Turn Off Notifications
Red is a trigger color that instantly draws our attention. Reclaim your time by turning off notifications.
TAKE CONTROL
Ressources
Meditation applications and guided meditations
A good way to approach the subject easily is to draw from the catalog of meditation applications. Among the (very numerous) offerings of these, I have spotted a few that propose a program on digital mindfulness.
Other meditations are on the Insight Timer application and on the web :
- Digital Mindfulness – Barbara Vidal
- Mindfulness & Digital Narcissism – Acharya Das
- Finding Balance With Technology
- Make Peace With Your Phone – Ethan Pollock
Books
Here is a selection of books that could help you on your way
First of all a practical book, a manual, very concrete and efficient
Disconnect if you dare – Digital Detox & more hours of life: Digital Detox & more hours of life
Then, if you want to go deeper into the subject, and understand what are the mechanisms that shape the digital interfaces and make us so dependent, I recommend these excellent books based on scientific approaches
- Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
- Frontal Fatigue
- Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
- The Distraction Trap: How to Focus in a Digital World
Finally, for a more Buddhist approach to the question, you can consult
Podcasts
Here are two very good ones (each consisting of several episodes) :
Websites
There are also some very good websites with lots of useful resources (again, in English), including :
Documentary films
If you haven’t seen it yet, run (mindfully) to watch the Social Dilemma, a Netflix documentary about what technology is doing to our brains.
Other advices
- Go to Settings > Notifications, or swipe left on any incoming notification and hit Manage > Turn Off
Remove Toxic Apps
Remove apps that profit off of addiction, distraction, outrage, polarization, and misinformation.
TAKE CONTROL
- Remove Facebook → Message friends with Signal
- Remove TikTok → Send video messages by direct text or with Marco Polo
- Remove Snapchat → Get creative in Text instead
- Remove Instagram → Use VSCO for photography
Be Compassionate
Social media profits off hate and anger because it generates more engagement. Let’s fight back with compassion.
TAKE CONTROL
- Pause → Remember there’s a real person behind the screen: Don’t be so quick to unfollow or publicly argue with someone who posts something you disagree with
- Be compassionate → Try a private message to ask why they feel that way, with genuine curiosity and a desire to understand