Screen Detoxing

detox

informal

noun

/diːtɒks/

a process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances; detoxification.

verb

abstain from or rid the body of toxic or unhealthy substances.

Have you ever felt your eyes burning, or your thumb hurts or even you have a very painful neck? If yes, then chances are suffering from screen stress by looking at the screen for too long and you need screen detoxing. A screen includes, phones, tablets/pads, TV, laptop, play station and gaming consoles.

We are a family of four and we have 9 screens in the family, i.e. over 2 screens person including TV, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and play station. That’s more than 2 screens per person considering that there are 2 members in the family below the age of 12.

Screen stress is a cumulative effect of :

• Multi-tasking: It’s a paradoxical situation. We tend to watch a movie on the television, but left hand is always playing with the mobile phone busy checking emails or Facebook updates.

• Reduced physical activity: It was the idiot box in the '80s and since then the form and form factors have increased many folds. The idiot box has cloned itself and ensured that humans are glued to a screen, reducing any physical activity. We have to go to a gym to burn the daily calorie intake.

• Quick burn out: The human brain is capable of doing multiple activities if it's using unrelated mental and physical resources. For e.g.: a human can enjoy listening to music while driving or talking on the phone while relaxing. The body burns out quickly when we try to overwork one mental or physical resources for example watching TV and sending an email using a phone/computer.

• Destroyed human interactions: The way we interact with each other has changed so much over the last few years. We feel more connected to our friends via chat, SMS, messenger and emails than face to face interactions. In the absence of normal human interactions, our anxiety levels are high and we feel more and more lonely.