The American Psychologic Association (APA) just released a report that looks at self-reported rates of anxiety from a survey of 3,511 adults in the United States. They found that almost 90% say that they either often check or constantly check their emails, texts and social media accounts. They call this 90% group “constant checkers (CC).” The CC group report higher anxiety levels than the people who report checking their devices less often.
For some, constant checking itself can be a stressful act. CCs are more likely to say that constantly checking devices is a stressful aspect of technology, compared to non-constant checkers. Social media also negatively affects a greater proportion of CCs compared with those who do not check as frequently.
Even with this data, it is hard to know how much checking of our devices is causing anxiety and how much is actually relieving anxiety.
Larry Rosen, author of The Distracted Mind, makes an interesting point about anxiety and constant checking. In a Psychology Today article he says the following:
“If.. you do an activity and feel a sense of relief that you did not miss out on something ‘going around,’...then this is most likely a sign of obsession. An obsession …is built around performing an act that reduces your feeling of anxiety.”
Looking for a first step to quelling your urge to check? This Friday from sundown March 3rd to sundown March 4th is The National Day of Unplugging. Will you join the 40,000 plus people who have committed to unplugging for these 24 hours?
For Tech Talk Tuesday this week let’s talk about whether we (or our kids) are “constant checkers.”
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
The American Psychologic Association (APA) just released a report that looks at self-reported rates of anxiety from a survey of 3,511 adults in the United States. They found that almost 90% say that they either often check or constantly check their emails, texts and social media accounts. They call this 90% group “constant checkers (CC).” The CC group report higher anxiety levels than the people who report checking their devices less often.
For some, constant checking itself can be a stressful act. CCs are more likely to say that constantly checking devices is a stressful aspect of technology, compared to non-constant checkers. Social media also negatively affects a greater proportion of CCs compared with those who do not check as frequently.
Even with this data, it is hard to know how much checking of our devices is causing anxiety and how much is actually relieving anxiety.
Larry Rosen, author of The Distracted Mind, makes an interesting point about anxiety and constant checking. In a Psychology Today article he says the following:
“If.. you do an activity and feel a sense of relief that you did not miss out on something ‘going around,’...then this is most likely a sign of obsession. An obsession …is built around performing an act that reduces your feeling of anxiety.”
Looking for a first step to quelling your urge to check? This Friday from sundown March 3rd to sundown March 4th is The National Day of Unplugging. Will you join the 40,000 plus people who have committed to unplugging for these 24 hours?
For Tech Talk Tuesday this week let’s talk about whether we (or our kids) are “constant checkers.”
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
In the New York Times this last week, there was an article about social media and teens. The article's brilliant graphic captured our young people's digital and emotional reality. The image is all the notifications on their phones, laptops, tablets, etc. like texts from “mom” reminding them to be safe, a new grade posted, a Snapchat arrival, a missed Facetime, a troubling news headline, etc. Stress flies at them in so many ways. Today, I suggest a way to have a notification intervention.
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So often, we talk about “pushy parents” — those putting too much pressure on their kids to straight As, take all AP classes, etc. The fact is there is an incredibly high percentage of kids who are primarily putting this pressure on themselves. All kids and teens experience anxiety at times. It is our bodies’ reaction to fear and stress — it is a part of being human.And then there is anxiety that has gone astray — clinical anxiety. This kind of anxiety is often missed or ignored in youth who are extremely preoccupied with their academic performance — an obsession with getting straight As and the like.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
