You and Your Phone Need More Boundaries
By: Jessica Mardian
The expectation is that our phones, including the apps and platforms we have on them, are a priority in our lives. Awkward pauses in conversation are filled with glances at phones. Restaurant tables and desks buzz with phone vibrations, cutting focus and dialogue. Bits of information picked up from a cursory glance at one's notifications from news apps and Twitter become statements of fact in times of breaking news. Sleep is disturbed by the glare of screens. If someone doesn’t text back quick enough, there’s an assumption that they are ignoring you. Always being at your phone’s disposal has become the norm. This unhealthy dependency is a component of the toxic relationship we have with our phones and the information we’re receiving from them.
Those never ending notifications, from breaking news to social media to texts, disturb both our days and mental wellness. Dr. Scott Bea, a psychologist at Cleveland Clinic, explained the concept, “switch cost”, in an article for a CBS affiliate as, “When there’s an interruption we switch away from the task that we were at and then we have to come on back. We think it interrupts our efficiency with our brains, by about 40 percent. Our nose is always getting off the grindstone, then we have to reorient ourselves”. That conversation you were having is now stalled because after checking a notification, whatever was being talked about is forgotten. Progress made on an essay being written dips because now you are falling down a Twitter rabbit hole. You forget what the movie is about after seeing how many likes a post got. Notifications keep us half-in and half-out of two realities and if you don’t create your own balance between the two you can be left floundering.
Checking phone notifications derails the flow of whatever task we are completing and can also alter our moods. From what they inform us to simply their arrival — and lack thereof — our body is constantly responding to them. As part of the Healthline article, “Feeling More Stress and Anxiety? Your Smartphone May be to Blame”, Yamalis Díaz, Ph.D., explains how our fight or flight response is activated by notifications, “It doesn’t bother shutting off if we are constantly receiving notifications or reading and watching the news, with pings, and dings, and emails. We can have a stress reaction to that notification or information and on a physiological level, it can all activate our stress system throughout the day”. What we receive through our phones creates a ripple effect through our mind and body. Finding practices that work to keep us informed but not overwhelmed with information is an important step to take to maintain positive wellbeing.
It’s not the notification's fault. That seems like the exact opposite statement that I should be making right now, but it’s true. A news organization does not owe anyone a dulled-down push notification headline or a lesser version of a breaking news story simply because it may be overwhelming. That’s not their job; news organizations operate on informing individuals with the truth. What is being covered with urgency is being covered that way for a reason. To turn a blind eye on the tragedies and headlines of our times is a practice of damaging ignorance. Shootings and hate crimes are very intense pieces of information to receive and especially jarring news to have pop up on your phone. But swiping away or stopping those kinds of notifications altogether — growing apathetic to them — is dangerous. The New York Times notification I received on January 6, saying that rioters were inside the Capitol was so abrupt; I can still feel how the air was knocked out of me in the moment. But that was news I needed to know.
We’re operating in a world with an insane amount of stimulants and opportunities to receive information. All of these stress reactions are on overdrive because we no longer have to wait until the five o’clock news or the morning paper to know what is going on in the world. This accessibility is a double-edged sword. Going off the grid, never touching a smart device, or receiving a notification again is not realistic for most of us. That idea of measuring out how often you give your attention and understanding to news is a practice that can survive today.
Do a total re-evaluation of what apps you have on your phone, screen times, and see how many unlocks you do in a day. The number is probably more than you realize. I’ve already received 148 notifications today and it’s not even 11 in the morning. Strip your phone down to what you actually use, this way you’re not even further thrown off when you get an odd icon notifying you of something, and a panic sets in only to realize it’s an app you never open. Take control of the news outlets you have and how often you receive notifications. Maybe you only want breaking news but are okay with having the notifications come at random. Or opt-in to morning and evening newsletters and turn off other news notifications. Being informed and being overwhelmed with information are not the same.
Be aware of your social media use; cut out the dead weight. A few months ago I had to reckon with myself that Twitter is just not worth it for me. I would want to know more than just a few lines about a breaking news story and the network I had there just grew to annoy me. So I took the app off my phone and can only access my account by opening up the browser; I purposefully created an extra step to get to the platform so I could remember the effects I feel from going on the platform.
On heavy news, days stay off of social media. Chances are Twitter and Facebook will be retelling whatever your news app said; there’s no point in continuously overwhelming yourself. Keep following accounts that feature good news and bring you reprieve. On Instagram, I make a point of following accounts like @humansofny and @thedogist, so my feed can actually bring me positive emotions.
Set boundaries between you and your devices. I have my phone set to do not disturb and greyscale at 11:00 every night so I am off of it as I get ready for bed and do my unwinding routine. There is a point where it can wait until the morning. Practice intention with your phone and notifications. It’s tricky finding that range between informed and overwhelmed, but it’s necessary in the world we live in.
