Every time Luisa Solís has to make a report for the agency she works for, she puts her phone in airplane mode until she finishes the task. After a long time of feeling unproductive, she says she found the perfect solution to meet her work goals. “With this method I manage to keep notifications at bay and not get distracted,” he describes. Unknowingly, you are also describing the practice of intermittent digital fasting.
The new smoking
For a long time there was talk of the idea of a digital “detox”: periodic “detoxes” from device use. But the paradigm has changed. Since there are no significant studies indicating that this practice improves well-being, the concept evolved.
Today we talk about “intermittent digital fasting”. They are specific periods of conscious use of technology, in which each person will know what suits them best. There will be those who will be fine with one hour a day and those who will need a more drastic cut. The important thing is to be able to discern where the mental and emotional limit is.
“Today we know that the excessive use of screens significantly impacts our mental health. Emotionally, constant exposure to social networks can increase anxiety and stress due to information overload and the pressure to always be available. Our brain is designed to focus on a single stimulus at a time, and technology encourages constant multitasking that can overwhelm us and reduce our attention span,” illustrates psychologist Marina Mammoliti (psimammoliti.com). It also marks the impact on sleep thanks to blue light, which in turn affects mood and cognitive function.
Given this, the specialist considers it beneficial to voluntarily abstain from using electronic devices, since it provides a break for the brain and bodyreducing cortisol levels and helping to reduce sensory overload. “Emotional self-regulation improves when there are fewer digital stimuli, and this contributes to better management of emotions and greater concentration on the present,” he explains. The method is especially powerful when practiced regularly.
Today we talk about digital consumption as the new smoking. Mammoliti agrees, especially considering that tobacco was previously the main addiction problem in terms of prevalence and impact on public health. For the specialist, today the excessive use of social networks has a similar and even greater reach.
Compulsory fast
“An Apple survey showed that people open their phones about 80 times a day, and another study indicated that we touch the screens almost 2,700 times a day,” says Martín Villar, director of Algorithmic Avengers, a think tank dedicated to promoting ethical use. of automated decision systems. And it goes further: according to the Global Digital Report 2024, active users on social networks exceed 5 billion, equivalent to 62.3% of the world population.
The specialist adds that The typical user spends 2 hours and 23 minutes a day scrolling on networks. But Argentina exceeds that time with an average of 3 hours, which ranks 11th in the world. This becomes especially serious when it comes to children and young people: “the GCBA pointed out global studies that show that prolonged screen time negatively affects the self-control and emotional stability of minors, increasing anxiety and depression”.
In this sense, several countries have begun to take action, generating a kind of forced digital fast. In 2019, France was the first to ban the use of cell phones and smart watches in schoolsfollowed by Norway. Several states in the United States joined in. Other countries that followed were China, Israel, Portugal, Belgium and Spain. Although perhaps the most radical decision is that of Australia, which regulated the prohibition of the use of social networks for minors under 16 years of age. To comply with this law, the collaboration of technology companies will be required, under penalties of fines of up to US$32.5 million.
And in Argentina? In In the City of Buenos Aires, the government limited the use of cell phonesdefining that they cannot be used either in class or at recess in kindergartens and primary schools, and only in pedagogical activities in secondary schools. The measure applies to public and private schools, and affects 566,000 students from 2,291 institutions.
Looking for solutions
For adults, then, the best way out is restriction. But not everyone is able to achieve it, and that is why there are also digital tools that help. Like the One Sec app, which forces users to pause and breathe for a few seconds before being able to open any social network. Or like ScreenZen, which blocks certain apps or sites for specific periods of time.
There are several who have resorted to this type of gadget, and although any attempt to regain a little control should be celebrated, there is skepticism among specialists. “I don’t think these apps work and I don’t recommend any. If a person feels that they cannot stop repeating a behavior that interferes with their work, their personal life and eventually their health, the solution is not an app, it is a professional,” Ariel Torres, a long-standing technology journalist, points out categorically. in the field. It also extends the medical recommendation to the comparison that this type of “diets” must be composed by a health professional. Otherwise, the person would be self-medicating.
For his part, Villar has been working for some time to install the “conscious digital pause,” which aims to change digital priorities and habits. He outlines it in five phases that allow a profound change in the relationship with technology. They are reflection (on the reasons for using the devices and the emotions they generate), the creation of a limit plan, the actual implementation of these limits (including communicating them to our environment), the replacement of these habits with analog activities that provide satisfaction and finally the evaluation, to observe the changes and record the impact on daily life. “All of this involves becoming aware of how we are using technology and making personalized adjustments to improve our relationship with it,” summarizes the expert.
There is no doubt that technological advancement is unstoppable. But as a well-known phrase goes, with great power also comes great responsibility.
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