Krys Kestrel

Before we get into it, let’s explain the concept of digital mindfulness. Mindfulness is defined as “a mental state characterized by awareness and presence in the moment” (Source: Liu et al.) which has risen in popularity over recent years. As we move forward in the ever-connected digital age, people’s lives become more involved in digital media and the need for mindfulness to aid in one’s digital well-being is growing. According to one research paper, “digital well-being is understood here as a shorthand term for how digital media use is connected to well-being” (Source: Büchi). Digital mindfulness, in essence, is the best effort at improving one’s digital (and therefore overall) well-being and overall cognitive function (Source: Liu et al.).

💻 How Does Technology Impact Our Well-Being?

Technology has been a driving force, shaping and changing nearly every aspect of our modern-day lives. When we look at how technology has impacted humans, the research has been mixed. Digital media, just as any other part of our lives, can bring both positive and negative aspects. Technology enables remote healthcare and mental healthcare options, access to education and research articles, and access to supportive communities from across the world. That being said, we cannot ignore the negative points that can be brought on by the increased use of technology and social media.

#1: Increased social media usage can increase your stress.

Studies report that social media addiction is negatively associated with well-being (Source: Duradoni et al.) and taking breaks from social media use resulted in “reduced perceived stress, especially in excessive users” (Source: Turel et al.). This alongside many examples of how social media can increase feelings of social anxiety, FOMO, and pressures to disclose personal information (Source: Rainie, Lu, & Shin) shows the numerous negative impacts that overuse of digital media can have on a person’s stress levels.

#2: Increased technology use can reduce your ability to maintain attention/focus.

The rise of short-form content in recent years has certainly brought more attention to this issue, and studies into practicing more digital mindfulness and separation from technology have shown that people can focus in more easily, “closing their mind to alternative or distracting tasks” (Source: Wilson). While digital media alone is not completely responsible for attention issues (as I am heavily aware of, being a woman with ADHD), there are numerous examples of how our attention and focus can be negatively impacted by overuse of digital media. 

#3: Being connected to others all the time can increase the risk of psychological issues.

Studies have found that being “constantly connected” to others can increase one’s risk of psychological issues, such as: narcissism, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances (Source: Shensa et al.). Now, something that’s very important to note here is that psychological issues have a number of different factors as to why they come about, how often they crop up, and how severe they can be. That being said, the science suggests that overuse of digital media can certainly be a contributing factor, so we want to find ways of mitigating the negative impacts of the digital age as much as possible.

Enter the concept of digital mindfulness.

🌿 How Can Digital Mindfulness Be Helpful?

Mindfulness has not been my strong suit in the past, but I strongly believe that this is a skill that can be developed and made better with practice. Different people align with different methods of mindfulness, but here’s a short list of a few different mindfulness activity examples:

• focusing on your breathing
• progressive muscle relaxation
• meditation
• yoga
• gratitude journaling
• practicing digital disengagement

Mindfulness (and of course, digital mindfulness) focuses on a more reflective approach to your thoughts rather than a reactive approach. This practice encourages you to experience the wonders of the digital world with “clarity, balance, and intention” (Source: Liu et al.). By practicing more digital mindfulness, we can directly impact our well-being in a positive way. Practicing mindfulness can help to mitigate the negative impacts (like lack of attention or focus, increased stress, etc.) brought upon us by overuse of technology by helping to set positive boundaries and practice positive behaviors. In addition, practicing mindfulness can improve your creativity and productivity – basically, self-care is a superpower. Practicing mindfulness is one way of doing this, and a prominent tool to help navigate digital life in a positive way. That being said, how do we specifically apply digital mindfulness in our everyday lives? Here’s five ways you can start today:

#1: Take regular breaks from technology and digital media.

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but a very important reminder. Take regular breaks for both your eyes and mind to rest from technology and the stresses of the online world, and your well-being will thank you for it.

#2: Reduce or turn off notifications during downtime, especially those work e-mails!

Practice setting good boundaries and maintaining a sense of the present by distancing yourself from work-related notifications and distractions during your personal time. This is a great way to encourage you to stay away from the e-mail and focus on what brings you joy in your personal life, so that you can maximize your time doing that.

#3: Incorporate gratitude or another digital mindfulness practice into your daily technology use.

Our phones, tablets, and computers can absolutely become a source of stress in life if we are only experiencing negative emotions associated with technology use. Even if you’re just trying to search online for that dress from a music video, your mind may associate technology with annoyance, anger, or other negative feelings that put a damper on your mood for seemingly no reason. To combat this, try to incorporate more positive outlets in your digital world via a gratitude journaling app or daily affirmations.

#4: Track your screen time and maintain awareness of your technology use / digital media consumption.

Being aware and present is one of the keys to being mindful, so maintaining a sense of how much time you are spending using your technology can be incredibly helpful in this. While tracking alone won’t get you to distance yourself, reflecting on your screen time regularly and seeing if your time and behaviors align with what you want to be doing can be a very helpful behavior monitoring tool.

#5: Remove negative sources from your digital world.

Finally, I would highly recommend combing through your social media, e-mail inbox, and other technology sources to try and remove things that bring you great amounts of negative emotions. For example, if a content creator you used to love has spent the last year posting things to elicit anger or annoyance and it is causing you to feel those emotions on a regular basis, consider unfollowing or muting the account. If a song in your music library only brings negative connotations any time you hear the first note, I encourage you to hide it/remove the song from your library. Putting in place these healthy boundaries to remove negative inputs from your life is a sign of understanding yourself and being strong enough to put into place those boundaries for yourself.

💭 Final Thoughts

I hope that this research and these suggestions have been helpful to you, and I strongly encourage you to try incorporating these practices into your own life to find what works best for you…and remember – be present!