Close Up Of A Line Of High School Students Using Mobile Phones
What’s the most impactful thing you would tell a teen getting swallowed up by the digital world? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Alex Packer, Author of Slaying Digital Dragons, on Quora:
Smartphones, social media, and the internet can be life-enhancing miracles of technology. They can be used to gain new skills and knowledge; create, connect, and communicate; find answers to almost any question; keep up with the news; and buy gerbil food at 2:00 in the morning. But the “miracle” can also be a “monster.” There’s a Dark Side to the digital world.
Big Tech, special interests, and social media sites are stalking you—tracking your digital trail, trying to manipulate your emotions, influence your thinking, steal your data, monetize your life, and get you addicted to their site. Too much or the wrong kind of screen time can harm your body, brain, relationships, self-image, reputation, and future.
Many teens say that their time online makes them feel lonely, depressed, excluded, and/or unhappy. If they spend a lot of time on social media, it can seem like everyone else’s life is better than theirs. They worry about getting “likes” and followers and retweets and shares, and this 24/7 social report card can lead to low-self-esteem, envy, or feeling uncool. Roughly 40%-50% of teens say they “feel addicted” to their devices; 90% say too much screen time is a problem for their peers. So, a lot of teens worry about how the time they spend on screens affects them or their friends.
To protect yourself from The Dark Side, join the resistance against Big Tech. Take charge of your digital life. Make your phone your tool. Don’t become its tool.
The first step in doing this is to think about what you do online and why. Become aware of your “screen scene.” What are your digital habits? How often do notifications distract you? Do you sleep with your phone on and next to your bed? What apps do you spend the most time on? How do they make you feel? Does your screen time enhance your life and relationships, or do you get sucked into, or upset by, the ugly side of social media: lies, conspiracy theories, hatred, and bullying?
Do you check Insta every few minutes? Do you feel pressured to keep a Snap streak going, respond immediately to texts, and constantly post photos and videos? Does your phone distract you from homework and responsibilities and keep you up so late that you don’t get enough sleep? Have you ever wished you could just unplug for a day?
The best way to find a healthy balance between your on- and offline lives is to reject the shallow, nasty, and judgmental aspects of social media. Stay away from platforms that make you feel bad. Post to share your life, don’t let posting become your life. Be alert to the fake news, disinformation, and biases found online that can destroy serenity, truth, trust, and the foundations of civilization and democracy. And always remember that your online presence is a brand. Curate it with care. Use brand sanitizer to make sure the trail you leave will make you proud, do good things for yourself and others, and never come back to haunt you.
If you want to become more aware of your screen scene and how it affects you for better or worse, check out my book, Slaying Digital Dragons: Tips and Tools for Protecting Your Body, Brain, Psyche, and Thumbs from the Digital Dark Side. You’ll find nine, wacky-but-serious challenges for assessing your online health. And then, if you decide to do a reset of your digital life, you can “give yourself an App-endectomy.” That’s a custom plan you’ll create for cutting out unhealthy aspects of your screen scene and strengthening your immunity against the worst of Big Tech.
This question originally appeared on Quora – the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
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