Digital Fatigue – A Perspective from a Digital Creator
We’re in the most advanced digital era of our lives, which has enabled us to stay connected more than ever with the world. We can easily see what our friends and everyone else around the globe are up to at any given moment, message and contact people with a swipe and tap away, and discover an endless amount of content to consume.
Why however, is it that we are the generation which has alarmingly high rates and reports of isolation and loneliness? The infinite amount of information and content available on the internet, a significant increase of social comparison at any given moment of the day, and the perceived notion that many other people are living their best lives has made us feel like our lives aren’t enough, or that we are not doing enough at any given moment.
“It’s like this constant feeling of missing out on the world’s biggest party, but the party seems to never end, and there are endless parties going on all at once.”
As a digital creator who has a strong intention and willingness to be as present in the moment, I’m at a constant push and pull between ensuring that I capture the moment to share on social media, but also allowing my fullest self and senses to be free and present to experience the moments which are unfolding.
To add to this, working a desk-job for five days of the week also takes its toll in terms of the amount of screen time I experience throughout any given day. Worryingly, I spend more of my day looking at a screen than being asleep, which is an unsurprising reality for many of us.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy capturing, writing about, and sharing my fun and interesting moments which I experience with friends and visits to exciting places on my social media. There’s many times however, where experiencing the world as it is, and creating personal memories draw significantly more meaning and enrichment to our lives.
Noticeably, when I’ve scrolled on social media to the point where I’ve lost track of time, my mood evidently drops and I do feel more isolated and negative about my life, due to the fact that I won’t get that time back, but also when I feel a need for meaningful connection and try to fill that void with social media, it exacerbates those feelings of isolation and loneliness.
I definitely go through phases where I’m feeling super creative and look forward to making a post on social media, and phases where I want to have a conscious detox from it because it is not serving me. According to how creatives harness their creative energy though, breaks from creating can enable more time to generate more ideas and thoughts, which does resonate with me.
At the end of the day however, we all have a conscious choice to continue to stay online and keep consuming content, or switch off and re-connect with the present world which we exist in. It’s amazing to see and feel how the world is once you switch off and engage in an offline activity, connect with people in person, or step outside in nature, which are my go-to’s when I’m feeling digitally fatigued.
So, I definitely encourage you to switch-off your devices and screens when you feel you’re on the verge of doom-scrolling or before that next episode on Netflix rolls around. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later and realise the essentialness of living consciously, presently, and intentionally.
