Digital Detoxification

WIRES!!

The world today as we see it has become a web of wires and signals. We live in a globe that is constantly connected, but stopped truly communicating. We have been exposed to terms like detox of the body through various diets, detox of the mind through meditations but there seems to be a more urgent detoxification, cleansing, needed in the world today and that is a digital detox from time to time.

Last year we spotted an interesting workshop on Digital Detoxification which was attended by over 70 people (including 40 children). We are headed into a future where people  live more in what they believe is an  exciting virtual world trying their hardest each day to escape a mundane reality. No doubt the world doesn't seem too big and too far fetched to conquer anymore. Digitization has tremendous benefits but what we need to answer is at what cost. 

Addiction

Over millions of years, humans have grown amidst nature, playing, working, fighting, interacting with the earth and the elements around us and within us. The human  body is not meant to remain static. The cells, tissues, muscles, blood in the capillaries are forever moving, dying, growing, regenerating, and if this is going on inside the human body, what makes us think that it can remain stationary on the outside. A body that doesn't have the necessary movement will lead to laziness and cause  lifestyle diseases that we are seeing in abundance today. And since we are hoping for a bright future in an every growing digital world let's shift our attention for a moment to not only the youth, but even kids that are exposed daily to technology like mobiles, YouTube channels, yes even the ones that are informative and make our children knowledgeable, it is ultimately a barrage of information with less or no hands on experience. Growing children and the youth of today need an outlet to channelize  their energy and that can happen only with outdoor activities, that encourage play, exploration and keen attention to details that's freely available in nature. If not, the innate energy within will turn into anger, tantrums, frustration, depression, extreme mood swings and a lack of creativity.

It is proven that Humans learn & retain the most when all their 5 senses are involved. Playing cricket and watching cricket are very very different. Gadgets don’t provide that opportunity of actually experiencing a moment, a sport, an art, an event, a feeling using all 5 senses - The rewiring of brain due to excessive use of gadgets (virtual reality) can give a false sense of accomplishment (when we win a game), or confidence (when a super star defeats dinosaur). But we continue to be afraid of a real cockroach! This issue is further unknowingly encouraged by most educational institutes whether schools or colleges in the cities that are excessively biased towards the use of the head (mental). Children are then probed to using technology and gadgets to make fancy projects and take on extensive research for study which further worsens it. The grossly underused hand (physical) to develop the right skills and heart (spiritual)to develop the right attitude and emotion usually results in lop sided growth of character of an individual. The effects of this are not immediately recognized however with time it reflects the way they live within the society.

Some of the ill effects to note from the heavy use of gadgets include attention deficit, haste in work, copying vs being creativity, wrong influence of commercial advertisement, social media/ soap opera hangover, inferiority complex, radiation, etc and that's not all.

Here are some of the major long time effects of technology addiction:-

We sit at one place, our backs towards nature and  become lazy, lethargic and unhealthy leading to lifestyle diseases for which we decide to go to the gym and use some more cool gadgets.

Walking a km is cumbersome enough to immediately hail a taxi, let's save some time is how we trick our minds when infact watching a series of Netflix is actually an unnecessary expenditure of time and energy as well.

We live in a world that is densely populated with humans and various other species that have made this planet their home. With the high amount of technology, community interaction seizes. We often go to public places in groups and yet are connected to our phones oblivious to the world around, the food we eat and grossly dead to our senses that have always been sensitive towards the eco system around. With the senses being limited to our virtual reality rather than the surrounding, it is obvious that the growth and learning becomes limited as well. There is a huge difference between actually climbing a tree than watching a 1 hour documentary on how to climb a tree and think you know it. The challenges, the tools needed to actually climb a tree is understood only through a real experience.

Question : When was the last time you posted a birthday card? When was the last time you called your friend and family to wish?

So let's figure out how we as human being can go back to our roots again, and glimpse at a world our ancestors our parents and grandparents lived in, pre fast paced technology.

A Digital Life

Here are 5 things we can start doing today to loosen the grip technology has on us :-

-Children and youngsters can play real games like kho-kho, Tyre balance, tug of war, kabadi, dodge ball, Saakli, dog and the bone, hopscotch, marbles rather than video games or Xbox.

- Parents need to become role models themselves on this journey  as no amount of preaching can help. Your time towards your children can help them get into the real world. Encourage them to play sports, clean up their rooms, open a toy and reassemble it, build Lego.

-Maybe as adults we can shift our focus from the competitive corporate world and give our children the much needed attention that will help them learn life skills like cooking, ironing clothes, cleaning a home, stitching,swimming, cycling, irrespective of gender.

-The above can begin with having a strict time limit on use of gadgets and this goes for the young and the old.

-And lastly let us be more open to exploring in the real world. As adults we often berate our children for jumping on beds, dismantling a brand new helicopter, catching insects and playing with animal without realizing that this is truly the way a child is engaged in their natural surroundings . As for us, let us leave our phones behind for atleast an hour everyday and go for a walk or spend time with the family, read a book undisturbed, bake without distractions, take up a martial art to increase focus, bring more awareness and last but not the least.. TRAVEL. Not only to big cities, but the smallest of towns and villages, forests and lakes that have so much to offer and can be so enriching to our mind heart and soul.

Id like to end this article by writing that Gadgets are great tools if used consciously for defined purposes like learning something in particular, for increasing work efficiency, for sharing inspirational stories, ideas and experiences across borders. However we need to understand that this is exactly what they are, just tools, and must be used as such.

I hope this piece has created a stir, provoked a thought on your own personal usage of gadgets through the day and motivated you to take a simple pledge today, right this minute as you read this to cut down on your usage and interact with the world that's waiting for you out there beyond just wires.