Summary

The author of the article advocates for digital mindfulness and intentional technology use to combat chronic sensory overload, particularly beneficial for individuals with ADHD.

Abstract

The article "Digital Mindfulness: Your Secret Weapon for Chronic Sensory Overload" discusses the impact of modern technology on our sensory systems, especially for those with ADHD. The author, who experiences heightened sensitivity to stimuli, shares their journey of integrating wisdom with technology use to mitigate ADHD symptoms. By reducing screen time, eliminating distractions, and practicing mindfulness, the author reports significant improvements in focus and overall well-being. The article emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries with technology, such as limiting social media use and observing a weekly media sabbath, to enhance one's ability to focus and reduce anxiety and irritability associated with sensory overload. Drawing inspiration from the Amish approach to technology, the author suggests that individuals should critically assess whether each piece of technology enhances or detracts from their life, choosing to engage with technology in a way that promotes a more enriching and focused lifestyle.

Opinions

The author questions the collective wisdom of society in the face of rapid technological advancement, suggesting that intelligence does not equate to wisdom in technology use.
They believe that the constant barrage of information from technology can overwhelm the human nervous system, which is biologically adapted to a less stimulating environment.
The author posits that digital mindfulness is particularly crucial for individuals with ADHD, as their brains are more susceptible to sensory overload.
Nostalgia for simpler times without constant connectivity is expressed, with the author appreciating the enforced analog activities of their childhood.
The article criticizes the habit of multitasking with technology, advocating for single-tasking to improve concentration and reduce stress.
It highlights the addictive nature of social media, particularly Instagram, and the need for self-imposed time limits to prevent excessive consumption of digital content.
The author values the concept of a media sabbath, viewing it as a necessary reset from the chaos of constant connectivity and a way to foster genuine rest and reduce cortisol spikes.
The opinion is shared that the pursuit of quick dopamine hits through technology can exacerbate ADHD symptoms and that a focus-friendly lifestyle requires the cultivation of habits that enhance concentration.
The author admires the Amish for their wise approach to technology, considering the potential impact on their community's well-being before adopting new technologies.
The article concludes with a call to action for readers to reassess their relationship with technology, emphasizing personal choice in using technology to enrich rather than hinder daily life.

Digital Mindfulness: Your Secret Weapon for Chronic Sensory Overload

We often forget that we are animals, despite how “advanced” we seem to be. We are tool-using animals; advanced ones that manipulate the material world so we can have shiny phones and clothing made of entirely synthetic fabrics. We are certainly a smart species, but are we as collectively wise as we are intelligent? In a post-Enlightenment world where technology has merged seamlessly into our daily lives, I feel it is important to ask ourselves whether our use of “smart” technologies is also “wise.” Just because we can, does it mean we should?

As somebody who is extra sensitive to stimuli across the board, I have been trying to bring more wisdom into how I interact with technology. What should not have surprised me is the way that modifying how I use technology ended up having an incredibly positive effect on my ADHD symptoms. Over the past month I have sought to reduce screen time, eliminate distractions, and cultivate a more intentional use of things like my computer, phone, and media consumption.

The Discovery

The more I learned about ADHD and sensory overload, the more I started to think that my hyperconnection to the world was having a huge impact on my nervous system. In the span of humanity’s long history, we have only been living in cities for a few thousand years. We have been using smart phones for less than two decades. Social media only became prominent over the last fifteen years. Our animal brains are naturally struggling to keep up with the constant stimuli, since biologically we are still primed to forage, live in small groups, and follow the circadian rhythm of the sun.

Now add in a condition like ADHD, where sensory overload and attention difficulties are a main characteristic. Take the average neurotypical brain, which already struggles to cope with the amount of information and stimulation our modern society has, and add brain wiring that struggled even before computers came around. Perhaps digital mindfulness (and even mindfulness as a whole) is of extra importance to those of us who are highly sensitive.

I decided last month that I would set new parameters on my technology use, revert to some old “analog” ways of doing things, and take mindful time to uncover areas where I may be in chronic sensory overload and not even notice.

If you’re over the age of thirty, or grew up in a home where you weren’t as ‘chronically online’, you will remember the simplicity of a time when we didn’t bring our phones into the bathroom. Remember the days when we had cable television and you could only watch a certain tv show at a certain time? Remember when you had to buy an entire album in order to own and listen to the music of a specific artist? I am actually grateful that I was a 90s child, and that my mom forced me to spend most of my time outside, readings books, playing with friends, or making art. There was something nostalgic about my recent venture into ‘wise technology use’ that brought back memories of the simplicity of my childhood.

My Methods

My first task was to eliminate multi-tasking with technology. If I was on my computer, I was not also on my phone. If I was watching a show, I put my phone on silent and far from my reach (preferably another room). I did not take my phone into the bathroom with me; I just sat in good old silence. If I was eating, I would allow myself to listen to a podcast or music, but I stopped watching things while I ate. I would not take out my phone when I walked anywhere. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb by 10pm every night and didn’t look at it again until after I had eaten my breakfast the next morning.

My next task was to become aware of how and how much I was using certain technologies. Instagram proved to be the biggest consumer of time on my phone. I had taken Facebook off of my phone months ago, but Instagram remained my addiction. One day I had clocked over three hours on Instagram. That was three hours of constant images, clips, reels, and messaging multiple people. So much stimulation for my little animal ADHD brain! No wonder I struggled to focus and get any deep work done.

I decided to set a thirty minute timer on my phone for Instagram. After one week I reduced it to twenty-five minutes. Five minutes before my timer is up, my phone alerts me. Usually I get to this point and think “what have I even been doing on here for twenty minutes?” I knew that within the next few hours, I would forget most of what I had seen, and that almost everything I had seen would contribute nothing of value to my life.

I was spending an average of four-to-five hours a day on my phone between social media, website scrolling, news, and messaging people. For some people, this may not seem like a lot, but considering the average work day is eight hours, this phone was my part-time job. And there were so many different things happening on my phone, that I was not even focused on any one thing in particular.

I recalled the days when all we had was a landline telephone. The only way I could communicate with people was through my home phone and MSN Messenger. Now it is emails, messages, browsing media, notifications from ten different places and chats spread across four platforms on a six inch screen I carry with me like a third arm. Is this insanity?

Media Sabbath

My next step was a throwback to a time around 2016–2019 when I had “Spiritual Sundays” as I called it (I mean, really it was just a proper sabbath). I would either turn the internet off of my phone, or actually put it on airplane mode and inform people that I could be reached only after 8pm that day. At first it filled me with FOMO and a fear that somebody would need to call me about something life altering. But over time I came to cherish the one day a week that hit the reset button on the chaos of connected life. I only gave up on it when the pandemic hit, and suddenly my only way to connect with others was through technology.

I decided to return to a weekly sabbath day, using that time to live extra slow. Without social media, internet browsing, or constant communication with others online, I would read books, go for walks, cook nice meals, invite a friend over, do some writing, or take a nice nap. After just the first week of reinstating my precious quiet day, I rediscovered the anxiety of turning the internet back on.

We are always being told that our brains crave dopamine. When we get notifications of likes, comments, or messages from people we love, we get a dopamine hit. When I turned my phone back on after a day of genuine rest, I did not feel any dopamine (which ADHD brains are especially prone to seeking out). Instead I felt a cortisol spike. I was overwhelmed at the barrage of messages and notifications popping up. So many things to look at or respond to! I wanted to turn my phone back off and go for another walk.

It really showed me how mindless consumption gives us a cheap, quick dopamine fix, but when we really slow down it might actually have the opposite effect. Cheap dopamine hits fuel ADHD symptoms as we give in to our most attention-depleting activities. My focus improved greatly in the weeks of limiting my media consumption and observing a sabbath day.

Creating a ‘Focus-Friendly’ Lifestyle

It’s not enough just to remove excess distractions and stimuli, I discovered that you need to cultivate new habits and hobbies that align with increasing your ability to focus, rather than decreasing it. Limitations and sabbaths have helped me reduce excess stimuli, which in turn decreased my anxiety, body tension, and occasional irritability that was really just ‘sensory overload.’

Instead of spending four or more hours on my phone, and another several hours on my computer, I am forcing myself to transition into a softer way of living. It doesn’t change the way the world is, but it changes how I respond to the modern world. I get to choose how I use technology, and whether that relationship will help or hinder my daily life. As somebody who has struggled with focus and sensory input my entire life, I want to do everything I can to live the most enriching life.

I like how the Amish view technology, and in many ways I seek to replicate parts of their mentality. Most people think they are anti-tech, but really, they are using an approach that incorporates wisdom: with every new piece of technology they use, they assess whether it enhances their lives and communities, or hinders it. Just because they can use something, doesn’t mean they will.

Just because I can scroll instagram for hours a day, does not mean that I will. Just because I can be hyperconnected, does not mean that I should. Living a focus-friendly life is at odds with the way we are consuming media and using technology in our lives. I have been amazed at how much calmer my mind and body have been since I shifted my habits and mindset. My focus has increased, I have read more books (and been able to sit long enough to focus on them), and slept better. For anyone struggling with focus, give it a try. You may find that slowness and focus eventually feel better than the quick and rapidly-fading dopamine fixes.