Most of us are now familiar with phone addiction, especially with regards to social media. Many of us spend hours upon hours on our phone, often browsing social media, which is known to have a damaging impact on our mental health. This article we wrote in 2015 remains true today, and – even after a decade – people are still spending more and more time online.
But it’s not *just* the effects of social media that we need to worry about. It is also the consumption of content as a whole. Many of us are suffering from “Digital Overload,” spending more time on our devices than our minds are meant to handle, and potentially causing further anxiety and stress as a result.
The Effects of Digital Overload
Our brains are capable of many amazing things. But there is a limit to how much they were designed to process. Right now, when we spend hours upon hours browsing social media, the news, games, and other online content, we are processing more digital information (photos, words, videos, and more) than our brains were designed to handle, all through a medium (the phone) that our minds were not equipped for.
The term that some people use to describe this is “Digital Overload.” It is the idea that we’re processing so much information and so much data, that our minds are being overloaded. We are:
- Unable to provide enough resources to process our emotions and experiences that day.
- Unable to focus on any one task, creating difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness and more.
- Losing our ability to cope with stress, creating a greater risk for anxiety and depression.
Many people use to copy with stress – at least that is what we’re trained to believe. But this digital overload may be why that “works.” When we consume that much information, our minds may not have enough resources left over to process the day, which helps us feel like we’re relaxing.
But if we never process the day, then we’re only increasing our anxiety and stress in the future while also weakening our ability to cope with it.
Building Stress Coping, Overcoming Phone Addiction, and Reducing Digital Overload
It’s easy to understand why people get addicted to their phone, and why it feels so easy to consume that information. We can also understand why we may not notice that we’re consuming too much information, as the lack of processing is more of a “Behind the Scenes” issue. Our brains aren’t processing as much, leading to more stress, but not necessarily while we’re scrolling.
Still, digital overload is a problem – one that affects anxiety, depression, stress coping, and more. As therapists, we can help you address the core issues that are causing your digital overload, as well as the anxiety and stress resulting from it. Please contact us today to get started.
