Digital addiction – ways and means to overcome it
Last month I discussed the dangers of digital addiction and some ways of escaping it. This month I am writing on other ways of combating the problem. These methods draw from Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism.
In 1971 a study found that 15% of American servicemen on active duty in Vietnam were addicted to heroin. There was apprehension that as the war ended and the soldiers returned home the US would be flooded with heroin addicts causing social mayhem. Operation Golden Flow was aimed at stopping this influx of addicts. US soldiers returning home were required to undergo a urine test before boarding the flight home. Any soldier testing positive was grounded and required to be detoxed before returning home.
Strangely most of the returning vets did not continue with their habits. Only 5% remained dependent after one year. The majority stopped without any formal rehabilitation programme. This was unexpected as the prevailing belief was that heroin addiction was almost a permanent affliction and difficult to be treated unless persons are placed in a highly restricted environment. The reason was the change of environment. In Vietnam the soldiers were in a high stress situation, far away from home and family, their only friends other soldiers who themselves were using heroin. Back at home in the US, they were not exposed to these triggers and they were back with their families.
The Vietnam experience ran counter to our ideas about bad habits. The conventional belief is that bad habits are due to moral weakness. People smoke, drink, become overweight or spend too much time on digital devices because they lack self-control. When we analyse the behaviours of persons who have superhuman self-control it turns out that they are not much different to persons with poor self-control. What they have is the ability to create the correct environment so that they are less likely to be tempted. They are good at disciplining the environment which enables them to discipline themselves with minimum effort. Even if you break a bad habit with superhuman determination it may not last if you are exposed to cues that remind you of your old habits.
Here are a few strategies for changing your environment so that you are less likely to be distracted or addicted to digital media:
Get used to some solitude. You don’t have to be engaged in social or digital contact all the time. You need time for quiet contemplation. Several distinguished historical figures have made taking time off to be alone a part of their daily routine. American President Abraham Lincoln,when he wanted to be alone, regularly escaped the White House to a cottage nearby. Lincoln’s ability to be alone with his thoughts was crucial for his wartime leadership. Jesus and the Buddha, the founders of two major religions took time to be alone before embarking on their ministry.
Lead Yourself First is by an unusual combination of authors – Raymond Kethledge, a judge of the United States Court of Appeal and Michael Erwin, a former Army officer. They advocate solitude as a prerequisite for good leadership. Solitude according to them is not a physical separation from the world around us but, “a subjective state of mind, in which the mind isolated from input from other minds, works through a problem on its own.” Solitude can be had even in a crowded environment such as a busy restaurant or office as long your mind is free of distractions from others and left to deal with your own thoughts.
On the other hand, solitude can be lost in the loneliest of places if you allow inputs from others to intrude. These intrusions can be reading a book, watching a movie or any other activity that draws your attention to a digital screen. Michael Harris in a book titled, ‘Solitude’ lists three benefits of solitude; new ideas, an understanding of the self and surprisingly, closeness to others.
You might wonder as to how solitude can foster closeness to others but Harris contends that experiencing separation builds an appreciation for interpersonal connections when they do happen. For the most part psychiatrists have not written much about the importance of being with your own thoughts. British psychiatrist and psychotherapist Anthony Storr was one of the first. In his book Solitude: A Return to Self, he lists several famous men, Edward Gibbon, Isaac Newton and philosophers such as Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein as persons without families or close personal- ties who nevertheless led remarkably productive lives.
Another way in which you change your environment in order to reduce digital distractions is to pursue high quality leisure activities. If you fail to cultivate these kinds of activities you replace the void with digital noise. When you have a moment to spare instead of quiet reflection you will take out your smartphone and start mindlessly tapping and swiping. So, cultivate a useful quality leisure activity, such as reading a book (a paper book not a digital book) that teaches you a useful skill, learn a craft such as carpentry or calligraphy, or start a garden if you have space. You don’t have to give up web surfing or social media checking but set apart a specific time for these.
This strategy is important for two reasons. First, by delineating time for these actions you safeguard time for more productive work. Second, you are not completely deprived of low-quality diversions. Complete abstinence irks and might cause you to abandon your new-found habits.
I end with a quote from Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, “Digital minimalism definitively does not reject the innovations of the internet age, but instead rejects the way so many people currently engage with these tools. …I’m enthralled by the possibilities of our techno-future. But I’m also convinced that we cannot unlock this potential until we put in the effort required to take control of our own digital lives—to confidently decide for ourselves what tools we want to use, for what reasons, and under what conditions. This isn’t reactionary, it’s common sense.”