Simple Rituals to Counteract Technological Burnout
“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.
Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
What is anything in life compared to peace of soul?”
Francis De Sales was the patron for authors and journalists and lived in the late modern period following the Medieval ages. His quote above sets out a task that many of us might find difficult to follow through with, however much we may aspire to.
In 2024, the pressures on Americans are surmounting. Depending on your age, where you live, and how you are perceived, there can be many additional challenges stacked on top of survival itself. We are also exposed to many more ideas than ever before. So many of these exposures are positive, heartwarming, and kind. We thrive when we connect with people we can deeply relate to and share our lived experiences. Learning about different cultures around the world helps to educate us and uplift us with new ideas and perspectives. Seeing many kinds of art that spark awe in our spirits is an irreplaceable benefit of having global access to each other.
However, there is a darker side. The side that doesn’t let us rest, that constantly wants to consume more information. Quiet moments need to be filled and used, and used, and used. Even a walk with our pet or family requires a phone in hand, where we might otherwise be able to connect with the world and people around us. Our minds feel more agile than they actually are, or would like to be.
Our neurotransmitters and hormones are experiencing massive change without anything to support us through that change - and generally, not a lot of deep reflection on the meaning of this change. Studies have found that we have become so well trained to check our smartphones (two-thirds of us check our phones approximately 160 times per day) that our bodies generate the stress hormone cortisol when we haven’t checked them for a while.
This sense of busyness is not inherent to the human spirit.
Our spirits crave rest, peace, and reflection. The prevalence of mental illness in our country is not a surprise to anyone who is familiar with it’s conditions. We can help each other here, we can show each other the ways that we are emerging less broken, from a broken system.
Mutual aid is something we can all offer each other. Sharing stories has long been a way to enact social change, pass down traditions, healing remedies, and to soothe emotional disturbances. Let us continue to share our real stories with each other.
Simple Rituals to Counteract Technological Burnout:
Clarify what emotions you want to evoke by using social media before you log on - connection, inspiration, curiosity, peace, numbness? How is this session going to TRULY affect you? Make a decision that if you do not find the emotions you are seeking through your social media use, you will log off immediately and change to a non-tech activity. You will be amazed at how many times our social media is serving us much more of what we don’t want than do want. Try to practice this conscious assessment at least 1-2x a day to start.
Embrace the fullness of your emotions on a moment-to-moment basis. There are lots of rich experiences that we go through. Some of them are exquisitely difficult and some experiences are beautifully supportive. There are lots of nuances available to those who seek them. The danger of technology is that it is creating brains that are trained to seek instant pleasure, more dopamine, and this cycle reduces the pleasure of everyday moments for us. Patting our child on the head, hugging a friend, or simply enjoying a beautiful walk becomes more challenging when those things are in competition with a million other distractions.
Use water as a cleansing tool. Treat all baths and showers as sacred space. Use this time to nourish yourself with positive self-talk and affirmations. Really smell the scent of the products you are using. Feel the sensation of the water hitting your skin and notice what your heart feels like in this moment. Treat your body and skin as friends that deserve as much care and attention as your phone or computer. Breathe deeply while you become present to the experience of being human.
Our lives are finite. The way we choose to spend our time is irreversible. We have differing amounts of “free” time depending on our personal situations, but systemically, most of us have a lot less time for ourselves or our families than we’d like. Really feel the impact of the finiteness of our lives in your soul. What do you want to look back on when your body starts to age and you aren’t able to move around as well anymore? What experiences would you want to have had? A life full of connection and wonder! This cannot be found solely on a screen.
Feel welcome to leave a comment below to share a ritual that has worked for you in reducing technological burnout. We are a community and want to help support each other with this!
