Technology Habits

As technology becomes more bite-sized and offers faster, sweeter rewards, our attention spans are adapting and becoming shorter. This is paralleled by a rise in ADHD diagnoses and people struggling to control their attention, even without clinical ADHD.
Examples: Reading books (delayed gratification) vs. consuming short-form content like tweets and TikToks. Longer content like blog posts and video essays are being selected against in favor of shorter content.
Interconnected Ideas: ADHD on the Rise, Delayed vs. Instant Gratification, Evolution of Internet Content

“As technology becomes more bite sized, we no longer need to pay attention the way that we used to. The payoff from technology is becoming sweeter, faster and more immediate.”

Reflective Questions:

• How has your personal attention span changed with the evolution of technology?
• What are the potential long-term effects of shorter attention spans on society?

The brain is an efficient organ that follows the principle of “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” As we consume shorter content and no longer need to pay attention for prolonged periods, our brain lets go of the ability to maintain attention for extended durations.
Analogy: Like a language, if you don’t practice it, the brain starts forgetting it. The brain stops wasting energy on holding attention for long periods if it’s not needed.

“It’s almost like a language where if you don’t practice it, our brain sort of figures out oh, I don’t I don’t need to know this language. So it starts forgetting and in the same way, the more content that we consume. That’s very, very short. Our brain is sort of like we don’t need to pay attention for a long period of time.”

Creating physical separation from your phone is the cornerstone of healthy technology habits. Phones allow a blend of work and recreation, leading to constant distractions and potential burnout.

Steps for Better Phone Hygiene:

1. Create physical distance from your phone by leaving it in a different room or out of arm’s reach.
2. Don’t sleep with your phone right next to you.
3. Be critical about the notifications you receive and turn off those that are distracting.
4. Use separate logins or devices for work and personal use to increase barriers between the two.

“So create physical separation with your phone. Another important tip is I would not sleep with your phone within arm’s distance. So when you get into bed, either leave your phone at the opposite end of the room or leave it in a different room.”

Reflective Questions:

• What are your worst offenders when it comes to apps or devices that distract you?
• How can you implement physical separation from your phone in your daily life?

Use the alarm function on your phone to set time limits on technology usage, even during leisure time. This helps break the autopilot cycle of endless scrolling or gaming, raising awareness about the enjoyment (or lack thereof) of the activity.

Instructions:

1. Set an alarm before engaging in potentially distracting activities like gaming or browsing social media.
2. When the alarm goes off, ask yourself if you’re still enjoying the activity or if it’s time to stop.
3. Use alarms to limit useless scrolling sessions to 10-20 minutes.

“So the first 10 minutes of browsing something like tick tock, you’re kind of having fun, and you can absolutely browse tick tock for four hours, but I can guarantee you that hour three is not going to be as fun as the first 10 minutes. And so the interesting thing is that if we can break that autopilot cycle and raise some awareness, we can get some control over it.”

Reflective Questions:

• What are your “drugs of choice” when it comes to technology?
• How can you use alarms to regain control over your attention and time?

Finding the right balance with technology usage requires experimentation, awareness, and identifying personal vulnerabilities. The goal is not complete abstinence but rather a more hygienic approach to reclaim attention and live a more fulfilling life.

“At the end of the day figuring out how to set up to healthy technology. Hygiene is a little bit of a process. It’s going to require a lot of awareness on your part, a lot of experimentation on your part, a lot of really figuring out okay, what’s your drug of choice when it comes to technology? What are the areas in which are the most vulnerable?”

Reflective Questions:

• What battles with technology do you frequently lose, costing you significant time and attention?
• How can you start implementing healthier technology habits in your life today?

Track your technology usage over a 2-hour period in 30-minute increments. Set an alarm every 30 minutes to log your activity.

Questions

• Which items are the most enjoyable?
• Which items are the most productive?
• Is there a particular machine or application that you score low in enjoyment/productivity or high in enjoyment/productivity?
• Which items take the most of your time? What is your most used machine and application?

Decide Which line item(s)

You Think is Best to Cut out (ex. Items that Are Low Enjoyment, Low Productivity, and Take up a Lot of time) and what Change in Behavior You Can Try in the next 2 Hours (ex. Uninstall App, Turn off notifications).

Machine	Application	Intervention	Productivity Rating
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