Don’t be a slave to smart devices

As AN urban millennial who is working remotely, I cannot deny my dependency on the Internet.

For a long time, I justified my need to stay connected 24/7 by using work as an excuse.

While the Internet has allowed me to discover opportunities and make amazing friends, I used this same line of reasoning to justify being glued to screens even outside working hours.

The world today makes it easy for us to access information from all around the word and keep up to date with the activities of friends, and even strangers.

This constant flow of information gives us instant gratification.

Many of us are glued to our phones, checking them every few minutes compulsively. We don’t want to experience FOMO (fear of missing out) as there is always something new to consume online.

The Internet can be a treasure trove of valuable information but we have turned into dopamine addicts.

Our smart devices are a drug used to get us validation and attention. They distract us and we turn to them to escape our lives.

It’s funny that these devices were invented to make our lives easier but in many ways, they have made our lives harder but not in the ways that you may think.

Our social media addiction has compromised our attention spans. Is it any wonder that even though we have access to unlimited fun, depression rates have also increased globally?

The Covid-19 pandemic, too, has isolated us and pushed people to become more dependent on their devices.

The more we rely on the Internet for entertainment and validation, the more we forget how to be alone with our thoughts.

We lack focus. We lose productivity. And saddest of all, we lose out on meaningful experiences because our time is always fragmented by digital interactions.

I’m pretty sure many of us have been at a gathering where at least one person was glued to a smartphone even when surrounded by friends or other people.

This person may even be you.

Instead of being the master of my devices, my devices became my masters, and I know I am not alone. It is important for us to take control now.

The idea is not to shut out the Internet completely but to be able to enjoy it in moderation, without having it take over your life, and to use it to serve you instead of the other way around.

I’ve met many people who have tried to combat their Internet addiction by making themselves more productive with to-do lists.

All it does, in the end, is tire them out because they realise that they need to keep being on the move to “forget” to go on social media. I used to do this as well.

What has helped me tremendously instead is creating a schedule of when I am allowed to access the Internet, including social media.

It is not easy and involves a lot of self-discipline (and you will relapse now and again) but the payoff is worth it. In fact, most smart devices today have built-in features that allow you to schedule screen or app times.

We need to slowly build behaviour patterns that can help us to cut through the digital noise. We need to inculcate personal responsibility and define boundaries for ourselves.

Always remember that almost all distractions are self-induced, and the power to take back control is always in our hands.

I cannot discredit the Internet entirely as it has brought many positives into my life. But as they always say, sometimes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

In a world that is extremely online, let’s take more time to be offline.

Shafiqah Othman is a women and children’s rights activist who has worked with various non-governmental organisations that focus on issues of fundamental human rights. She believes in the importance of intersectionality and strives to lend her platform to silenced voices.

The views expressed here are the writer’s own.