PRO SECTION
TECH DETOX Disconnecting from the connected world, and the devices that enable us Written by Fab Giovanetti
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martphones. What precious things they have become to us as individuals, right? We all have them, or are aware of the next upcoming, sparkly new toy, soon to be entering our lives — when we get a new one, it feels like being a child at Christmas time. The ever-developing world of technology is an aspect of life that has essentially become the norm for us. Whilst for the vast majority of the time this may be deemed a positive thing, we tend to ignore the damage that our smartphones create for a multitude of aspects in our lives, most importantly, our health. As the old saying goes, our bodies are temples: they are a reflection of our individual selves. Everything we do in our lives affects our overall wellbeing, energy, and health - which
in turn becomes reflected in our presence. However, a common thought that is often forgotten, is that our health is not solely determined by what we eat, but also by what we read and pay attention to in the media. How do we absorb this information? Through the small device that has become inseparable to our mind and body, keeping us all connected via an interactive screen. Technology can be addictive - it essentially acts as a drug for our human minds on a daily basis. I was fascinated to read about the research on the matter, for starters. Researchers have created assessments to gauge the different domains of technology addiction. Such efforts include, but are not limited to, the Compulsive Internet Use Scale, the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale,
“Behavioural addictions are harder to treat; normally we’d advise
and the Multidimensional Facebook Intensity Scale. As human beings, one of our great abilities is knowing that we are capable of understanding each and every emotion that crosses our paths. When these occur, why don’t we dedicate precious time to focus on self-reflection and self-understanding? With our “always-on” state of being and devotion to hustle culture, we tend to feel bad when we have a little time to dedicate to ourselves, and this guilt spans generations.
abstinence, but technology is
We have become completely accustomed to the presence of social media, which is deemed normal.
for work, everyone has a screen”
As individuals who have grown up in the prime of its presence, it is destroying our sense of self, our ability to interact: it is withdrawing basic human needs.
inescapable today — y ou need it Rebecca Sparkes, psychotherapist
CREATIVE IMPACT MAG | 51