Download Powering Down: Digital Toxicity

Powering
Down
Stress and Digital Toxicity:
Promoting healthy work-life
balance
Americans check their
phones an average of
46 times per day.
Time Magazine, 2016
Facebook is now cited
as the third leading
cause for divorce.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/m
ar/08/facebook-us-divorces
Screen addict is the new
term used to describe
people who demonstrate
an inability to turn off their
smart phones or unplug
from Wifi.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010;11/21/technology/21brai
n.html?pagewanted=all9
Each alert, tweet, or ping is
associated with the release of
dopamine (a chemical
neurotransmitter) associated
with euphoria, the feel-good
hormone. Dopamine is
highly associated with
chemical addiction.
http://businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/635134.html
People who drive and text show
the same amount of distraction
and poor reaction time as
someone with a 0.08 blood
alcohol level (the same
demarcation as a drunk driver).
http://unews.utah.edu/old/p/062206-1.html
The repeated use of
technology makes people
less patient and more
forgetful.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brainside.html?ref=yourbrainoncomputers
Tips for navigating the
digital age safely:
• Practice healthy boundaries
 Turn off smart phones during
class, meetings, meals, while
driving, and at social events.
Consider making it a habit not to check
email/text messages/Instagram/YikYak
after a certain time during the week.
Try to check social media once or
twice a day, not hundreds of times
throughout the day.
Challenge your friends/roommates to
put your phones away during meals
and actually talk to each other face-toface.
Opt for in-person communication.
When you have the time, walk to
someone’s room rather than text
them.
• Avoid multi-tasking errors
Keep your mind focused on one thing
at a time. Remember that
distractions (smart phones, social
media) compromise quality work!
• Keep smart phones and laptops
out of your bed
Sociologists have noted a parallel
increase of computer/smart phone
use and insomnia.
Backlit computer screens direct light
onto your face and decrease
melatonin levels (sleep hormones).
• Mindfulness: Maintain a Healthy
Meditation Program
Technology didn’t create a wandering
mind, but it sure does enhance the
wandering.
Mindfulness/Meditation/Yoga: no
matter what kind of meditation is
practiced, the purpose is to increase
one’s concentration skills which leads
to increased awareness.
• Watch your manners:
Don’t answer a call/text while talking
to someone face-to-face.
Put your phone in your bag during
class.
Don’t post inappropriate/disrespectful
things on social media.
While it is not your job to be the “tech
manners police,” you can model polite
behavior around others.
What are your suggestions for
avoiding techno-stress?
Write your comments below: