Technology is so pervasive in our lives we rarely stop to analyze our relationship with it.
If the various devices, platforms, and apps we use are equally helpful AND a headache, that’s just the price of living in the modern age, right?
Not necessarily.
One of the goals of the digital wellness movement is to encourage people to put their relationship with technology on the same footing as their relationship with food, exercise, money, the environment, the people they love, etc.
Rarely in any of those relationships is everything dysfunctional. There are always things that are working and things that need work. It’s important to make time and space to think about the later if you want to evolve, grow, and flourish as a person.
That includes periodically assessing your relationship with technology and making adjustments to mitigate any negative effects it’s causing in your life.
So, how you doin?
If you’ve never really thought about your relationship with technology, take a few minutes to give the following questions some thought…
- How much time do you spend each day using technology? Do you feel like that’s too little, too much, or just right? Are you using any one device/platform/app significantly more than others?
2. What percentage of your time did you spend on each of the following activities in the past month? Is any one category much higher than the others?
____Adult Entertainment Sites
____Business Email
____Business Surfing
____Chat rooms
____Discussion Lists
____Instant Messaging
____News Sites
____Online Auctions
____Online Gambling
____Online Gaming
____Online Shopping
____Personal Email
____Recreational Surfing
____Stock Trading
3. Overall, how do you feel about the quality and quantity of the digital information you’re seeking out and receiving each day? How does that information make you feel?
4. How do you feel about the quality and quantity of the social connections you’re seeking out and receiving online each day? How do those relationships make you feel?
5. How do you feel about the quality and quantity of the digital entertainment you’re seeking out and receiving each day? How does that entertainment make you feel?
6. Which of those three things—information, connection, entertainment–is most important in your life right now? Do your daily tech habits and time logged reflect that priority?
7. How do you feel about your work/life balance in the digital space? Do you feel like you have good boundaries or like you’re always “on the clock?”
Want to dive even deeper?
Next, defining “technology” however you like, (whether that’s your phone, gaming, streaming video, social networking, podcasts, etc.) make a list of your most “problematic” tech.
Using any or all of the assessments below, measure just how problematic that tech actually is.
- Problematic and risky Internet use scale (PRIUSS)
- Digital Distraction test
- Internet addiction assessment (IAA)
- Gaming Addiction scale (GAS)
- Nomophobia scale (NMP-Q)
- FOMO scale
- Social Media Disorder scale
- Smartphone compulsion test
Don’t get too hung up on your final scores or establishing if you actually have any sort of tech addiction. The goal here is simply to identify problem areas.
In general, if you’re…
- Losing time when you’re using the technology or finding it takes away time from other parts of your life
- Experiencing feelings of withdrawal when you’re away from it
- Experiencing physical aches and pains after using it
- Experiencing mental health issues like depression or anxiety
- Having trouble sleeping
….it’s probably harming you as much (or more than) it is helping and deserves some attention.