A couple of weeks ago, my friend Scott Ressler, a film producer at National Geographic, and I hosted a gathering called Digital Mindfulness: A Conversation on Balance.
My primary takeaway? I LOVED IT!
I’ve read and listened to a lot on this topic. This was the first conversation I’ve heard within a spiritual context; specifically that of our loving Buddhist sangha at The Center for Mindful Living.
It was so sweet! And so real and resonant.
Clearly, there are some good things about digital offerings—audiobooks, podcasts, photos of your friends’ grandchildren—but what about the other side of the screen?
We looked at some history and context about the powerful outside forces at work—what we’re up against.
Scott shared that the iPhone was released in 2007, and the “like” button on Facebook was introduced in 2009. Receiving “likes” releases dopamine, a key neurotransmitter for regulating our sense of craving.
This is the exact same principle at play in slot machines, which keeps us coming back again and again. Sean Parker, the founding president of Facebook, said (transparently) that the thought process in designing these apps was, “How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?”
Thus setting off the powerful inside forces that explain the addictive quality of screen time and its tendency to eclipse the experience of real life.
Scott asked, What’s been lost?
Karen’s answer deeply resonated with me. “There’s not really peace,” she said.
To me, that was the most profound response, especially when I think of my life in childhood (dragging my doll around the backyard by a string tied to a shoebox—touring the world in her car!), early adulthood, and parenthood (we didn’t own a TV and instead campaigned for DC Statehood [we didn’t win] and to stop a giant telecommunications tower being built in the neighborhood [we won!]).
We discussed: What can we do to counteract digital overwhelm? Instead of giving in to the temptation of mindless scrolling?
There were lots of ideas.
Scott and I shared some basics for trimming back digital consumption:
- Try Cal Newport’s 30-day detox from his book Digital Minimalism.
- Leave your phone on a shelf inside your door and go there to use it.
- Remove Instagram from your phone and only access it on your computer. I did that a few months ago and rarely think about it anymore. I love the freedom!
– Peggy said she’d just stopped by the public library and gotten out two very lengthy historical novels by favorite authors Laurie King and Ken Follett. She said that would keep her busy for a while!
– Bettina and I both mentioned getting outdoors, being in nature, and the sense of beauty and awe counteracting the magnetic pull of our phones.
I wrote a blog post in March 2022 called Looking up, in which I described my practice of just going outside and looking straight up at the sky overhead from time to time, no matter the weather or season. It’s incredible!
– In a related matter, Stig had to leave early to take “one of his best mindfulness teachers,” his dog Harley, out for a walk.
– Meleia talked about the importance of gathering, of bringing people together in beautiful ways (she is a gatherer and does this all the time) and recommended a TED talk by Priya Parker called 3 steps to turn everyday get-togethers into transformative gatherings.
– Karen came up with a new idea. When she feels the urge to play with her phone, she’ll use that as a prompt to think of someone she can encourage and reach out to them with an email or text instead, A lot of us voted for that idea!
I love the way the conversation led us to nature, generosity, compassion, and intelligent enrichment.
As Scott pointed out, it isn’t so much about NOT using the phone as it is identifying excellent things to do instead. Those things need to be rewarding, motivating, and potentially wonderful. The results? Greater peace and freedom! Which feels really, really good.
Love,
💛
Jo
Ps—Our next Mindful News gathering is going to be a supportive, multi-part Mindful Decluttering series! Interested? Email me at mindfully@jocooperstudio.com. What are your thoughts and questions? I’d really like to know. 🙂
Photo by Ryan Moreno
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