We have no time to think, and it is a problem.
Rapid media absorption is hurting us cognitively and psychologically because we are addicted to numbing our minds.
This isn’t ground breaking news. We adapted to the perpetual consumption of media in our everyday lives. It’s so prevalent that you no longer register it when it happens. You see it everywhere- at the GO train, crossing the road, at a concert- with fans who paid to be there mindlessly scrolling on their phones, tapping away at a dark screen amidst an act, overly involved in the abyss of endless opinions and inputs and visuals from people who don’t care about them. It’s almost regarded as abnormal or out of place to resist the temptation.
Media absorption and media multitasking have become more than the norm, with people on the internet joking about needing several screens going off at once to distract themselves from their thoughts, or the tedium of life.
Passively browsing sites to pass the time is, for the most part, treated as a hobby. And with this issue comes two sides of the extreme- those who use media tools to further their lives amidst the drastic alienation of themselves, and those who give up entirely, capitulating to the debilitating nature of their addiction.
The niche of self improvement and hyper productivity have seen high surges since the pandemic of 2020. Magnifying the inherent go-go-go and rush-rush-rush nature of today’s world with excessive, mainly unnecessary efficiency. The looming fear of failure in most cases is the driving force. Coupled with the instability, housing and job insecurity that came with the pandemic, it makes a lot of sense. The comparative nature of social media harps on these constant worries and insecurities, pushes many into a state of alienation, hyper independence, and dependency on technology. Many believe that this obsession with maximum efficiency could not possibly do more harm than good. Even if it means canceling plans, trading them for a higher screen time to cope with lessened free time, listening to podcasts and keeping the brain overstimulated constantly, spoiling yourself with the long anticipated treat of perpetual scrolling after work to lull you to sleep. Or engaging in even slightly more worrying behaviours that we still shrug off, like scrolling while doing the dishes, sneaking in a text while driving, fitting in more screen time in between every passing second of an overloaded schedule to take the edge off, waving away a needy child while you cook and keep another eye on the phone, or handing said child the phone. These are becoming the most prioritized ways to adapt to the fast-paced reality of our world, to keep up and keep on. The worst part is that it’s mainly done subconsciously- the phone has become a third limb, a new and improved way of adapting to the anguish of simply being alive, a way to keep going, even in the midst of burnout. This dependency of tech, whether its use is more detrimental than useful, does not matter, so long as it’s enough to keep people busy, enough to allow them to cope during their never ending pursuit of success and improvement.
Our minds are constantly injected, and we love and hate ourselves for it.
Then, on the other hand, there are those who seem to have given up entirely, choosing to lie flat, in both the literal and metaphorical sense.
The concept, which is largely popular with Chinese youth, speaks to the decision to do the opposite of hustle culture and do absolutely nothing. In theory, it might sound profound, but in actuality, it may be rather self destructive because of its aimless and listless nature. In a warped way, it reminds me of a more extreme and less political subgroup of people- Japan’s hikikomori men, who spend nearly every waking moment of their lives indoors, locked in their rooms and often spending several hours online.
Gone are the days of boredom. Even willfully sitting still, allowing oneself to stare at a wall as you brainstorm a better way to pass the time, seems primordial and unnecessary. But, according to psychologist Stephanie Lee, this is the contrary. Boredom is not as distressing as we make it out to be, and it’s up to us to learn how to regulate our emotions and bide our time in a way that is more positive, intentional and enriching for us. Clutching onto our phones like an emotional support stuffy may make us feel warm inside for a splitting second, but it is not going to help us learn to structure our days, strengthen our problem solving skills and our abilities to sit with and diligently confront discomfort.
It’s more than unsettling that the age of distressed children and babies getting thrust with ipads and phones keeps getting younger. When the only response to a wailing baby is to give them a device, we are not teaching children about delayed gratification and the danger of chasing cheap thrills. We are not teaching them how to entertain themselves in a way that may be more enriching, how to sit with boredom and foster creativity. We are not teaching them the importance of diversifying our hobbies. Instead, we are enabling shorter fuses, instant dopamine, and, in a sense, paving a near inevitable pathway to an unhealthy dependency, which may easily lead to more complicated forms of addiction down the line. Being glued to a phone is one of the most ubiquitous and widely accepted forms of addiction, even more accepted than alcohol, the widely beloved poison that our society continues to consume daily and with fervour. One could argue that our phones are quickly becoming the newest poison of the young and impressionable mind.
We were not built to live in a communeless society. We were not built to be exposed to thousands of opinions at a breakneck speed, all the time. We were not built to argue with faceless trolls and children and antagonizers.
We are becoming more individualistic, removed, jaded, alienated, hurried and self involved because of the rate at which mindless and constant media consumption is moving.
Unfortunately, we are still only seeing the genesis of such issues. Whether one is misguidedly relying on tech’s efficiency to substitute venturing outside of their homes and/ or comfort zone, or surrendering themselves entirely to the shackles of media addiction, society is bursting at the seams, and all people can do is shrug and escape into the bleak screens of their devices.
It’s a bit like watching a car crash in ultra slow motion, the kind you can’t look away from.