Updated: Mar 17
Clicking, swiping, scrolling, ignoring, swiping, clicking, scrolling....
I got to a point last year in my studio where I was using my phone more than my pencil. Something had to change.
Features of our smart phones and the apps we keep on them are designed to be addictive. I'm interested in how these quick movements of our attention are impacting our mental health, attention spans and creativity.
Why Digital Detox?
I first heard of Digital Detoxing when fellow Stockport based small business owner, Paul Jardine of Root Web Design published a blog post talking of the impacts that technology has on us. Paul had started a digital detox, inspired by Cal Newport's (we're not related btw) book Digital Minimalism: Choosing A Focused Life In A Noisy World. I wanted to see the benefits for myself and to see if it could improve my attention span.
Defining the Digital Detox
Notice the problem and be honest with yourself
I worked out that three short hours a day spent on my phone translates to FORTY-FIVE (and a bit) DAYS per year. Imagine what I could've achieved in that time instead of scrolling aimlessly. I didn't plan to eliminate technology from my life but my goal was to reduce the time spent unconsciously consuming this irrelevant noise.
What if I'm missing out on something online?... - What if I'm not..?
Changing habits. Make it all a bit more mindful
- Analog.
Where can I cut out the need to use the phone. An analog watch, a paper shopping list, an egg timer, a calculator, a paper notepad, an alarm clock...
- Make It More Difficult To Access
Removing facial recognition/ finger print access. Swap apps around so that your thumb doesn't automatically open them. Put your phone in a bag instead of a handy pocket.
- A Digital Declutter
Unsubscribe to noisy mailing lists, stop WhatsApp from automatically downloading images, select your favourite photos and delete the rest.
Turn off the notifications that distract you the most - or turn all of them off altogether
How is it working so far?
After a big ol' clear up and deleting sesh, my phone doesn't interrupt me unless someone calls. I'm more mindful of when I'm unlocking it to check on something and anything that isn't useful gets deleted. I still have a long way to go with it all but I can already see the benefits and that I have so much more patience for online tasks and no longer just feel overwhelmed by it all.
I haven't moved away from my smartphone completely, I couldn't live without Maps and online banking but I'm not addicted to these kinds of apps, they're just useful tools.
Have you come up with any handy ways to avoid smartphone distraction? Please share them in the comments - the weirder the better!
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If you have a friend who might enjoy this kind of discussion, feel free to share this with them or if you have any thoughts on this subject please do leave a comment or drop me an email. To keep up with the latest blog posts, join my monthly round up here.
- More great content from Paul Jardine My Social Dilemma article.
-Another great read is the book Stolen Focus by Johann Hari who reaches breaking point at Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion when most of the visitors are opting to use the interactive iPad tour instead of enjoying the experience of the real life objects that are right in front of them. This leads to his own digital detox experiment and looking deeper into how technology is pulling us in.
-Another interesting article as mentioned in Cal Newport's book: "I Used To Be A Human Being An Endless Bombardment of News and Gossip and Images Has Rendered Us Manic Information Addicts. It Broke Me. It Might Break You, Too" by Andrew Sullivan.
Updated: Mar 17
As people who have spent years harnessing our creative powers, do we need to blindly hand this over to a company to make (a lot) of money out of us in the hope we might eventually 'be seen'.
Wow that started quite deep didn't it!
I've become increasingly interested in this relationship that the world has with Instagram. Honestly, the more I look into this transaction, the more annoyed I become with it all.
A Different Relationship
Starting out as a place to hoard ideas and share nice things, it all seemed harmless and a good way to keep in touch with friends. Somewhere along the line, algorithms and advertising took over. A panic set in to join the fast flowing river of the newsfeed and the pressure to create perfect content to serve up to the algorithm made everything a bit more desperate and intense.
I noticed that my attention span had been shrinking and drawing for more than 10 minutes felt like an impossible task. Did consuming the fast paced content create this problem? What would happen if I started to consume longer form content and invested my time into making work that would stick around for longer?
If you've seen The Social Dilemma on Netflix, you'll know that these sites are built to be addictive. Keeping you online and holding your attention makes more money for the platforms as they sell your attention to advertisers.
A Catalyst For Change
In October 2021, the Facebook owned apps crashed for a few hours. Loosing years of time, energy and attention to the Instagram crash was enough for me to loose trust in the platform. It could all disappear over night without as much as a warning or a 'sorry.'
If social media wasn't available 24/7 would we use it differently? What if we couldn't access it beyond 6pm on weekdays, for example.
Moving Forwards
I thought about sharing posts online and running away from the app again but actually, I didn't feel happy that I was contributing to that noise or keeping the attention spans of my audience short too. I want to encourage creativity and not play a part in keeping other people addicted.
Conclusion
I'm either all on Instagram or all off it, I can't find a middle ground where I'm not feeling the addiction and draw to open the app. So instead I'm going to wonder off for a while and find a better solution, a better use of my time and energy.
I'm not saying that you should join me in my run for the hills. Just being aware of how much you are giving to this platform is a huge step. You are a creative person and you can find more creative ways to advertise and market your work.
Take a break, it'll all still be there when you go back to it.
How's your relationship with Instagram? Have you found a more productive way to promote your work than using these 'free' sites?
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments
More interesting bits:
Online Habits Killing The Planet An interesting documentary on Channel 4 about the environmental impact of our online habits.
How Instagram Changed Our World The Guardian article
No Filter: The Inside Story of How Instagram Transformed Business, Celebrity and Our Culture Book by Sarah Frier
Anti-Social Media policy by Lush
If you'd like to know more about who owns your images, this is an interesting article by Which?
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Updated: Mar 17
Please note that this post has a *trigger warning - talk of illness* so if that's something you're not comfortable reading right now, please look after yourself and come back when you're ready.
Where have you been, Moll?
Hello again!
Some of you noticed that I spent most of 2022 away from my website, newsletter and Instagram. I just wanted to share an update as to where I've been.
At the start of 2022, shortly after my 27th Birthday, I was slapped in the face with a cancer diagnosis. Stage 2B Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that effects the lymph-nodes. So far I've been lucky enough to not even question my health, but now I had a new priority. I dropped everything and focused on getting well again.
Digging out the positives
I have been lucky enough to be a patient at the Christie hospital in Manchester where my nana was looked after and where the team have been INCREDIBLE. I was offered a place on an immunotherapy trial drug for two months and then chemotherapy for 6 months (12 fortnightly rounds). The treatment wiped me out but the lymphoma team always managed to prop me up and get me laughing again (huge shout out to Leanne and Joanna).
It might sound a bit odd saying that there have been positives to this challenge, but trust me, I was actively hunting them out!
Asking for help
I'm usually a very independent person and like to do what I can by myself. Letting go of control (or what control I had left) was a huge lesson for me.
I had to really rely on family and friends like I never had to before. Although I found it really difficult at first, when I started to get used to it, it was lovely to connect with them in this new way and they were actually glad to feel useful too.
New hair cut
When the time was right, my twin sister shaved my hair off for me, it was very matter of fact and we actually had a laugh doing it. I've been embracing my kiwi fruit style fuzzy haircut since then and have started to see my hair start to grow back.
Take Care
I'm sorry to my friends that are just hearing this news for the first time, I've kept this journey very close and really wasn't a fan of sharing the bad news, I wanted to wait until I could be sharing the good news that I am now cancer free.
Please keep an eye on your body and any changes, it's so easy to overlook things when we're busy. My symptoms appeared as a lump in my neck just above my right collar bone and persistent night sweats.
It can be a scary experience getting a cancer diagnosis but believe me, you are not alone. Please do get in touch if you are worried about anything- I am absolutely not a medical expert but I am a listening ear and a hand to hold if you're worried.
Molly
x
Treats from my drawing journal x
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