Age of digiholics

The effects of digital addiction go beyond mere restlessness. Bharat and Shalan Savur ask you to give those gadgets a break.

Being a digiholic is like being a chain smoker. The fingers itch to hold the cellphone, the mind craves for the long string of texts, videos, pictures. Hell, it’s mandatory to check the cell 200 times a day and exchange at least 3,500 messages per month.

Sleep is not as important as being online. In fact, it’s a vicious cycle – after being online, the digiholic cannot sleep because the screen emits blue light into the eyes and disrupts the natural ability to doze off, so he gets right back online!

A digiholic doesn’t know the simple state of being bored if (God forbid!) he is cellphone-deprived for an hour, instead he becomes increasingly confused and restless.

And if he is used to being onscreen for over four hours daily, his anxiety shoots up and he becomes nail-bitingly depressed. 

These are some of the debilitating effects of screen-binging. If the digiholic does nothing to control his cravings, things only worsen. There can be cognitive problems, irrational expectations.

For instance, if Facebook and Twitter can offer quick gratification, why can’t everything and everybody else in life offer it too? Moods swing to extremes in such conditions. And yes, due to lack of sleep and inactivity, obesity rears its head.   

The fact is, the brain is undergoing changes. Multimedia-multitasking – playing video games, watching TV, chatting, shopping online almost simultaneously – puts so much demand on the brain that it processes data at a superficial level.
When the focus is split several ways, long-term memories cannot be created. And when the brain cannot retain, remembering and learning are seriously affected. 

So far, detoxification programmes have not worked. That’s why, it’s important to understand the tremendous pay-off of using gadgets moderately and prudently: our attention-span will stretch immeasurably – we will be able to read for hours without a break instead of just skimming from snippet to snippet.
Deep reading sets off high-quality intellectual vibrations in the mind. Spaces open up where we can make associations, draw inferences and  foster our own ideas.
A longer attention-span also helps foster three stress-resistance factors: one, we commit ourselves long-term to what we do. We see things through, finish what we’ve started, not hop from one unfinished task or course to another.
 Two, we feel in control of the controllable and draw on our inner resources to think skillfully and patiently through tough scenarios without getting frustrated and disheartened. Three, we see change as an opportunity for creativity rather than a threat to our security.

The secret is to strike a balance that serves you best between a gadget-driven world and a gadget-free life. Remember to go into the great outdoors and walk or run with the wind and let your body experience exhilaration.