Do you feel like you’re spending too much time in front of a screen?
Feeling tech-exhaustion from your phone, email, social media, and the never-ending onslaught of Zoom meetings?
Digital burnout is real.
I feel it. I have a hunch you feel it, too.
This is a serious issue and, in my estimation, it’s only getting worse.
Just a few stats on technology and how we use it:
- Most Americans spend 11 hours per day staring at some kind of digital device: phone, computer, tablet, GPS, video game console, TV, etc.
- The average iPhone user unlocks their phone 80 times a day. That’s about once every 10 minutes while awake.
- If you add up every tap, every swipe, every click, most people touch their phone 2,617 times a day.
- Excessive screen-time leads to numerous physical and mental health issues, including: irregular sleep, anxiety and depression, reduced empathy (especially in children), and according to one study, “less curiosity, lower self
control, less emotional stability and a greater inability to finish tasks.”
In summary:
Yikes.
This is scary stuff.
While it’s important to stay connected to our loved ones and colleagues, stay on top of the news, and be an informed and well-educated citizen, this doesn’t mean we need to be glued to our phones 24/7. We can (and must) find a healthier balance.
*Resources to unplug more and create a shift in your life*
If you're concerned about how technology is impacting your life, and you want to make some changes, here are some resources I created that might help you:
- Here's a free checklist with simple ways to unplug more. Print it out. Tick things off. Small changes lead to a big shift in how you feel.
- A free checklist with 20 ways to promote your work (products, services, books, art, etc.) without using social media. Because when it comes to marketing, social media is one option, but it’s not the only option.
- An essay I wrote a few years ago discussing why I deleted all of my social media accounts.
- And another piece on how to create mindful tech policies for your home, work, and life.
- Here’s a free class on how to find clients, earn money, and run a successful business without using social media. And here’s a free workbook that goes along with that class.
- A podcast episode (hosted by “another” Alex, the lovely Alex Beadon) where I discuss why social media is optional, not mandatory.
- An interview on Thrive Global where I discuss (among other things) how reducing screen-time has profoundly improved my mental health, creativity, and my ability to concentrate, focus deeply, and get things done.
- I was interviewed on Forbes and shared my thoughts on how social media can be part of your life and business...or not.
Lastly, a few books that shook me awake, compelled me to re-consider the role that technology plays in my life, and that spurred me to make important changes:
If you feel like it’s “just not realistic to make any changes,” and you “need” to check email constantly, and you “must” be active on social media every day and that’s “just how it is,” and it's not possible to do things differently, read those books. Those authors may convince you otherwise.
Technology should make our lives better, not worse.
We got ourselves into this tangle.
Let’s get ourselves out of it.
What is one change, big or small, that you could make today?
-Alex
PS. I am working on a secret project. It’s all about unplugging more and decluttering your brain. Details coming in 2021. Or maybe sooner. TBD.
PPS. Earlier this year, I ran a program called Marketing Without Social Media and it was one of my favorite experiences of the year. This program will be back again in 2021, refined, upgraded, and even better. I'll let you know when enrollment is open. I'm excited.
PPPS. Congratulations to my older brother, Ben, a passionate and disciplined artist who released his 8th solo album this week. High Heart is beautiful. Love you, brother.