your self care journey!
Cheers,
Disha
