Digital Wellbeing | Annette White-Klososky | TEDxUCO
Summary
TLDRThe speaker candidly discusses their personal struggle with an unhealthy relationship with technology, which led to negative impacts on their personal and professional life. They share their journey towards digital wellness through the Digital Wellness Institute, where they became certified. The essence of digital well-being is the balanced use of technology without it disrupting one's peace or focus. The speaker highlights alarming statistics about the effects of excessive screen time on mental health and productivity, and offers practical tips for creating digital boundaries and maintaining a healthy relationship with technology. They emphasize the importance of being intentional with technology use, setting boundaries, and being aware of one's triggers and needs. The talk concludes with a challenge to the audience to examine their own relationship with screens and consider making changes for a healthier digital life.
Takeaways
- 📱 The speaker fell in love with their screens, which became a toxic relationship affecting personal and family life.
- 💔 Technology addiction can lead to a decrease in focus, inner peace, and can interfere with personal relationships.
- 🌟 Digital well-being is about balancing the use of technology without it impeding one's balance or peace.
- ⚖️ Intentionality is crucial in using technology; it's about focusing on accomplishing goals rather than aimless scrolling.
- 📉 Research from the Digital Wellness Institute shows alarming statistics about employee fear of unplugging, dissatisfaction, and the impact on productivity.
- 💰 There's a significant economic cost to mental health issues in the workplace, with billions spent on lost productivity.
- 📈 The pressure to be constantly connected and productive is increasing with advancements in technology like AI and virtual reality.
- 🧠 The prefrontal cortex, responsible for focus and decision-making, can become fatigued from overuse of technology, leading to memory loss and inability to focus.
- 🚫 Setting boundaries with technology is essential for maintaining balance and well-being.
- 🔄 It's important to be aware of one's triggers and needs, such as sleep or a change of scenery, to avoid numbing behaviors like excessive screen time.
- 📉 The modern work culture often lacks digital boundaries, leading to a constant expectation of availability and increased stress.
Q & A
What is digital well-being?
-Digital well-being is the balance of being able to use technology, applications, programs, and AI without impeding or restricting your balance or peace. It involves having intention for what you're doing, maintaining focus, and ensuring that you're accomplishing the goals you're trying to achieve.
What is the Digital Wellness Institute?
-The Digital Wellness Institute is an organization that the speaker went through a program with and became certified. It focuses on awareness and healing related to digital well-being, helping individuals understand and manage their relationship with technology.
Why did the speaker feel the need to address digital well-being?
-The speaker felt the need to address digital well-being because of their personal experience with technology addiction, which impacted their inner peace, ability to focus, and personal relationships. They recognized the negative effects on mental health and productivity and wanted to help others avoid similar issues.
What are some statistics mentioned in the transcript regarding the impact of technology on employees?
-Some statistics mentioned include: 30% of employees fear unplugging, 40% feel unfulfilled due to lack of work-life balance, 90% of organizations find personal device use distracting, and $44 billion is spent on lost productivity due to employee mental health issues.
How has screen time in the workplace increased?
-Screen time in the workplace has increased from 8.1 hours to 11.1 hours, indicating a longer connection to work and a lack of separation between work and personal life.
What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in relation to technology use?
-The prefrontal cortex is involved in distractability, perseveration, and impulsive behaviors. Excessive use of technology can lead to fatigue in this area of the brain, resulting in memory loss, difficulty focusing, and an inability to read emotional sensitivities.
What is the speaker's advice for creating a digital diet?
-The speaker suggests being intentional about what you consume and when, and how much, similar to how one would create a diet for eating. This involves setting boundaries and being mindful of the time spent on screens and the activities performed on them.
What are some tips the speaker provides for improving digital well-being?
-Tips include generating versus stimulating, designating devices for specific purposes, traveling slow to be present, setting expectation margins, having mindful meetings, practicing mindful communication, and being aware of personal state to avoid numbing behaviors.
How does the speaker suggest using technology to improve productivity?
-The speaker suggests using technology to complete tasks more efficiently, but also emphasizes the importance of reaping the rewards of that increased productivity, rather than just expecting more work.
What is the importance of setting boundaries when it comes to technology use?
-Setting boundaries is key to achieving balance and well-being. Without boundaries, one can become overwhelmed and lose focus, leading to decreased productivity and potential mental health issues.
How does the speaker propose to make technology use more intentional?
-The speaker proposes being more intentional by setting clear goals for technology use, designating specific devices for specific tasks, and creating a digital diet that involves mindful and focused interactions with technology.
Outlines
😀 Struggling with Digital Dependency
The speaker opens up about a personal struggle with an unhealthy relationship with technology, which was initially fulfilling but eventually became toxic, affecting personal relationships and focus. After recognizing the problem, they sought help from the Digital Wellness Institute, went through their program, and became certified. This experience led them to help others. The definition of digital well-being is introduced as the balance between using technology and maintaining personal peace and focus. The speaker emphasizes the importance of intentional use of technology and being aware of one's digital habits.
📈 The Impact of Technology on Work-Life Balance
The speaker discusses the alarming statistics from the Digital Wellness Institute's research, highlighting employees' fear of unplugging, dissatisfaction due to lack of work-life balance, and the perception of personal device use as a distraction. It is noted that organizations often do not have clear digital boundaries, leading to a culture of constant expectation and increased productivity without proper balance. The cost of lost productivity due to these issues is highlighted, along with the rise in anxiety, depression, and workplace suicides, underscoring the urgency to address these concerns.
🧠 Understanding the Brain's Struggle with Technology
The focus shifts to the impact of technology on the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for distractability, perseverance, and impulsive behaviors. The speaker recommends the book 'Frontal Fatigue' for a deeper understanding of how our brains are not designed for constant interaction with machines. The overuse of this part of the brain can lead to fatigue, memory loss, and an inability to focus or read emotional cues. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries and being intentional with technology use to maintain balance and well-being.
🛠️ Practical Tips for Digital Well-being
The speaker provides practical tips for achieving digital well-being, including generating versus stimulating, designating devices for specific purposes, slowing down during travel to be present, setting expectations for work and technology use, and mindful communication. They advocate for being intentional about when and how technology is used, such as using different rooms for different activities to signal a change in focus. The speaker also encourages self-reflection on personal needs and numbing behaviors, suggesting that small changes in awareness and habits can lead to significant improvements in digital well-being.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Digital Well-being
💡Digital Wellness Institute
💡Screen Time
💡Intentionality
💡Work-Life Balance
💡Prefrontal Cortex
💡Numbing Behavior
💡Digital Boundaries
💡Mindful Communication
💡Personal Responsibility
💡Unplugging
Highlights
The speaker fell in love with screens and technology, which led to a toxic relationship that affected personal and family life.
The Digital Wellness Institute's program helped the speaker become certified and start a journey of awareness and healing.
Digital well-being is about balancing the use of technology without impeding personal balance or peace.
The importance of having intention and focus when using technology to accomplish goals was emphasized.
The speaker discusses the concept of a 'digital diet', being intentional about screen time and consumption of digital content.
Research from the Digital Wellness Institute shows that 30% of employees fear unplugging, believing they will miss important messages.
40% of employees feel unfulfilled due to a lack of work-life balance and digital boundaries in their organizations.
90% of organizations find personal device use distracting and unproductive, yet accept after-hours work-related device use.
Depression and anxiety are on the rise, with $44 billion spent on lost productivity due to employee mental health issues.
Workplace suicides are increasingly reported, highlighting the need to address the pressures of constant connectivity and production demands.
The average screen time in the workplace has risen from 8.1 hours to 11.1 hours, indicating longer and more continuous workdays.
The need to untether from devices and reduce digital connection was stressed to improve mental and emotional well-being.
The impact of screen time on the prefrontal cortex, leading to distractability, perseveration, and impulsive behaviors, was discussed.
The concept of 'frontal fatigue' from the book 'Frontal Fatigue' was introduced, explaining how our brains are not designed for constant interaction with machines.
The speaker shared personal strategies for setting digital boundaries, such as designating different devices for different purposes.
Tips for maintaining balance include being present during travel, setting expectations for productivity gains, and mindful communication.
The importance of being intentional with technology use and setting personal boundaries for a healthier digital relationship was emphasized.
The speaker challenged the audience to examine their relationship with screens and consider whether it is healthy and impacting other areas of life.
Transcripts
so I was in an inappropriate
relationship it's a little bit hard for
me to talk about embarrassing but I fell
in love and it checked all the boxes
right we all have the boxes there was
humor total availability inspiration
smart but it turned
toxic and it really started to interfere
with personal relationships with my
family my ability to focus
there were just a lot of things that
really started to take a
turn and you'd probably know who I'm
talking
about I was in love with my
screens my cell phone my iPad my laptop
even my
TV and I knew that I had a problem and I
knew that it was impacting my inner
peace my ability to focus and I found an
organization called the digital Wellness
Institute and I went through their
program and became certified and I
started a journey of awareness and
really
healing and that's what kind of led me
to start helping other people so let's
start with the definition of what
digital well-being is it's that balance
of being able to use technology
applications programs
AIS but not impeding or really
restricting your balance or your peace
it's just that ability to have intention
for what you're doing and focus and
making sure that you're accomplishing
the goals that you're trying to
accomplish because I could sit and I'm
not going to tell you how long I could
sit and scroll aimlessly and then I'd be
like I'm watching monkeys throw
darts for a long time how many of you
have caught yourself watching these
random
videos wasting time and in what I I was
numbing it was a numbing behavior and
what I really needed to do was ask
myself what do I
need most of the time I need to go to
bed I need sleep maybe I need to eat
maybe I need to get up and just change
the scenery go out for a a walk and then
I can refocus I like to think about
creating a digital diet we're familiar
with how we do that with eating so it's
like what am I going to consume and when
and then how much like be very
intentional about what you're doing when
it comes to screens in your life so the
digital Wellness Institute that I
mentioned they have a Trends report and
they do a lot of research and it's it's
I'm only going to share a few things
with you but it's really alarming when
you start reading some of the research
that we're starting to have but
30% of employees fear unplugging because
they're going to miss that message that
email that they feel like they need to
respond to in some you know some time
fashion like it's a Sprint a race
there's 40% of employees that they just
really feel unfulfilled and dissatisfied
because their culture their
organizations they don't have a balance
a work life balance there's not digital
boundaries and they just expect more and
more and more and then 90% of
organizations this is the one that I
find interesting they they are annoying
and feel like when people use their
personal advice devices it's distracting
and that it lowers their productivity
they don't seem to mind when they're
using that 11 o'clock at night to answer
an email or first thing in the morning
it's fine to use your personal viic then
so there's just not really any kind of a
structure around what
organizations uh have in culture and
digital boundaries so depression $44
billion is being spent in Lost product
it providing services for employees
that's a lot of money it's a lot of
money we're not doing anything proactive
we're coming on the the tail inside of
that and then 30% of us adults have
symptoms of anxiety and depression that
is not talking about our youth those
numbers are staggering when you really
look at what's happening with um the
young people today and then we wonder
why we have these silent quiet
resignations they're really not that
quiet people are deciding to go do
something that gives them more purpose
more balance more fulfillment they're
being very intentional about what
they're doing and then I've been in the
workforce a long time and I've never had
to talk about workplace suicides but
that number is increasingly growing and
growing in the last three years we've
had four clients that have had workplace
suicides it's alarming so I hope I have
your attention and I hope you see that
this is something we really have to
address because the pressure we feel to
be on and produce is only going to get
worse web 3 AI virtual reality I mean
the technology is is just going to keep
coming so we have to have some kind of
personal responsibility to know and be
aware of where we're triggered and what
we need to do
2020 the in the workplace the screen
time was 8 .1 hours and it's risen to
11.1 hours that's screen time that's not
meetings that's not I'm in the you know
break room talking to people that's
that's not I'm giving speeches like this
that is when I'm in front of a screen so
our days are getting longer and longer
and we're being connected to work there
doesn't seem to be a separation whether
you work remote or not it seems to be
very very congested and then I think
just the need to reduce that digital
connection got to untether untether from
your devices I I will be honest when I
started doing this work um I looked like
I was addicted to something I was kind
of shake I didn't want to leave a device
or screen behind and it took me a little
bit to really
disconnect and really find kind of where
I could get centered so I'm going to
talk about the brain because I think
it's important and on this topic if you
have not read the book frontal fatigue I
would highly recommend it talks about
what is happening to our brain we were
not designed to interact with machines
all day long and screens so please
please read this book so the first thing
and I'm just going to talk about the uh
prefrontal cortex the prefrontal cortex
there's three things that it does it
helps us with distractability
perseveration and then the impulsive
behaviors that we have those are also
the behaviors that align with the
prefrontal cortex um uh disease and
dysfunction so we are just
fueling dysfunction with our brain by
connecting with these machines the other
thing that happens in our brains in that
prefrontal cortex area is it can get
stressed and it's kind of like a muscle
the more you use it the more it's
engaged the more it's stimulated it
becomes fatigued and when your brain's
fatigued and that's the only area of the
brain that gets fatigued but when your
brain gets fatigued that's when you have
memory loss you can't focus you're like
I just can't seem to focus what's going
on it's also where you're un unable to
read emotional sensitivities or read a
room really well because you you fatigue
that part of your brain and then also
just modern Neuroscience is really
starting to show that that prefrontal
cortex stress and fatigue is triggering
mental health issues and it's alarming
when you really start reading into that
so our brain's a big factor in what
we're in impacting now don't get me
wrong I love technology I love all the
AIS that are coming out I love every App
application there is I won't tell you
how many um things I have on my cell
phone that make my life a lot easier
there's so many good things it's about
the balance you have to be intentional
and you have to really know you and what
your awareness we're all different so
you really have to pay attention to that
and then 50% of our interruptions during
the day are self conflicted when I
started this work I would just pay
attention of how many times I picked up
my phone it was alarming by the way
hundreds of times in a day and then my
focus would go to whatever was on my
phone a not notification would come on
I'd have to go see what that is and it
you would be amazed of what you're what
what's happening if I picked my phone up
right now I could tell you all the news
I probably have some of my family
members that are texting me they
probably don't remember I'm here so you
have to really be intentional and really
set those boundaries and I'm going to
give you some some tips for that all
right I see some of you are having a
reaction because how many of us have had
the Panic of our cell phone battery
almost
dying I have asked complete strangers if
I can borrow their charger so that my
battery does not die now do I do that
for my my brain my emotional health my
physical health no I don't have quite s
the sense of urgency about that but when
it comes to my cell phone I will be
charged and and again I might even ask
you to borrow that so boundaries are the
key if you do not have boundaries you're
not going to have balance if you do not
have balance you're not going to have
well-being so I'm going to give you tips
this is kind of from my journey and um
and I'll start with generate versus
stimulate so you can multitask and have
a lot of stimulation and a lot of balls
in the air things moving but that does
not mean you're generating a result that
that you really are trying to
generate so ask yourself with all the
noise and all the action that's going on
is it generating the result that you
want and really be focused about what
that is the second thing is designate
devices so my cell phone as my daughter
likes to say I I use flip phone
capability I try not to do social and
get caught up in reading and doing a
bunch of stuff on my phone because it's
a black hole for me my iPad that's my
personal device that's where I read
things that I want to learn about might
be read reading a novel I do social
media that's kind of my personal device
and then my laptop is strictly for work
it really helps me be intentional with
what I'm doing travel slow it's a great
boundary I was the one that left my
office for the airport I had phone call
after phone call hey I have to let you
go when I get through security I'll call
you back call them back on the other
side of security in time to load the
plane and go I mean I'm also the one
that's driving and go where where am I
going what exit am I on because I'm
multitasking and doing so much so now
when I travel I don't listen to podcast
I try not to maybe sports radio I try
not to listen to things in my car I try
to be present what am I doing where am I
going who do I get to connect with oh
it's the first break I've had today and
that helps reset me and the next
expectation margin I talked about just a
little bit but when you use
technology to help you be more
productive reap the benefit of that so
if you were doing something for 4 hours
and you found a way to get that done in
two hours you gain two hours but what do
we do we just expect two more hours of
productivity on top of that we never
reap we never reap the reward of using
technology and at some point we break at
some point we'll break so mindful
meetings if you are in a meeting and you
can multitask you are not needed in that
meeting it's simple don't go to the
meeting just go do whatever is most
important that you're focusing on so if
we all did that I bet our meetings would
be a lot uh more Rich we would probably
find that we don't need to have as many
meetings that we have we might not even
need as many people the mindful
communication comes into if you're
having people in meetings that they just
need to know information do an
asynchronous meeting send out the
information give them a certain amount a
time to reply and engage let them
consume that when it fits into their day
instead of having a bunch of people sit
in a room and a waste of time
environment this is really really key so
this is setting up so you have intention
and focus so if I'm going to do social
media which my intention is to connect
with the people that I love and care
about I go into a different room to do
that it tells me I am intentionally
focused on social media and then it
dawned on me I'm sitting in a room by
myself to connect with people that I
care about like like that's what happens
in the awareness why am I not just
calling these people or sending a
message you know yes I still go to
social media I like to know if
somebody's had a grandbaby or somebody's
graduated but then I reach out
personally because then my intention
remember the generate and the stimulate
then what I'm doing actually generates
the result that I'm looking for so make
sure you're very intenal about where you
work and what you do personal state is
another one that's really important
maybe the most important and I talked
about the numbing behaviors so when you
find yourself doing the numbing scroll
the Doom scrolling you know and watching
monkeys at 11 o'clock at night ask
yourself what is it that I need that I'm
not giving myself most of the time it's
sleep maybe it's eat go out for a walk
go do something that changes your state
and then when you come back you're much
more engaged you are much more engaged
in what you're trying to do so the
personal responsibility is you
organizations have a responsibility
there's a lot of things they can do I
work with an organization that when you
try to send an email after hours a box
pops up and says are you sure you want
to interrupt them in their personal time
I can send this at 8:
a.m. I mean what a great testimony of
balance and valuing people people's
lives so it's your responsibility really
pay attention you can hear and know
everything but are you actually
integrating any of that awareness or
knowledge into your life start small
just start noticing how often you go to
a screen to numb because you because you
just need something that's mindless do
something mindless because when you're
on a screen it's not
mindless and then I just want to
challenge you leave leave you with a
challenge really examine your
relationship with your
screens is it healthy do you need to do
something
different has it impacted other
relationships in your
life are you not obtaining a result
because you're just numbing all day long
I really really challenge you to get
digitally well I I know you won't regret
it thank
you
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