Ways to Ignore Digital Pressure and Become Unavailable

Living in an ever-evolving digital age means we can access information, and people, almost immediately, anytime, anywhere. But is this always a good thing? According to an article in The Independent, adults in the UK will spend the equivalent of 22 years, 1 month, and 4 days of their lives online. So, if you’re concerned about the impact of spending so much time online, how can you avoid becoming part of this worrying statistic?

Digital pressure

Digital pressure can take many guises. You may feel compelled to post images of your perfect day out, of family events, or even just of a new outfit. You could also feel pressured to interrupt what you’re doing to answer messages or react to your friends’ social media posts. If any of this resonates with you, it’s time to think about taking a break and becoming unavailable as it may be taking a toll on your mental wellbeing. In fact, according to some studies, increased usage of devices can disturb sleep and in turn increase the risk of mental illnesses such as depression, and anxiety.

How can I ignore digital pressure and become unavailable?

• Start small – if you find it difficult to be away from social media or your phone for extended periods of time, set limits you can cope with. For example, make an effort to set yourself a target of turning off your mobile for a whole hour a day. Build upon this time for longer sessions.
• Set a curfew for devices – agree a time at night when all devices need to be put away. Even better, keep devices out of the bedroom altogether so you aren’t tempted to take a sneaky scroll through your socials to see what’s going on.
• Pause before answering messages – Ask yourself, is it urgent? Is an answer needed immediately? Don’t feel that you need to reply to messages immediately, especially if it means interrupting an activity you are currently doing. 
• Spring-clean your social media accounts – Consider if you need to be on absolutely every social media platform. The more platforms you’re on, the more likely you are to waste time updating or scrolling through them all. 
• Do more –  fill your time with things you enjoy doing, and don’t feel the need to post pictures of your activities while you do them. Sure, take pictures for posterity, but why interrupt a great moment just because you want the world (well your social network at least) to know what you’re up to?
• Limit your posts – As above, you don’t need to post everything you’re doing, while you do it. Instead, make the decision to post just once a day, or even better, once a week and put aside a limited amount of time to do this rather than constantly updating your socials.
• Organise time for work emails – It can be all too tempting to stop what you’re doing when you see an email pop into your inbox. However, doing this can stop you mid-flow, which can eventually lead to work not getting done, and you becoming anxious as a result. Set aside time in the day when you’ll look at emails. This can be first thing in the morning and then an hour or so before the end of the working day. 

Whether you decide to go cold-turkey or want to take it a step at a time, ignoring digital pressure to concentrate truly on yourself can reap many benefits, not least for your mental health. 

Further information

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