5 minute read
Zen-tropy, the Solution for Not-So-Social Media
By Rob Henderson, LASUDC, CTRS
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As a parent and as an addiction and recreation therapist, I’ve recently noticed a concerning uptick in how much social media and how many electronics are being used during family leisure downtime. While reflecting on this and revisiting the research, I was reminded of some interesting insights that are helping me to understand the issue and to navigate me towards solutions both in my home and in my practice.
As a confession, I have a pretty infrequent and uncommitted relationship with social media and would probably be somewhat of a digital hermit if it weren’t for my wife prompting me with updates. However, as a therapist, (especially a recreation therapist), I spend many more hours than I intend cybernating in my office cave on teletherapy and electronic health records. Truth be told, even though I heavily emphasize the outdoors in my family and in counseling, I’m probably one of the more digitized people that I know that is in need of unplugging.
What’s the Big Problem?
According to research, it is not just the pure volume of electronic mediums or the amount of time spent digitizing that needs our attention. It is also how we are using media in our homes and during our family free time that is causing some heavy glitching in our relationships and surges to our mental health. And apparently, it’s not just a youth thing either, as each member of the family, young and old, are susceptible to the ill effects of digital media usage in their own unique ways.
One Culprit: Psychic Entropy
Entropy is a physics term that refers to the degree of disorder and randomness in everything. The law of entropy states that all things in our known universe are in a constant state of dissipation and are gradually moving towards disorder. If you don’t believe me, consider my daughters’ bedroom only moments after they clean it.
In the behavioral health world, the term psychic entropy is introduced as a way of describing unhealthy randomness and disorder in the mind when there is too much mindlessness. In other words, there are some psychopathological—and therefore relational—consequences that creep in when the mind remains disengaged and unstimulated for long periods of time.
Different from being actively engaged in play, recreation, sports, work, and even reading, digital media specializes in organizing our thoughts for us. This is where psychic entropy enters the scene. Just because digital media can be attention-grabbing and highly entertaining doesn’t mean that it’s mindful or engaging. In fairness, research states that mindlessness isn’t all bad and that there are stress-relieving benefits to about forty-five minutes of nothingness once or maybe twice per day. However, these benefits plateau between forty-five and ninety minutes, and as you near the two-hour mark of mindless media, the law of diminishing returns starts to take effect to the detriment of your psyche and relationships.
Alone Together
Another concern that surfaced in my research about youth and family recreation is the relationship between digital media and family interactions. As media usage increases in the home, more family members are separating and even isolating, which is bearing down on psychological health and family functioning. As stated by one contemporary author, “American families are spending more time than ever alone together.”
Digitial Zen-tropy
Instead of the negative effects of entropy, I have gotten a bit cheeky with my family in creating the term “Zen-tropy” as a play on the words Zen (mindfulness and intentionality) and -tropy (transforming or moving towards). We are far from achieving digital Zen-tropy in our home but are benefiting from practices like time limits for our personal and family media use. We are finding success in scrolling social media with our teens, video gaming as a family, YouTubing together, and creating funny reels and posts with our children and their friends. Also, if you’re feeling a bit daring, you might consider doing some sort of household reset or fast from mindless and isolated media use. As a family, we’re two weeks and counting into a tailored media fast, and though not everyone supported the reboot, the benefits are foreel and dare I say, at times, Zen-tropic!
About the Author
Rob Henderson
Rob Henderson is dually licensed in addiction counseling and recreation/experiential therapy and is a Wilderness First Responder. He also specializes in leisure and outdoor education, youth development, family systems, and parenting. He is best known for his ability to integrate play and a variety of adventures and backcountry pursuits into his private practice as well as with his family. Additionally, Rob is the executive director and co-founder of RITE Trainings, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that “provides for providers” effective, interactive, and affordable behavioral health training and education. Visit www.RITETrainings.org or www.ARETherapy.com to learn more.
