Does the world crumble around you when your Internet connection goes down? Do you check your eight email accounts every five minutes? Are you known by your friends as the one who can google the best answer to every question?
Technology is dominating our daily lives to the point of constant distraction and many of us can no longer focus on a single task or face-to-face conversation without wanting to reach out to the virtual world every few minutes, or even every few seconds. Take the quiz to find out
Quiz: Are you a digital addict?
The quiz below was developed by the Fast Company staff and is available at http://www.fastcompany.com/3012552/unplug/are-you-a-digital-addict.
Enter a number in the spaces below.
HOW MANY DAYS THIS WEEK HAVE YOU…
___ Checked Twitter before getting out of bed?
___ Reached out for your smart device first thing in the morning?
___ Had five minutes of Internet activity turn into more than 30 minutes?
___ Gone into the bathroom just to monitor your smartphone activity?
___ SMS’ed while driving?
___ Experienced FOMO (fear of missing out) because you were not familiar with new Internet vocabulary?
___ SMS’ed while walking across the street?
___ Shared a photo of your dinner or your cat (or your cat eating dinner)?
HOW MANY TIMES TODAY HAVE YOU…
___ Said: “Just a sec, I have to check my email/Twitter/Facebook/Path”?
___ Reached for your cell phone during a meeting, just for comfort?
___ Panicked because a co-worker caught you playing a game on your phone?
___ Nearly walked into someone or something while checking your phone?
___ Tweeted from the toilet?
Add it up!
0–24: You are safe!
25–49: Turn your cell phone off for a few hours and see how that feels.
50+: We are not saying you have a problem, but you might want to look at our digital detox diet.
Three steps for a digital detox diet
Here are three relative easy steps to start your digital detox diet:
1. Get an actual alarm clock
Using your smartphone as alarm clock prompts you to check-in with your digital world before you have set one foot out of bed. Next step is mostly aimless Facebook updates and random Instagram photos. These sources of screen time are equivalent to eating chocolate cupcakes and drinking beer first thing in the morning. The solution is an old fashioned alarm clock.
2. Put your phone away at meal time
By staying connected to our screens while eating, we are risking our body’s ability to rest and digest the food we are consuming. Breaking away from digital devices during meals allows us to eat our food slower. This can decrease headaches, help with digestion and improve our breathing patterns.
3. Tell stories with your eyes; not your I’s (iPhone, iPad, iTouch)
Our phones are used as props to our conversations. We have fallen into the habit of using the technology to complement our stories. Unfortunately, it can end up distracting people from digesting our stories. This common behaviour violates the core element of communication, namely eye contact. By removing your eyes from the listener and shifting them to your phone, you have lost the body communication required when delivering a good story.
Sources
www.fastcompany.com
www.digitaldietguy.com
www.livestrong.com
www.gizmodo.com