Let's Talk Too Much Technology
There's no denying that technological advancements over the past century have drastically changed how we communicate, connect and live day-to-day.
With social media, smart phones, medical advancements, fitness trackers, 3D printing - our lives have changed in many positive ways
BUT
it's not hard to find tech taking over.
Endless notifications...
Gaming all nighters...
Binge-watching ya favourite shows...
Broadcasting your life eryday...
Non-stop comparisons of perfect people with perfect lives...
Join us Monday 21 August 7.30pm AEST for a Getting Real session that explores too much tech and its impact on self-esteem, sleep, identity, relationships - all the things.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this massive topic 🙂
I hope your eyesight continues to stay strong @Ben-RO 🙂
What do you primarily use technology for? (for example: social media, talking to friends, games, etc. etc.
Socialising
Work (googledrive) and
Sleep - I play rain sounds through my phone every night all night
What do you primarily use technology for? (for example: social media, talking to friends, games, etc. etc.
- Social media
- TV shows/movies
- Music
- Study
What do you primarily use technology for? (for example: social media, talking to friends, games, etc. etc.
- School work
- Forums & social media
- Games
The difference in the time I spend on tech between school and social media is pretty big though. I definitely don't use it as much for social media as I have for school.
- Journaling
- Reading
- Meditating
- Tracking health like whether i ate enough protein and kept the sugar down
- Sleep
- Social including things like facebook
- Work (like the forums but also google drive, analytics, Sitecore and about 100 other things
- Relationships- met my girlfriend on technology
- Games
- Remembering complicated things
- Reminding me of stuff i need to do and planning out all the complicated steps
- Riding to and from work- Strava and also my bike is basically all fancy technology
- Learning random things that i have no need to know
- Studying stuff that's important...
- I think i could keep going for a very long time, but perhaps you get the gist
Technology really helps me because it means I get regular family skype sessions, I find it's a lot more personal way of talking to people and definitely helps me mentally if I'm starting to miss them
So a lot of us like the socials, the gaming and the shows 🙂 Now I want to hear from you...
What are some of the positives of technology? How do the positive aspects of technology help you with your overall health?
What are some of the positives of technology? How do the positive aspects of technology help you with your overall health?
Agree with all of those positives @Ben-RO! I think the positive aspects of technology are closely linked and quite helpful in regards to overall health. e.g. if it's raining I'll exercise on a treadmill instead of going outside, which has physical benefits. Being on RO has benefits for my mental health. And it provides a way for me to stay in touch with friends even if our schedules might not allow us to see each other very often.
What are some of the positives of technology? How do the positive aspects of technology help you with your overall health?
- Keep in touch with people which improves our social health
- Access to mental health services
- Improve ability to exercise and new ways to exercise
- Provide distractions
- mental health apps
- fitness tracking apps
- keeping in tough with long-distance friends
- keeping up to date with the news
- increasing globalisation and global connectedness
- allowing people to express themselves and have their voice heard
- takes power away from mainstream news stations
Got a bit sociological there c:
@letitgo thanks for creating a great segue to our next question!
How can the use of technology assist mental health (e.g. apps, support networks, information...)?
How can the use of technology assist mental health (e.g. apps, support networks, information...)?
- being able to type up my thoughts and feelings is sometimes useful for me because it feels faster than handwriting (although if pen and paper is technology too, then I guess both forms count), and it clears my mind
- places like fanfiction websites can be useful because they allow people to connect with others who have similar interests, and that connection can be great for mental health
- there is soooo much information out there about mental health, some of which can be extremely beneficial, especially if you find it at the right moment
@footyfan solid list *thumbs up*
and @basketofmonkeys I love your ability to see the big picture!
The question we've all been waiting for......
How do you know when there's too much tech in your life?
Hi guys, sorry I'm uber late... I just received the email 
How do you know when there's too much tech in your life?
When my eyes start to get sore and dry... I spend a lot of time on my laptop due to uni. To prevent my eyes from getting sore, I would try and take breaks from the screen more often (e.g every 20 or so minutes), however it is hard, especially when you've got assignments due
How do you know when there's too much tech in your life?
One physical sign that I've been staring at a computer for too long is that my eyes start to hurt and/or everything on the screen looks a bit blurry. In that case, I'll go and get a glass of water before I come back (at work), or take a longer break and go for a walk or read a book (in other circumstances).
I also tend to get a bit lonely when I've been doing technology related stuff (work, Netflix, study) without a balance of human contact. Often I'll start to have negative thoughts along those lines. In order to address that, I'll try to organise a face to face catch up with a friend, and when that's not immediately possible, I'll pet my cat 
For me I recognise I'm overdoing the tech in my life when I start to feel like I need to stay stimulated with a screen (a show or endless tabs) rather than disconnecting. That's when I KNOW i need to get off the laptop and phone and colour but I still usually listen to music through my phone when I do that....
I agree, it is hard to get away from the screen. We're just so used to it in our everyday lives.
How do you know when there's too much tech in your life?
For me i think the biggest thing is if I see some kind of cognitive deficit, i.e my brain can't do something it should be able to do... like I couldn't remember the name of tonight's chat earlier this evening, mostly because my brain has decided that information is easy to access and therefore it shouldn't be written to memory... but also stress. Still, not good!
Another thing is if i find myself reaching for technology too often. I try to have a conscious time for different activities, like going on social media, just so i don't kind of get sucked into using it, rather than doing more meaningful and fun things.. SO for example if notice i am jumping on Facebook without making a conscious decision to do it, i think that's a sign that i am in the habit of using it too much and it's breached the boundaries i've set up. So i'll just not use it for a couple of weeks and reset. I've also heard of making everything black and white, because apparently all the nice shiny colours of devices distract us from the less shiny and bright colours of real life.
I'm impressed by your ability to take a whole couple of weeks of Facebook as a way to reset You must have a lot of willpower to do that. I sometimes get tempted to leave FB altogether because it often makes me compare myself to where my friends are at, and get caught up in depressing world news stuff. But I find the connection, events, and groups open up so much of the world to me so I don't want to give that up even for a week!
Great strategies everyone 🙂 I'm going to change my perspective on apps now tanks @Ben-RO, put my phone is a zipper bag like @basketofmonkeys and think about scheduling tech time like @letitgo
Now here's a fun one -
Is there a GIF that reflects your current feelings towards technology?
It's 9:30 which means it is time to wrap up now! Thanks for the chat tonight and thanks to @Starlord and @Ben-RO for giving us the questions for the night!
