We are living in the digital age. Collins dictionary defines the term as ‘a time when large amounts of information is widely available to many people, largely through computer technology’. It comes as no surprise that we are indeed living in the digital age. Everything and I mean everything is accessible through our phones. In fact, you do not need to leave your house anymore with so much being available digitally. In this blog post I want to discuss how you can take of your Digital Wellbeing.
Importance of taking care of you Digital Wellbeing
It is easy to spend conspicuous amount of time on social media. There are many addictive social media apps. We all go on these apps intending to just spend a few minutes, then 2-5 hours of your time goes, just like that. However, it is not only that. It is the amount of information that we consume on these apps that can also be damaging.
On Social Media we are exposed to so many things that we may not even encounter in real life. The issue is that some of the things that we consume are presented to us in a 2 minute video, for example. In just one sitting you can be exposed to online arguments, bullying, traumatic videos, painful stories and much more. The worst of it that i have seen lately is the recording people in their last moments of life and posting online. You can imagine what all this can do to your mental wellbeing.
- Limit Screen time
The first important thing that you need to do is limit your screen time. This can be a very difficult thing to do when you realise how much of your life is on your phone. We use our phones to keep in contact with our friends, family, watch films, shows, buy food, shop for clothes and much more. We use our phones as a way of escape. So it is easy to spend hours on our phones without realising it.
I have started limiting my screen time, especially with certain applications where I know I will spend hours. There’s an option to see how many hours you spend a day on your phone. You will be surprised to find that you can spend 10 hours or more on your phone.
The best strategy to limit screen time is by consciously putting your phone away at certain times of the day. I know that many people do not have the luxury to turn off their phones. But putting your phone aside and doing something else can help you to limit screen time effectively.
It is also important to manage your time when you are on these apps. The best way to do this is by setting yourself a target. For example, you can set a timer to make sure that you are not spending hours on social media.
2. Mute and block Negative people
It is really important to un-follow or block people that are negative on social media. This can include people that you know. There are times when I am on Twitter, and I realise that I’m following someone who constantly tweets negatively or things that do not align to my values. I have learnt that in this instance, my response is to remove that person.
This applies to people that can appear on your social media timelines, but you do not follow. We all know by now how social media works. So it important to protect your space the best way that you can. You do not need to argue or involve yourself in social media arguments. As many would say, “protect your peace”. Take care your digital wellbeing by removing people that can compromise this.
3. Read Books.
Because we spend so much time on social media. The reality is that we absorb much of what we see and read on social media. How many times a day do you catch yourself saying, ‘ this person on Tik Tok said this’, or ‘ I read on Twitter that if you’. In fact maybe you do not even consider it an issue that you reference the knowledge you have from a Tik Tok you saw. This is not to say everything we see on these apps is terrible. There are some people who post helpful things or simply just make our day by making us laugh. The issue is not in that. The problem stems from people using these apps as their only source of learning..
To put it plainly,it is not enough. Social media cannot be, and should not be your only source of information. Anyone can post anything on social media even whether it is true or not.
Which is why it is important to read books. Do not just consume everything you see on social media and live by that only. It is important to read books. Books are not only for children who are in school, or those in higher education. We should all be reading books so that we are not led by everything that we see.
O’L Takeaway
Taking care of your digital wellbeing is very important. These are some tips that you can apply to make sure that you are taking care of yourself. As mentioned in this post, make sure that you are taking care of your digital wellbeing by limiting your screen time, block negative people and reading outside from what you see online.
