The Digital Working Age and Impact on Mental Health

It doesn’t take Stephen Hawkins (RIP) style intelligence to realise the digital age is having an impact on our wellbeing if you didn’t realise you must be an idiot. Our mobile phones are no longer phones they are for; email, shopping, news, social media, finding food and navigating – at the very least. You can even have a clue app for your period and sync it with your friends darling. We also all have a friend who’s tracking her ex on ‘find my iphone’.

When we look wider into the modern world, outside of phones we find ourselves submerged into a place of digital adverts on the tube, arguments on forums with people 1000s of miles away and Alexa home hubs that tell you “it’s going to be ok” when you start crying (true story)”. This is particularly true of being a woman as the bigger majority of ads are aimed at you darling. When it comes to the world of viewing we even have Marie kondo to tell us how to fold clothing and porn to make us feel inadequate.

What pressure is your technology putting on you?

Society thrives off modern technology and yet it leads to so many accidents and detriment. As a practitioner, if I had a pound for every person who had asked me about the meaning of a text, well I wouldn’t be writing this blog right now (FYI I expect kisses and a heart emoji). Ever received a message off a girlfriend constructed using Siri? This can sound verysinister, “hey girl! Speak later!”, can turn into a very anxiety provoking “we’ll speak about it later”.

How many times have you had the experience of the accidental email trail you cc’d someone into or were cc’d into. The uni essay you deleted and those internet purchases that are far to easy to make (like those spandex sequin pants – you do you darling).   My housemate advised I should warn against the failings of internet shopping through the use of my own experience. Over the past year I have managed to order a knitting pattern instead of an actual toilet roll doily (don’t ask why I was buying a doily), a piece of printed material with my housemates face on rather than a shower curtain, a weight lifting belt instead of leggings and 20 tablespoons, not teaspoons, twice. 

Even offline you’re not safe, you use the self-checkout at Tesco and then realise you’ve accidentally stolen your champagne (honest).   Then just when you think you’re ok you try to send the location of your new favourite coffee shop to a friend and Google maps brings up your ex as the first suggested contact, with his big face staring back at you. Fuck you google.  

Whether you like it or not technology is one of the biggest stressors in life. The digital platforms we have access to create poor work-life balance, Social balance and when phones are removed we get anxiety and withdrawal. This type of anxiety even has its own disorder, nomophobia. In this world, we seemed to have lost the mantra that often less can equal more. Easy access creates an expectancy of immediacy in all areas of our life; food, knowledge even sex.   This is one of the areas where you should absolutely be more selfish darling.

To quote Matt Haig; “How can we live in a mad world without going mad…is the world heading for an emotional breakdown?”

Do we actually need to “Switch screens off to switch ourselves back on”?

When we look at what stress actually is; the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them, we could argue technology is one of these pressures. Your phone creates a demand even if you don’t know it, constant noise and visual stimuli in the external world creates a demand too. Its a fact, your amazing female mind becomes less powerful with too many distractions, despite our excellent ability to multi-task.  This is why mindfulness is so useful in a busy world, it gives our brain a rest that it wouldn’t otherwise get. In today’s world we literally have to find a quiet space because this no longer naturally exists, that’s why being out in a natural calm environment is so good for you.  

This piece was written for International Women’s Day 2019 where the theme was ‘about balance’, reflect on your balance, has technology taken over? What could you be doing instead of six hours a day of scrolling, tv watching and outside of work hours working.   

Spend more time on you Darling.

With Love xxx

Rebekah Few

NotLostbutFree.com