Closer special report:
Why digital overload is ruining our lives
It's hard to imagine life without our mobile phones, but it was only 10 years ago this month that Apple released the iconic iphone and the digital world was suddenly at our fingertips.
The smartphone invention coincided with the explosion of social media, along with our favourite apps, boasting millions of daily users.
But while there are perks to being part of an increasingly connected world, shocking research has shown just how tech-obsessed we’ve become. In fact, adults now spend almost nine hours a day browsing the internet, watching TV and checking social media, with 59 per cent of us considering ourselves “hooked.”
Self-employed Kelly Rose Bradford, a 43-year-old single mum from London, is a selft’s confessed mobile addict. She admits to spending a shocking 18 hours a day on her phone, constantly checking Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as replying to around 300 messages daily from work colleagues, family and friends.
MISSING LIFE MOMENTS
Kelly sleeps with her phone on her pillow, carries two chargers and always has a spare mobile in case her iphone breaks. Her mobile phone addiction has even affected her relationship with her son William, 14. She confesses: “William was collecting an award at school and I held up my phone ready to take a photo, but just as he took to the stage, a message flashed up from a friend. I felt compelled to answer but, by the time I’d replied, William’s moment had passed and I had to lie to him that I hadn’t taken a picture because I’d run out of storage. “I think my relationship with my phone is why my son chooses not to have a mobile – my obsession has put him off. I come across as really sociable online but, in real life, I can’t be bothered
with small talk or socialising. William once told me: ‘It feels like you’re a virtual person – like you only exist online’.”
WORRYINGLY ADDICTIVE
It’s a situation all too familiar to Tanya Goodin, founder of digital detox company Time To Log Off. She says: “There are many side-effects to a digital overload. Replying to a constant stream of messages eats away at our time, leaving us feeling stressed and tired. And it’s become the focal point of family arguments as more and more people are spending time looking at screens and chatting online than talking face to face.
“People can’t distinguish between apps that are genuinely useful and ones that waste time, like social media and instant messaging – it can be addictive and it’s easy to get sucked into the constant pinging notifications.”
Tanya suggests spending on average no more than two hours online a day doing something that isn’t work or homework related and says that anything above that could be a sign of addiction.
REDRAWING THE BOUNDARIES
But with so much research linking digital detoxing with increased happiness, better sleep, improved relationships and concentration, Tanya is hopeful that things will improve and we’ll redraw those boundaries. She says: “I believe we’ll get better at controlling our digital intake but it’s going to take some effort.”