I did a 5 day attention detox challenge
Read to unlearn
Digitally Exhausted came to be because I wanted a place to share my thoughts on tech’s societal impact. My writing covers social media’s spaghetti-like complexities, internet culture, action steps to balance digital life, Big Tech, and anything my fingertips desire.
Reading (or listening) to Digitally Exhausted, I hope you become inspired to design a digital life for you, not default or opt-in to one.
If you’re interested in these topics, and down to stick around, subscribe 😊
Pssssst… To the listeners tuning in, I talk slowly. If slow talkers are not your thing, I suggest increasing the voiceover speed to 1.5x.
Hello 👋 ! It’s been too long since I’ve gotten behind my keys to write a Digitally Exhausted post—life is just a little more hectic than usual at the moment.
If you have been here since the beginning, you know I’m committed to sharing on a consistent basis.
And… I feel like I haven’t.
I don’t think anyone really cares, but if you do, I’m sorry for not creating a clear posting frequency.
For those of you who want some sort of schedule, moving forward, I will (96% most likely) share a new post every week—to commit to a day is a bit too hard for me right now. However, I’d like to think of it as a surprise for everyone.
(Side note, for those reading, I elaborate on the other 4%)
Why detox attention?
I participated in Consciously Digital’s 5 Day Attention Detox Challenge, which was an opportunity for attendees to restore attention following basic neuroscience principles while doing interactive challenges.
I did this because I figured it would be fun, add more tools to my belt, and prepare me for the Digital Wellness Educator course I’m starting in September.
To express my buzzin’ bunny giddiness leftover from the challenge, and to hopefully inspire at least one of y’all to design a digital life for you, not default or opt-in to one, the next few posts will include things I learned about attention from the challenge.
A peak at the topics I’ll be covering, include:
Change happens like this, not that
Types of attention and the brain
Multitasking… is it a thing?
Small steps you can take to harness your attention
However, today’s post is about unlearning. Yep, UNLEARNING! But first, I want to express a few things about trust.
People trust people
I’d like to think most people trust people. On the other hand, giving trust is sometimes percieved as naive.
But we want to trust other people. It’s human nature. However, our instinct can potentially lead to making decisions in cruise control when we should be driving.
In other words, sometimes we forget to pause, lean in, and question—just like our trust for technology.
During the early stages of technological development (e.g. the internet, computers, and smartphones) we gave our trust, assuming:
there would be access to more information
work would be quicker and easier
people would find their communities
We trusted technology would make the world stronger, not:
spread misinformation and collect personal data
create unrealistic work standards, normalizing burnout and digital fatigue
divide people and make it an everyday cultural phenomenon
We’re still in the trial-and-error period of technology, which is okay. That’s life. But we are at the point where Big Tech is putting profits over people… we are in crisis.
I don’t mean to be a negative nugget, but this is how I feel from what I have experienced, witnessed, and learned, especially during the pandemic.
My point: Be curious!
So, to do a complete tail spin, if you’re open to it, let’s do some unlearning.
Y’all, everything isn’t urgent
Digital environments add a constant sense of urgency. Between design, unethical business models, and cultural expectations, we are taught everything in the digital space is urgent.
What if I told you, it isn’t?
It’s easier said than done but think about your digital environment. (This is a good moment to pause and be curious.) Decide what’s urgent and what’s not. During the challenge, I did this by making a mental list of what stresses me out in my current digital life:
Desktop background
iCloud storage
Daft.ie notifications
Unopened newsletters
Instagram DMs
Instagram Channels
LinkedIn job postings
My never-ending “To Read” tab group
These are a few things that feel urgent (some are) but most of them aren’t. For example:
Unopened newsletters: I love newsletters, but reading them is not urgent.
Instagram DMs: People who want or need to get in contact with me have my number, so DMs can wait.
My never-ending “To Read” tab group: Those pieces “To Read” are not going anywhere.
If you’re stressed in your current digital environment, be curious and make a list. Whether it’s a mental list, voice note, sticky note, or journal entry, decide what’s urgent.
But if you’re not sure how to decide what’s urgent and what’s not, I’ll touch on this next week.
Wherever you are, be there ✨
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been mesmerized by Galway and the people who come to experience the city’s magic during the summer, which is also festival season.
My wherever you are, be there moment: Seeing this dragon at the Galway International Arts Festival.
Content I’m consuming
📚 My journal
📺 Lupin
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