Technology can help us if it is used correctly. But it can kill us when used recklessly. Some people report that they are glad they are not accessible. However, some people need to be approachable and feel really high when they are available to others all the time.
The average person spends about twelve hours a day looking at a screen of some kind, be it a computer screen, cell phone, iPod, or digital reader. The computer occupies more than five hours of our day, on average.
Addiction makes us connect with something outside of ourselves from our fundamental well-being. This makes us feel vulnerable and powerless when we are not connected or in contact with others in some way.
Addiction also sets us back emotionally and spiritually. Addiction shrinks our lives and shrinks us with it, even when the substance is something that has the capacity to expand life.
Technology then becomes a powerful drug, even more than we imagine. We need to take an active role in the use of our technology and not become a society of addicts. In other words, we need to control our use of technology.
If we don’t take steps to control our use of technology, we will get technologically drunk.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if you are technologically drunk:
1. Are you unwilling to see the truth of your behavior? Do you get defensive when someone comments on how much you are using technology? Can you admit to yourself that you are having trouble putting down your tech devices?
2. Do you go online as soon as you wake up? Do you check your text messages in the middle of the night? Do you text at night? Do you keep your cell phone in your room at night?
3. Do you create any downtime outside of technology? Do you feel anxious when you are away from your devices?
4. Do you use technology as a way to escape the here and now without consciousness? Are you trying to escape from something?
5. Do you multitask on a chronic basis? Does technology become one more multitasking agent for you?
6. Does technology allow technology to get in the way of real connection with others? Do you text over dinner or lunch when you’re sitting with family and friends?
7. Can you disconnect for a preset time, say 6 hours or 12 hours? Can you make one day a week without technology or does the idea make your stomach turn?
By answering these questions, you will be able to determine if you are addicted to your technology and if you are digitally drunk as a result.
You may feel less drunk with technology. You just have to be ready to unplug, even if it’s a few hours at a time. If you can do that, you will break the addiction to technology and get your life back.