Self-Care Sunday
The value in occasionally putting your phone down and stepping away from the computer
This is the latest in my series on the importance to engage in some self-care in order to help you deal better with the fight against worldwide authoritarianism and fascism.
The Internet and social media are wondrous things. You can access all kinds of information at your fingertips without having to leave home at any time of the day or night. You can get the latest news whenever you want along with people's opinions about the latest news. Heck, you can even add your own opinions about the latest news.
It's such a change from what I grew up with. There were no such things as 24-hour TV news channels. There were a couple of radio stations in my area that offered 24-hour news a day but it was something people listened to as they did other things, such as household chores, driving to and from work, doing work at the office, etc. Unlike TV news, there was no visual component of radio news so you didn't have to pay full attention to it.
There was an Internet but it was limited to email and file sharing and it was only accessible to people who either worked with DARPA or with one of its contractors.
People would read the daily newspapers and the weekly newsmagazines (such as Time and Newsweek). The local radio stations would provide five minute news every half-an-hour during the morning and evening rush hour. The local TV stations would show a half-an-hour of local news around 6:30 p.m. followed by the network news broadcast at 7 p.m. There would be another half-an-hour local news broadcast at 11 p.m.
The only time we even got TV news for longer than a half-an-hour was under extreme situations, such as the sudden death of a major famous person, a politician resigning from his elected position due to a scandal, or a major disaster (such as a very destructive hurricane).
If I wanted to talk about the news to someone else I had to either look for someone in real life who happened to be free to talk or try calling a friend or relative on the telephone and hope that the person was free at that moment to speak with me.
The point I'm trying to make is that even though we had access to the news prior to the 24-hour cable news channels and the Internet, we weren't inundated with news all the time (unless you chose to listen to one of the news radio stations). We basically got the latest news and then moved on to other things until the next opportunity to get the latest news came again.
It all started to change in the 1980s with the advent of cable TV and the creation of the first 24-hour network in the United States: CNN. From there it led to the creation of other 24-hour news channels (Fox News and MSNBC). Then the Internet came along and many of the cable news channels and broadcast news shows built their own websites where people can visit them and get their news another way. From there we have the rise of social media and people began to share links to news stories and people began to discuss them online.
It's great to have that information at your fingertips that you can access at any time but there's a price for that convenience. There is the constant doomscrolling on a social media platform where people are looking for a sign—any sign—that Russia is losing the war in Ukraine or Donald Trump will face any kind of penalties for any of his 91 criminal charges (including prison) or an update on the current Internet controversy regarding what on Earth is going on with the Princess of Wales. Sometimes you think that you are only going to look online for no more than 15 minutes but two hours later you are still doomscrolling away. You may be more informed about the latest news but it comes at a cost of an unbalanced life. You get too busy doomscrolling to pursue other hobbies and interests, visiting family and friends, making major life decisions (such as whether to stick with a current job or look for new opportunities), and focusing on your health (such as exercising).
The constant doomscrolling has a negative impact on our mental health. Studies have shown that being exposed to a constant stream of bad news in the morning were more likely to report that they were in a bad mood six to eight hours later than those who were exposed to more positive news in the morning. Watching and reading bad news on a continuous basis is more likely to make a person feel exhausted, tense, irritable, moody, and can suffer from disturbed sleep. The more a person consumes bad news, the more likely a person will start to suffer from depression, stress, and other symptoms that are similar to those found among people with post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).
The good news is that if you find yourself doing so much consuming of bad news that you're starting to feel mentally unbalanced, you can reverse that feeling with a few changes.
First, you need to recognize that the news media, especially in the United States, is taking an approach to covering this year's election that is part soap opera and part horserace. It is designed to attract eyeballs that they hope will hang on to every word they say which, in turn, would result in profits. They are doing it because the corporate owners are taking an entertainment approach to the news at the expense of actually informing people on such things as where each candidate stands on certain policies and issues.
In fact the news media has shown this huge deference to Donald Trump because he is basically an attention-whoring showman who makes more traditional politicians seem boring by comparison. They rely on a Trump victory not only so their corporate owners can get tax breaks but they feel that he is great for ratings. (I explained more about this phenomenon in a previous post I wrote on Why the Mainstream Media in the US is So Messed Up.) They don't care if their approach to the news ends up screwing with your head as long as you give them enough attention to make a profit off of your attention in terms of ratings and ad revenues.
The social media companies are the same way. They want you to pay attention long enough to make a profit off of your attention in terms of ad revenue. Whether you access a social media site through a desktop browser or through a mobile app especially made for a certain social media platform, the interface is designed to make you read the first few posts then scroll down and read some more, then scroll down and read some more, then scroll down and read some more, then scroll down and read some more, then scroll down and read some more, then scroll down and read some more, then…well, you get the picture.
It's obvious that there are times when we really need to put our phones down and/or step away from our computers. I came up with a few suggestions that you can try. My advice is to try the suggestion that fits you the best.
The 24-Hour Fast
When my late father-in-law left my mother-in-law for a coworker at his job that he was having an affair with, he really did a major overhaul of his life. She was an devout Orthodox Jew and she was adamant about him converting to her faith if he wanted to marry her. Sure enough he actually converted to Orthodox Judaism shortly before he married her. In the process he had to give up eating some of his favorite foods (such as shrimp cocktail). He also had to adapt to observing the Sabbath where each week, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, he couldn't operate anything electronic, including turning light switches on and off. And using the computer during that time was a definite no-no.
Despite making those changes he later confessed to my then-husband that he really liked the lifestyle attached to that faith. When he was married to my mother-in-law he was a workaholic and there were times when he worked evenings and weekends. While he still demonstrated workaholic tendencies in his second marriage, he liked the idea that, once a week for 24 hours, he was required to take a break from working. He used his downtime to attend weekly synagogue, socialize with friends from that congregation, take an occasional walk outside with his wife, sit at home reading books and newspapers, and even take naps. He would remain with his second wife, remain an Orthodox Jew, and diligently observe the Sabbath each week until his death in 2017.
I'm not suggesting that you convert to Orthodox Judaism and start observing the Sabbath liketry father-in-law and his wife did. But there is a certain charm in taking a 24 hour break from your computer and mobile device. You might even experiment with this where, starting sundown Friday, you turn the computer and mobile device off. You keep them turned off until sundown Saturday when you turn then back on. If, for some reason, sundown Friday to sundown Saturday doesn't work for your schedule, you could pick another day of the week. You could try sundown Monday to sundown Tuesday or sundown Thursday to sundown Friday. The whole idea is to get off of social media for 24 hours.
This option might not be for you if you currently have an ailing relative or if you're in the midst of a family crisis and you need to have your phone turned on at all times. There is another alternative.
Put Your Phone Out of Sight
Put your phone in a drawer or on a shelf or in a box or some other place where you won't have easy access to it (like you would if it were in your pocket). The whole idea is to keep your phone out of sight while you're doing other things. This tactic is especially useful if you need to do major household cleaning or you're working on a major project and you don't want to be distracted. Out of sight, out of mind.
This option may not be feasible if you’re in a situation where you need to have easy access to your phone due to a major family crisis or an ailing relative. Also try to remember where you hide your phone, even if you have to make a note about it on scrap paper. Misplacing your phone and having a hard time finding it is NOT something you would want to go through.
Focus Mode
Both Android and iPhone have an option where you can put your phone on Focus Mode. What it means is that you can temporarily disable certain apps so you can resist the temptation of logging in and start time-wasting doomscrolling. You can still make and receive phone calls and texts. This is the ideal solution for those who can't shut off their phones entirely for 24 hours but still want to take a break from social media and the news media. Here is how Focus Mode works on my Android phone.
As you can see some of my apps are greyed out. These are the apps I have chosen not to use when I want to put my phone on Focus Mode. The greyed apps serve to remind me that I shouldn't use them. If I become absent-minded enough to decide that I want to open, let's say, Instagram, while my phone is still in Focus Mode I get this message reminding me that Instagram isn't available at the moment and I would have to turn off Focus Mode if I really want to get on Instagram.
I created a Custom Mode that turns off all of my social media apps that I can turn off myself. If you lack the discipline to turn on and off Focus Mode yourself, you can set up your phone to do it for you automatically.
Here is how to put your phone on Focus Mode.
iPhone: Open Control Center, tap Focus, then tap the Focus that you want to turn on (such as Do Not Disturb).
Android: Open Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls, scroll down to “Looking for something else?”, tap Focus Mode, make sure you're on the Modes screen, then tap the Focus that you want to turn on.
Focus Mode is also available on certain computers as well. (For best results, make sure that you have the latest operating system installed.)
Windows: Open Settings from the Windows Start menu, then click System (on the left) and Focus (on the right).
Mac OS: Open the Apple menu at the top left corner (that's the one with the Apple icon). Select System Settings then click Focus (which has the half-moon icon) in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down to find it.
What to Do With All of This Free Time
Whatever tactic you use, if you are successful at it, you will suddenly have free time on your hands to do other things. You can read a book. (I recommend reading an old fashioned book instead of an ebook because then you would have to use your computer or phone and get tempted to log on social media.) You can pursue a hobby or interest that you haven't done in a while. You can check out the latest movie at a local movie theater. You can take a short walk or bike ride around your neighborhood. If the weather is sunny and warm you can visit a local public park. With warm weather coming soon, you can engage in some spring cleaning and donate things that you no longer use to a nonprofit thrift store or homeless shelter or some other nonprofit group that can use your cast-offs. If you are currently working at a job that you're not happy with, you can use that free time to update your resume.
The whole idea is to take a break from the toxic news and social media sites so you can rest your brain and do other things. You will gain a better balanced life when you realize that there is more to life than Facebook or Twitter/X. When you return online from the break you'll be in a more rested state of mind where you can better handle the barrage of bad news while continuing the fight against authoritarianism and fascism.
In previous Self-Care Sunday posts I mention other tips that you can incorporate as alternatives to constant doomscrolling of bad news. You can check out the links below.
Other Self-Care Sunday Tips
Contacting current friends and making new ones.
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