The internet is, at once, a blessing and a curse. It has been a gateway to hitherto unimaginable levels of connectivity; we are more interconnected as a species than we’ve ever been. Today, we benefit all the more from this 24/7 connection with the people we deign to call family. But this level of connectivity is also unprecedented, something our minds are not wholly equipped to handle.
It’s not unreasonable to suggest that the constant onslaught of notifications and digi-social demands work to keep you mentally “on,” even during what is meant to be your treasured downtime. This level of reachability was never normal; it stretches your attention and raises your stress levels, all without the dramatic warning signs you’re likely waiting for.
Ultimately, it’s so incredibly easy for availability to become emotional labor. And emotional labor is a drain on your personal resources. Let’s track back from this conclusion, though, and figure out exactly what it is that makes reachability such an Achilles heel for so many of us – particularly the people-pleasers amongst us, who would rather see themselves burn than let a friend experience a mote of discomfort.
Unease when it comes to digital presence goes far beyond that of friendly interactions, though. Online visibility is high for pretty much every web user, and there is a subtle background tension accordingly. It’s here that answering techy questions like “what is a vpn vs proxy?” can be vital to getting in control of your online presence, whether by minimizing visibility on websites or by spoofing your connection to another area entirely.
The effects of constant connectivity to the internet are plain enough to those of us unlucky enough to be glued to our phones through what is meant, very much, to be ‘bedtime.’ But the disruption of our personal, natural order of things goes a little deeper than the novelty of the sum total of human knowledge being in our grasp.
Having such pull in our pockets, whether it’s from never-ending news feeds, ever-updating work inboxes, or frequent messages from friends and acquaintances, has a clear impact on our focus. Something as simple as checking work messages during family time can be a potent reminder of that pull; even without such real-world stakes, slavish responses to digital stimuli have deleterious impacts on attentiveness.
It isn’t just the endless ping-ping-ping-ping-ping of the modern attention culture that has poor impacts for our mental health, though. It’s also the fact that many such pings demand a response. Each theoretical response is another weight on your mind, another tick on the future to-do list that creates undue pressure for your already-busy mind.
The guilt or anxiety that can be triggered via this experience is hard to shake, particularly when so many millions more are participating in exactly the same attention economy. Redefining expectations when it comes to responding, particularly with friends, is difficult, but across the board, it is crucial to reducing mental strain. And that’s before the incredible benefits with respect to healthier communication patterns.
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