After seven long weeks of researching deep work, focus, and technology for my master’s coursework, I realized that the majority of my stress was coming from places designed to do so. Each feature on my smartphone was carefully created to elicit a neurological response and hormone release so that it became harder and harder to put down. After learning that I spent upwards of three hours a day just on my iPhone alone, I began to astutely observe exactly how technology impacted my life.
After tracking my usage, I confirmed that at the end of an average day, I would be spending at least 14 hours of it in front of a screen. Quantifying my usage and becoming more aware of it, made it easy to see the negative impacts of smartphones and social media. The constant typing and tapping on my tech caused old injuries in my wrists and hands to become inflamed. My sleep was so affected that I would often time struggle to stay awake during the morning commute. Life became increasingly more sedentary, more depressing, and it was a miracle if I ever managed to get outside. This realization caused me to feel disappointed in myself – this wasn’t optimal and it certainly didn’t feel like living anymore.
During my Data Detox, it was clear that I felt so much better once I was finally able to relinquish my screens. I paid more attention to the important things, and I even felt like I smiled more. This experience urged me to talk about what I had been feeling and to spread the knowledge I’ve learned. My white paper “Get Deep: Improving Your Health and Wellness by Changing Your Mind” culminates technology addiction, deep work, and the research conducted on this blog so that others can start recognizing and reestablishing their personal relationship with their tech, mind, and body.
Alex Piwtoratsky. 