The Modern Battle

Tech is changing rapidly and, in doing so, is changing us.

The consumption rate of electronics and the content they actively distribute has risen at an alarming rate. Here are some stats from Leftronic:

That’s massive growth of a highly addictive product, one that we are still learning how to moderate in our daily lives. The functionality of modern technology is infinitely beneficial, yes, and it offers a new level of comfort, ease, accessibility and connection. It has saved lives, created jobs, and supported mental health. I hate to think what it would have been like to have faced the last few challenging years without FaceTime to visit with loved ones when it was the only legal way of doing so.

That said, I’ve been having some interesting conversations with people, and noticing some changes in myself, that point to something less than healthy about this new shift in the human tech interface.

THE CULPRITS

Social media is an addictive distraction that has the potential of robbing hours of time through unintentional death scrolling. It’s designed this way and these platforms reward anyone who creates the content that keeps consumers on the app the longest. The power of attention is worth all the gold in the world.

Connecting us to this online world is a frequency soup of WiFi, Bluetooth and 5G signals, all of which are controversial with regards to long term health impacts. Regardless of their safety or risk, these are frequencies we did not live in just a few years ago. That’s too fast for the human mind and body to adapt.

You may have noticed how aggressive online advertising has become lately, having weaved its way into every free space on your screen. The marketing rule is that if you see an ad for a product 7 times, it’s at that point you’re likely to buy, yet I’m seeing the same ads far upwards of that. The bombardment is relentless, as is the repetition.

I appreciate that much of the online space has been delivered for free, like social media, and that these companies have a right to advertise on them. I am absolutely fine with that. However, it’s not the conscious impact that’s concerning, it’s what we don’t notice that counts.

The temptation of distraction is ever present, stealing attention away from what really counts: your inner environment. Your emotions and how you feel about your human experience far outweigh the importance of anything you will ever find on a screen, yet you can spend hours a day looking at them.

Feeling uncomfortable? Pick up your phone.

Need a break? Scroll through social.

Had a tough day? Shop Amazon.

It all takes away from our present moment awareness and this one life we have to live.

THE CHANGES

I’ve spoken to many people who resoundingly declare their descent into similar symptoms for an unknown reason. The primary thread: brain fog.

I’ve felt it myself over the last while, a veil being pulled over my mind, as if my head is filled with cotton and things just aren’t firing the way I’m used to. Clarity of mind and completion of a thought have been more of a struggle than normal, and I watched it happen gradually. Oddly enough, since they rolled out 5G.

The collective adult attention span seems to be diminishing, with more and more people falling prey to so-called adult onset ADHD. I am by no means claiming this isn’t a real issue, for some it is. But I also think we desperately need to analyze our environment and how we are spending our time.

I talk about goal setting often and how baby steps, regardless of how small and seemingly insignificant, will take you farther than you think. Consistency is everything. With consumption of online material, especially social media, most people are heroically consistent. Where is that leading us?

What you feed your brain matters. In nutrition coaching, we say food is information. It has power to change your body and mind. So does what you consume on anything electronic. It is all information. Be careful of what you’re feeding yourself.

Every minute you spend online pulls your attention away from being grounded in your human experience. That’s why there’s a difference between toggling your radio in your vehicle and picking up your phone to switch songs. The phone has a way of transporting you someplace else. There’s a reason it takes no effort at all to lose so much time to these devices. We don’t even notice it’s happening.

All of this impacts the mind, in turn influencing emotional resilience and self awareness. That’s a scary thing if it’s not directed in a healthy way. There is plenty of talk about the impact of what we consume online and the frequencies that carry that world to us. In my opinion, there should be more.

Take this as a prompt to pay attention, observe and collect your own data. Spend time off your phone, off your computer, and see how it makes you feel. Form your own opinion. Discernment is still your most powerful tool.

Tech has us collectively backed into a corner. There’s an unspoken ultimatum: Keep up and adapt or get left behind.

But what’s the true cost of doing so?

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