We have all heard from our parents, teachers and everyone older than us about the bad side of digital media, such as TV, mobile phones, social media, etc. But then our friends love digital media and to be fair it doesn’t seem that bad, right? You get to know what your friends are up to thanks to your mobile phones and social media, you are caught up with the recent episodes of Doraemon, Pokemon, etc. and can talk about it with friends. All in all, there is no harm in using digital media. But rather it becomes harmful when we overuse it.
What do you mean by “overuse” of digital media?
“Overuse”, is a term you must have heard a lot but never quite understood what exactly it meant. And you have all the right to be confused, after all, who decides when you are overusing digital media? Yes, some studies say that after certain hours of usage, it is considered overuse to use social media, but then again these studies are done on humans and no two humans are alike. So, there is a possibility that the studies’ conclusion may not apply to a few humans. And who is to say that you are not one of the few?
Then how can you define “overuse”? The answer is simple whenever “you” feel tired or drained out, don’t feel like doing physical activities anymore, have trouble sleeping or talking to new people such as new classmates or adjusting to new environments such as feeling very jumpy or restless at a family function, that is when you know you have overused digital media. But remember just like a cold has symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, headache, etc., the things mentioned previously are just some of the symptoms of overuse, it doesn’t mean you can’t get over it or get better, but you need to recognise these symptoms first then only you can start your treatment. Also keep in mind these are just a few symptoms, as the effects or symptoms of overuse will show up differently in different people, but one thing will remain consistent in all the symptoms, “you will not feel good”. You might feel restless, scared, sad or all of them together.
Should I stop using digital media altogether?
Should you stop eating ice cream entirely because you will get a cold if you have cold food items and drinks? Should you stop talking to everyone else in class because one of them was mean? Should you stop answering your question paper in the exam entirely because you don’t know the answer to one of the questions? NO! And that’s exactly why, you should not stop using digital media altogether or entirely as it has its benefits too.
Without digital media would you have known what is happening in other countries to prepare for your MUN debates? Without digital media would you have known the different music genres such as pop, hip-hop, K-pop, etc.? Without digital media would you have known about the various tales of bravery that Little Krishna went on or the life lessons about things you should and should not do from Doraemon?
Digital media is pretty important in today’s age, so it is not at all something you should ignore entirely and not indulge in. It’s like asking our parents to not write whatever they heard in class on paper to remember as our ancestors used to have an oral culture of learning where people used to listen and remember. So, instead of writing it down they should also listen and remember, but the invention of paper and ink made it possible to reduce the burden on our brain and we incorporated it into our daily lives. Just like that digital media has reduced our reliance on written hard-bound materials a lot. This is not only sustainable in the long run but also makes it easier for us to understand difficult to simple concepts better as now we have audio-visual aids at the tip of our fingers to help us break down the written concepts easily. Learning doesn’t need to be confined to a classroom.
What should I do to prevent the overuse of digital media?
Preventing overuse is not that simple but it’s not entirely impossible. You don’t have to take drastic steps or use drastic techniques such as entirely stopping to use your phones or watching the television. But rather take it slow. One of the techniques could be that if using digital media such as your phone for 12 hours straight is making you feel tired and not feel great in general, then reduce the time that you engage with digital media by 1 hour every two days until you don’t feel so bad.
Now if you are cutting down the hours that you used to use digital media you must have some free time which will make you think, “What will I do with that much free time?”. You don’t need to study more or fill out another workbook in maths or English grammar, just because you have a little more time now. Instead, use the extra time to make origami or crochet something or maybe finally make that dessert that you saw them making in Masterchef Kids. Yes, you might have to use digital media to get the crochet or origami pattern or the recipe for that Masterchef Kids’ dessert but it won’t be for a long time and once you get a hang of it you won’t need the digital media aid for long.
How about using this technique, suppose you were using digital media for 12 hours and then you reduced it to 8 hours over a period of time, out of that 8 hours maybe use 2 hours for practising the new crochet pattern or origami pattern while looking at the tutorials and the extra time that you have you can try practising it without the tutorial. Slowly you will get into new kinds of activities that won’t necessarily require digital media at all times of the day but will keep you equally occupied with other things that will help you learn and grow every day.
Another technique that you can use is doing nothing. Sometimes when you don’t want to do anything, how about just not doing it? Maybe take the free time to just sit and watch the stray dogs run on the street or think about the conversations you had with your friends or mum the other day, take some free time to just think and wonder to help you understand others and the environment around you better. This will certainly help you in developing your emotional quotient or EQ, which is very different from IQ and actually depends on how emotionally aware you are about yourself and about others in your surroundings. One of the ways to develop EQ is by giving yourself the time and space to understand what you are going through and what others are going through.
Conclusion
Now these are a few techniques that you can use to prevent overuse but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any other techniques. But these techniques work the best because you don’t entirely stop using digital media overnight but rather reduce your usage and over time fill the free time with something else. Always remember digital media has its pluses and minuses just like Doraemon’s gadgets. It all boils down to how you use it and how much you use it, to ensure you make the most of it.
