Do you remember a time when you felt like your phone was your second brain? Where you had lists of texts, e-mails, and calls you felt overwhelmed by? Just like your physical environment can affect your health, so can your digital environment.

According to the Digital Wellness Institute, Digital Wellness is a way of life while using technology. It promotes optimal health and well-being in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated to live more fully within the human, natural, and digital communities. 

We are all at different stages of our digital wellness journey, yet research indicates how integrated it is into our lives. Worldwide, 420 million people are estimated to suffer from the Internet and social media dependency (Cheng & Li, 2014). In the United States, the average adult spends 5.4 hours per day on their smartphone, with an annual increase of 11 minutes (Wurmser, 2019).

When it comes to what we didn’t learn in school, this is one of those topics in the same realm as finances. I remember being handed my first phone without any direction or boundaries. Those loose restrictions carried me to college when I realized I had to find another way.

You may relate to a few of the ways I use and misuse these devices: 

• I spent way too much time scrolling through social media and feeling even more lonely, judgmental, and depressed when I got off.
• I didn’t delete or organize anything on my devices for months, creating digital clutter.
• Got little sleep because I was scrolling through social media or invested in a consuming Netflix show.
• When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I did was look at my phone, and usually, it was useless content or news that started my day negatively and not focused inward.
• I had parents who watched TV often, even while eating breakfast and dinner.
• I found myself asking google before checking in with my own inner knowledge.

These are all factual statements present in my life before I discovered Digital Wellness, and some of these you may relate to. To assess your own digital wellness, you can use a few of these resources:

Social Media Disorders

Internet Addiction Questionnaire

Problematic Smartphone Use Survey

While these assessments may show you aspects of your technology use that impact your health, they do not capture the benefit of having technology in our lives. Imagine life without Facetiming your relatives or having your flight information ready for your upcoming trip. Picture life without GPS or text messaging with fun emojis.

Even though our devices can be distracting, take away our attention, and cause disharmony in aspects of our life, there is another way. This way utilizes technology in a way that allows you to flourish and thrive in the digital landscape we live in today.

Wherever you are starting today, consider any change in small increments. Perhaps you decide to choose one of the following ways to improve your Digital Wellness from below and stick with it for a few weeks until it is integrated into your life. Regardless of where you are in this journey, one thing to remember is that Digital Wellness, like other aspects of our health, is constantly changing and evolving. 

Consider where you are in your personal, professional, and spiritual growth. With the acceptance of your own unique path, review the following tips with compassion for yourself and the process of creating a healthy relationship with technology.

Intention Setting

You may indulge, or overindulge, in a nice treat of Instagram while you have your morning coffee. According to a survey done by the International Data Corporation (IDC), of 7,446 individuals 18-44 years old, 79% reach for their phone first thing when they wake up in the morning (Levitas, D. 2013). Do you know where you spend more of your time on your phone? You can find out!

Apple: Settings > Screen Time

Android: Settings: Digital Wellness

Now, connect with what brings you joy, what you love doing, and what motivates you? Examples may be spending time with your child, going to water, connecting with friends, helping others with their health, etc.

Next, ask if those apps and time spent on your phone align with those values and things that bring you joy. How are they aligning with what you love to do when you are with them?

There may be a disconnect, which is when intentions come into play. I encourage you to reflect on the beginning of a yoga or meditation session and the time you set aside to focus and tune in to the practice. This intention guides the way you move, breathe, and deeply listen. What if you did the same thing when you picked up your device? An example of intentional use of your phone looks similar to a goal. Here are some examples:

Using the technology less or at specific times: This week, I will put my phone out of sight when entering my creative process to be more focused while I work.

Using technology better: Today, whenever I am around my kids, I will put my phone away in my bag and pay attention to their needs.

Intention setting is a foundation to ground yourself and empower yourself to take action in a way that aligns with your values. Without this firm ground, the building of our life may be shaky, and a small crack can shatter the whole structure. Set your digital intentions, and build your strong, courageous building on a firm foundation.

Affirmation: May I take time out of my day to set intentions around my phone, computer, and devices, so I can enter with more confidence, awareness, and trust.

Boundaries are Self-Love

Self-love is tossed around like a viral TikTok. Boundaries are also buzzwords that lose their deep meaning if said too much. How do you love yourself? Is it by scrolling through Instagram for an hour? Odds are, that is not the case.

Boundaries are one of the unspoken rules of spirituality. If we don’t create boundaries within our digital worlds, it can seep through our skin into our life and blur the lines of who we are with what society wants us to be. Imagine what would happen if we kept our phone on loud right next to us while meditating? Or if your favorite yoga teacher’s phone kept buzzing and binging while they were teaching? Boundaries are essential if you’re like me and want to live on purpose and care for yourself and others. If you’re reading this, I trust you agree.

Tips for boundaries with technology: 

• Put your phone away while you are working in a flow state.
  • A 2017 study in The Journal of the Association of Consumer Research found that the mere presence of your phone — even if it’s powered off, and even if you’re actively and successfully ignoring it — “reduces available cognitive capacity,” which the study’s authors call “brain drain.” (Ward, A. F. 2017).
• Have at least 30 minutes in the morning where you are not engaged with your phone. Instead, interact with your own inner voice.
  • Go on a walk, do meditation, or journal. Internally connecting before your day can help in various ways, including attention, focus, intention, and communication.
• Have a place within your home where your phone “lives.” In our house, we call this a charging station. Every evening before dinner, you will find our devices hanging out at the charging station so that we can recharge as a family.

Affirmation: I am worthy of setting boundaries around my digital life to have more clarity and presence in my life with the moments that matter.

Lead By Example

You were born into a culture driven by technology, which means that hours watching shows or playing video games are typical. You have adapted without knowing what you are adjusting to or how it affects or oppresses you. Perhaps you know, but you can’t stop, like eating sugar. There is no eliminating phones, computers, or other devices in our culture. However, there is a way to lead by example, especially to the people around you. It is your responsibility to utilize the screen with purpose. Here are some questions to identify this meaningful use of digital devices. Some of these are deep and may require more time to answer.

• Who are you when you are not looking at a screen?
• Who are you when you are entirely yourself without google or posting pictures daily?
• How do you lead by example regarding screen use and presence?
• What are the three approaches you can use to show someone younger than you the importance of play and attentive connection?

For example, I will not bring my phone to the dinner table when I’m with my family because it helps me cherish my time with them.

Affirmation: I respect myself and others by showing up in the digital and real-world being my authentic self. I fully accept where I am and where others are in Digital Wellness.

By cherishing the time you spend with loved ones without a screen in your hands, you are giving more than an experience; you are subtly opening up to your inner creativity and learning. May you find balance within the digital world we live in, deepen your intentions, boundaries, and lead with the inner strength and power within yourself.

References: 

Brown. (2019, April 28). Americans spend far more time on their smartphones than they think. ZDNET.https://www.zdnet.com/article/americans-spend-far-more-time-on-their-smartphones-than-they-think/

Cheng, C., & Li, A. Y.-lam. (2014). Internet addiction prevalence and quality of (real) life: A meta-analysis of 31 nations across seven world regions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(12), 755–760. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0317

Levitas, D. (2013). Always Connected How Smartphones And Social Keep Us Engaged (No. 240435). IDC. https://www.nu.nl/files/IDC-Facebook%20Always%20Connected%20(1).pdf

Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1086/691462