Modern society feels like a constant adrenaline rush. Life seems to have become a never-ending race. We’re always striving to move faster, work harder, do more, and know more. Time has always been a problem, but nowadays, it seems that everyone is constantly running out of time. Isn’t our technology meant to save us time and make our lives easier? How can we all be out of time nowadays? Where does our time actually go, and how can we get it back?

Digital Overflow

It’s Monday, and you’re still recovering from your friend’s anniversary party. You overslept and rushed out of your home to the office. The subway is packed. The phone is ringing, it’s Mom. You send her a message, you’ll call her back later. You scroll through Twitter, Elon Musk made another tweet, the Internet went crazy again. Thousands of reposts, 54 new messages from your friends group chat. Your phone vibrates, new notification from your favorite Youtuber, the new iPad Pro has just been released. It’s unbelievable slim, although opinions are scrambled! New message from your boss: “Where are you?”. Not the best start to the week, that’s for sure.

A lady bumps into you on her way out of the subway while arguing on the phone. She doesn’t even look your way. You're annoyed; everybody is so stressed nowadays. You take the buds out of your pocket and plug them in. Finally, a bit of silence. A new software update is available; make sure to update them later at the office. You open up Spotify, unsure of what to listen to. You choose the recommended playlist and press play. Music starts to fill your senses. You take a deep breath and look around. A girl next to you is watching a video on TikTok. You peek for a bit; it's something about the war in Ukraine, images are quickly flashing on the screen.

A metallic voice echoes from the speakers, announcing a delay. Great, now you're going to be even later. At least now you can check your emails before work and get a head start. A couple is taking a selfie; they seem happy. Your phone vibrates again, another notification: you just got a limited discount from Nike. You browse until you find a suitable pair of running shoes. They are way over your current budget, but the discount convinces you to press that purchase button.

The delay seems to be almost over. You quickly check your Instagram to see if your friends posted the pictures from the party. Your head feels a bit dizzy; maybe the coffee was too strong. Your station arrives. You put your phone back into your pocket and start running. You stop at a nearby store to buy some coffee for your boss. They give you a QR code to scan for the menu. It doesn’t work, so they ask you to install an app for making online orders. It's beyond annoying. You leave the store. Your phone starts ringing again; it's the boss. Those running shoes would have been pretty useful now. New notification, you got a new Tinder match!

Digital Consumption

Every minute on the internet, 240 million emails are sent, 41 million WhatsApp messages are delivered, 6 million Google searches are made, 4 million Facebook posts are liked, 700,000 reels are shared on Instagram, $400,000 are spent on Amazon, 360,000 tweets are sent, and 70,000 Taylor Swift songs are streamed. This happens every minute, and we are all part of the process.

There are 5.4 billion people connected to the Internet, with 5 billion having a social media account. Facebook has over 2 billion active users every day. As of 2024, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 143 minutes per day statista, or about two and a half hours. Platforms like TikTok, which gained over 1 billion downloads in less than a year, have become the new standard for content consumption. TikToks, reels, shorts — this new age comes with an attention span of less than 10 seconds.

It’s a vicious cycle — short-form media suits our brief attention spans but overconsumption further exacerbates our collective inability to concentrate on anything for an extended period of time. [TikTok and the Death of the Attention Span — The Oxford Blue]

In the first quarter of 2020, TikTok downloads peaked at over 313.5 million worldwide, up by 62.3 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. statista. As for the most liked video, with barely 10 seconds and 61 million likes, Bella Poarch’s lip-syncing “M to the B” by Millie B was the most engaging video on TikTok as of March 2023. The most viewed video was Zach King’s Harry Potter illusion, with a total of 2.3 billion views.

Digital Addiction

On average, most people check their phone 144 times a day and spend about 4 hours daily on it. That’s the equivalent of over 1 day per week or 6 days per month. Across a year, that’s roughly 70 days spent on a phone. More than half of Americans believe they are too dependent on their phones, with most agreeing that they probably couldn’t survive without them. In comparison, most teenagers lately say they feel anxious when they don’t have their smartphones. Smartphone usage stats

According to research, it seems that the main reason people use social media apps is boredom (51.8%). Other reasons include curiosity, information, loneliness and work. 68% of those surveyed believe that screen time affects their mental health negatively.

A study from 2023 conducted in Poland asked people how long they think they could survive without their phones. Most Poles responded that they could only function normally for half a day to two days without a cell phone, regardless of age. Generally, people over 30 said they could probably manage a little longer without their smartphone.

The Information Influx

How many of us find ourselves caught in this vicious cycle of doom-scrolling, or just checking our phones too frequently throughout the day? How did we become so addicted?

Everywhere you go nowadays, you see people glued to their tiny little devices, whether it’s on the subway, in the office, at a restaurant, or at home. Boredom seems to be the new disease of our century, and fast content seems to be our salvation. Silence and monotony are a thing of the past, Einstein must have been wrong.

The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind — Albert Einstein

Have an opinion? Better tweet it! Need a taxi? Call an Uber! Are you hungry? Order some food! Want to check on your friends? Go on Instagram. Feeling bored? TikTok is here to save you. Feeling lonely? No worries, Tinder will help you find love (only for a small price, of course). New episode from your favorite show? Netflix, Prime, Hulu, or whatever is at your disposal. Everything seems to be a click away in our modern society; convenience seems to be the keyword for everything. And as we all know, there is no time to be lost. Move faster, be better, know more, do more.

Today, most people would admit that they spend too much time on their phones, expressing a constant desire to reduce their screen time. Yet, these same individuals often claim they lack time for anything else. It’s intriguing how we can be both overwhelmingly busy and simultaneously active on social media. How is it that we forget friends’ birthdays but never miss an update from our favorite actor, rapper or influencer? I must admit that it does beg the question: how vital is it for us to stay constantly connected and absorb all this influx of information that is happening online? How much is enough?

We are all addicted to our devices, but we pretend we aren’t. We tell ourselves that if we wanted to, we could quit social media any day. From my own experience of being on and off social platforms for the last five years, this is much harder than people believe. Why, though? Why is it so hard to simply put down our phones and be more present in our lives? Well, they are designed to be addictive. However, none of us like the idea of being completely disconnected. So, how can we find a way to consume less content and live our lives more fully? Is it as simple as just putting our phones down from time to time? It might be.

Simply put, we need to learn how to filter information in order to regain control over our mental well-being and attention span. The story at the start of this article aims to portray the daily routine of most people today, including myself. If we compare the daily commute of a “Gen Z” with that of a grumpy Viennese grandma, we’ll notice a difference. One is overwhelmed by information, while the second is experiencing what the other one would call “boring.” One is digitally connected, while the other is physically present. One knows by heart the phone numbers of all her 5 grandchildren and their parents, while the other needs an app to be reminded to drink enough water each day. Somehow, it seems we all forgot that before smartphones, people managed to survive without a super intelligent watch calculating their daily steps and a phone sharing their every thought and opinion. They even had this weird physical maps that they used for navigation.

Digital Side-Effects

Besides the obvious disadvantages, such as a short attention span, inability to focus, memory issues, mental fatigue, and increased stress levels, there are a couple of subtler ones. By being constantly connected digitally, we might be less connected physically. With our phones always in hand, we become less aware of our surroundings and the people around us, whether they are strangers, friends, family, or lovers. Frankly, it seems that the more time we spend on our phones, the more isolated we become. It’s an interesting paradox to feel lonely in a world with 8 billion people. While we can’t solely attribute loneliness to phones, as it’s always been a human condition, it does seem to be exacerbated by technology. For more information about loneliness in this new age, I strongly recommend Noreena Hertz’s book, “The Lonely Century”.

Another problem with constantly being connected and consuming information is that there’s no time to reflect and process what we’ve taken in. How much do we remember from all those articles we read on our commute? How much information did we actually retain from those two hours spent watching YouTube Shorts?

Contemplation requires silence, and silence requires time. Both time and silence have become some of the most valuable resources we lack nowadays. To think independently and form our own conclusions and ideas, we must filter and process the information we consume, just as we do with the food we consume. If we keep consuming without processing, we’ll be at the mercy of the mighty algorithms that slowly start dictating our lives, our beliefs and ideologies. Google personalizes every search to show you what they believe is best for you. TikTok shows you personalized videos based on your interests, Amazon recommends products you were thinking about, and Spotify creates your perfect playlist. While this can be convenient from time to time, if we don’t consciously decide when and how to use technology, we might one day tragically realize that we’ve become byproducts of our never-ending feeds. For dramatic purposes, I’ll add a picture from the Pixar movie Wall-E.

The Power of Filtering

How much of what we consume digitally in our daily lives actually benefits us? This is becoming an important question as more content is created now than ever before. Everyone can create and share their ideas, and that is great. But how much should we consume, and when should we put our phones down? How do we learn to filter information, preserve our mental sanity, be more present in our lives, and be less overwhelmed by information?

So, should we just close our phones and live like our grandparents? Is that the solution? No, not really. At least not for most of us. We need to learn how to deliberately choose the information we consume.

Let’s start with three simple keywords: when, where, and what.

When am I supposed to use my phone?

• Consider setting specific times during the day when you allow yourself to check your phone. For example, you could reserve the first hour after waking up for a phone-free routine, or the last hour before going to sleep. You could also designate certain times during the day meant to catch up on messages and notifications. The goal is to create boundaries that prevent constant, mindless checking and scrolling.

Where am I supposed to use my phone?

• Try to reflect on the appropriate places for phone usage. For instance, you might decide to restrict phone use in social settings to ensure you are fully present with the people around you. Additionally, while in a class or watching a movie, you could choose to leave your phone elsewhere so that you’re not distracted.

For what purpose am I supposed to use my phone?

• Identify the primary reasons you use your phone. Is it for work, staying connected, learning, or consuming content out of boredom or awkward situations? By clearly defining the purpose, you can better manage your screen time. Prioritize meaningful interactions and essential tasks over endless social media scrolling or watching videos that don’t add any real value to your life.

Additionally, you could ask if the content you’re about to consume is meaningful, helpful, or useful to you. You could also ask if you deliberately searched for that piece of content or if it was recommended to you by an algorithm. Reflect on the source of the recommendation and whether it has your best interests at heart or is merely aiming to capture your attention by exploiting your human psychology.

By thoughtfully considering these questions, you’ll gradually learn to balance and filter the constant overflow of digital information. This will help you achieve a more balanced relationship with your phone and ensure that your digital consumption enriches rather than overwhelms your life. Of course, only if you actively and consistently try.

Conclusion

Close your phone from time to time, consume less, be more present, and look up for a change. It’s important to disconnect from the digital world every now and then to truly appreciate the life around us. Call your friends on their birthdays, smile to that stranger on the subway, visit your parents, read that book, start that new yoga class. Simply put, share less and live more. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life, without all that modern noise

That’s it, simple as that. Let technology increase the quality of your life, not the other way around. After all, our modern gadgets are just tools, and it’s up to us how we use them. We can choose whether to let them dominate our lives or enhance them. Embrace the benefits they bring, like connection, education and information, but don’t let them replace real, meaningful interactions. Balance is key to ensuring technology serves us rather than enslaves us.