Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m that addicted to the Internet (oh, sweet denial), but the knowledge that I’m constantly connected to the ’net is like a security blanket to me—it’s the umbilical cord I never want cut.
Several researchers and scientists have warned against this “always on” lifestyle, citing increased lack of focus (check), diminished concentration (double check), decreased attention span (triple check!) and unhealthy multitasking as untoward results, while psychiatrist Edward Hallowell calls this connectivity the “new cigarette.”
Some hotels in the Unites States have recognized that while most of their clientele require high-speed Internet, there are those on the verge of technology burnout that need something else, like a digital detox weekend. In Lake Placid Lodge in Lake Placid, New York, they offer their guests the “Check-in To Check-out Package,” where temporary residents are encouraged to turn in their electronic devices—phones, iPads, Kindles, computers, etc.—to the front desk for safekeeping for the duration of their stay. In exchange, they will be assigned a tech-free room (no TV!), where entertainment is limited to real paper books, newspapers, yoga, cooking classes, a fireplace and a view of the lake. To an Internet junkie like me, checking in your devices at the front desk sounds like the opening scene of a slasher-in-the-woods horror B-movie, but to others who are stressed over information overload, it’s blissful ignorance.
On the other side of the spectrum, some people who claim to be suffering from EHS or electromagnetic hypersensitivity, where they experience painful symptoms from exposure to emissions from cell phones and Wi-Fi have upped and sequestered themselves in towns close to the No Radio Quiet Zone of the US in West Virginia, where cell phones and other devices that require radio frequency transmissions are prohibited within a 13,000 mile radius. This condition is still under scientific study, but a large group of people who manifest symptoms are unable to go through their daily lives exposed to electromagnetic frequencies without feeling chronic, debilitating pain. Those who have taken up residence in the outlying West Virginia towns live like those of yore—appliances and lights are all gas-powered, and there isn’t a cell phone or TV in sight, yet another premise for a slasher or body snatchers flick.
This constant connectivity could be to our generation what TV was to us growing up. I still remember my mom lamenting about how TV polluted our minds and would occasionally unplug it and throw us out of the house to play instead. Today, it’s the Internet and the ubiquity of technology that’s got everyone connected and yet, disconnected at the same time.
1. You find yourself having Twitter conversations with people you’re in the same table with.
2. The first thing you grab when you wake up is your smartphone/tablet/laptop.
3. The last thing you touch before sleeping is your smartphone/tablet/laptop.
4. When friends need to reach you right away they send you a tweet or a Facebook message instead of calling.
5. The first thing you ask for at a coffee shop/hotel/restaurant is the Wi-Fi password.
6. You’ve tripped/walked into walls or doors because you were too busy looking at your phone.
7. You’ve fallen asleep with your hand clutching your phone.
8. You’ve texted a colleague at work to ask for a report because walking to the next cubicle is too tiresome.
9. When traveling, you have so many gadgets that you require a separate hand carry for them.
10. While at the cinema, you find yourself Wiki-ing the movie’s plot when you find the progress too slow.
11. You find yourself addressing friends in real life by their Twitter handles instead of their real name.
12. You go up to your friends whose outfits you find cute, touch them and say “Like!”
13. You’re listed in the top 10 list of employees with the highest non-work-related bandwidth consumption.
Do the detox
There hasn’t been a patch invented to combat technology addiction, but you can wean yourself gradually by setting 15-minute “technology breaks.”
2. Take back your weekends.
Being online all the time has blurred the boundaries between work hours, and you find yourself being contacted by colleagues for work-related stuff during the weekend when you are supposed to be off the clock. Assign a separate ringtone for colleagues/bosses and program yourself to ignore the sound during weekends.
3. Silent Night
Back when texting was just on the rise, a classmate of mine already got into the habit of turning his phone off before going to bed. Get uninterrupted sleep by turning your phone off or for hardcore tech addicts, switching to silent mode so you won’t feel the urge to check your phone when it starts beeping.
4. Hands full
Engage in an activity where it would be impossible for you to multitask with your gadget, like get a body scrub, whale-watch or learn how to juggle.