Digital Stress

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Digital Stress

While digital technology has many upsides, the downside of all of those hours spent glued to our devices is the toll they take on our physical and emotional well-being. Because we get that you’re not going to give up Instagram, let alone your job, we asked the experts for their savviest strategies for minimizing the impact of screen time.

by Amanda Altman

I’LL NEVER FORGET THE TIME I FIRST DISCOVERED AND DOWNLOADED INSTAGRAM (ACTUALLY, MAKE THAT THE FIRST FEW TIMES, SINCE ADMITTEDLY IT TOOK ME A MINUTE

TO FIGURE IT OUT). But back to my point:

After delving deep into the abyss of likes and hashtags, suddenly I came up for air—with an intense craving for avocado toast. I looked at the clock and realized an hour had passed by. An entire hour. I was left wondering where the time had gone, how I’d spent 60 minutes scrolling and following, barely taking a breath and certainly not taking a break. (And then I went to make that toast, obviously.)

If only the effects of engaging in social media, and the vast universe of apps, emails and texting, began and ended with avocado toast. Sadly, all of that time spent in front of screens is harming our health, both physical or mental, in both small and life-threatening ways alike.

No need to take my word (or your tense neck and shoulders) for it; there’s plenty of science that points to the unfortunate ramifications of too much screen time on the mind and body. To wit: In 2018, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that minimizing social media use adds up to a significant decrease in loneliness and depression. That same year, a study Meet the Experts (Health Communications Inc., 2018) TECH EFFECT #1: Chronic stress LAURIE WARREN: With digital technology, there’s this constant connectivity that creates stress and affects us physically. [Stress hormones] adrenaline and cortisol now course through our bodies every day, all day. People who are under stress experience bloating, headaches and digestive problems, and our immune system goes south.

We don’t even give ourselves a break from the people we do like. Say you have a friend who is emotionally needy. They used to have to make a phone call or come over; now they have 24/7 access to you. People face a hurdle in maintaining boundaries. There’s this status symbol of being in the journal Scientific Reports pointed to blue light exposure from screens killing photoreceptor cells in your eyes, which can lead to macular degeneration. Recently, research in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior linked media multitasking (when you switch back and forth between devices, such as going from your cell to your laptop) to a greater chance of developing food cravings and a decreased inability to resist them, which could up your obesity risk.

A 2009 analysis from the University of California Los Angeles found a correlation between the increase of the digi-verse and a decrease in critical thinking and analysis (though the upside was an improvement in our visual literacy). A small (19-person) study out of the Radiological Society of North America in 2017 discovered that tech–obsessed teens demonstrate an imbalance in their brains, not to mention a markedly higher level of depression, anxiety, insomnia and impulsivity, compared to the control group.

Sadly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with studies suggesting that too much screen time might be connected to other health issues, including carpal tunnel, back and neck pain, migraines, poor sleep quality, low self-esteem, even suicide.

So how do we thrive in a culture that pretty much requires us to log on to our devices? Plug into these

Mary Kate Casey, PT, DPT, owner and founder of Prep Performance Center

Alex Lickerman, MD, author of The Ten Worlds: The New Psychology of Happiness

tips and tricks from our panel of experts.

Heather Senior Monroe, LCSW, director of program development at Newport Academy

Laurie Warren, a holistic well-being expert and author of the upcoming book Wild World, Joyful Heart: Unlock Your Power to Create Health and Joy (Greenleaf Book Group, 2019)

busy, and it’s taking us down at the knees.

What we see in adults is that they have become more irritable, more angry—there’s less emotional equanimity and more drama. Stress is, at its core, a feeling of being a victim (“I can never get a break”), that these things are happening to me and I can’t do anything about them. This can lead to both depression and anxiety.

HOW TO REBOOT

WARREN: It’s about changing your mind-set. Set boundaries with yourself, such as, I’m only going to check email first thing in the morning, midday and when I close up shop. In terms of time spent on social media, don’t set rigid doctrines, set guidelines.