Episode 11 - Struggling to Stay Motivated? Take a Tech Time-Out

In episode 11 of 'Life After Fear: Redefine Your Limits', host Courtney Schoch dives into the impact of technology and social media on our lives. She explores the positive and negative aspects of tech usage, emphasizing the addictive nature of social media and its potential to cause anxiety and depression. Courtney discusses the concept of 'doom scrolling' and the role of the brain's habenula in controlling motivation. She concludes with actionable advice on taking a 'tech timeout' to improve mental health and reconnect with the physical world. Tune in to learn how limiting screen time can enhance your overall well-being.

MENTIONS

CALM APP - Apple App Store -  Google Play

Kyra Bobinet

Gallup 

Learn more about your host Courtney Schoch

Transcript

COURTNEY: Hello everyone. This is episode 11 of Life After Fear, Redefine Your Limits with Courtney Schoch. This is where you confront your fears and transform your life. 

Last week, we wasted some time in the best way possible when we touched on 10 time traps that steal your potential. One of those time traps was social media and technology.

How do you feel about technology? Are you using technology, or is it using you? There is a lot of good that comes with tech. It's a critical component of the world. You get to check in with friends and loved ones at the touch of a button and share important information. You get informed. You can promote businesses and podcasts.

You can go shopping online and get groceries delivered to your door. You can take online classes, get degrees, and learn new skills so you can continue working while caring for your family. You get to collaborate easier with others. Meet people who you would have never even known about, reconnect with people that you've lost touch with, share experiences, and that's just a small amount of the great things that technology brings to us.

And it's convenient; it just makes so many things possible. However, there are some less-than-great things about technology. There is a valid debate about whether we actually are more disconnected from each other and from ourselves than ever before. So, for the moment, I'm going to pick on social media. As humans, we all have a need to feel connected and social media helps us do that.

But why do we, and so many other people, feel bad after engaging in social media? One reason is validation seeking. Likes and friend requests, engagements, views, how many of you have scrolled through the metrics or wondered how many likes your post got two minutes after posting it, or maybe not even two minutes, and then you wondered, why isn't this getting as many likes as I thought it should?

People surely find this fascinating or exciting. Why aren't they liking it? 

We get very frustrated, and we start to go down a rabbit hole and then we actually start to feel worse because we don't get acceptance. Then, if we have self-esteem issues, We also have a fear of missing out or not living up to what others are doing.

So much content and social media is not real life, but we do not understand that, or we refuse to accept it. These platforms are designed to be addictive, and they're associated with anxiety, depression, and, at times, physical ailments. I'm not completely bashing social media because, clearly, I have social media accounts, and I do engage in them. I also engage with other friends and businesses, news outlets, various Facebook pages, YouTube, and Instagram. I just opened up a TikTok page. So I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it. I'm just saying to be aware of some of the feelings that it can bring up because we may not be aware of them. According to the Pew Research Center. 69 percent of adults and 81 percent of teens use social media in the United States. This puts a large amount of the population at risk for feeling anxious and depressed. 

So why do we keep going back to social media? It's distracting when our life isn't going the way that we think it should. We can just go on social media and check out for a little bit. We've all done it and we'll all continue to do it.

Also, it's habitual. It's a habit, just like any other habit. You do it so frequently that you almost have muscle memory. You just reach for the phone, and you click on whatever social media outlet you're checking on. That's just what you do. You start incorporating it into your life. 

The other reason is because it's a drug. It creates a neurochemical reaction that significantly increases the amount of dopamine that is released in the brain's reward center. Every time you have a like, a friend request, or a view, you get dopamine hits. Do you know what other drugs use dopamine to keep you going back? Yeah, there's opiates, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine. Those are just to name a few. So, social media is very addicting for our brains. 

Are you familiar with doom scrolling? I wasn't, but apparently I do it. Doom scrolling is defined as a compulsive and excessive consumption of negative news or social media content despite its distressing effects.

There's an area inside of your brain about the size of a pea that is not studied much. It's actually considered possibly the biggest and most impactful controller of your mind. That's according to an article in Forbes titled “The Most Powerful Behavior Controller In Your Brain That You've Never Heard Of.” That article was published in November 2023. 

That states that the small area in our brain about the size of a pea called the habenula gets activated when we're dissatisfied. So when we are doom scrolling, we are very dissatisfied or when we are consuming anything negative. What happens when the habenula is activated? It kills our motivation. It prevents us from focusing and concentrating, and the habenula typically helps with deciding if you will, or if you won't, if you can, or if you can't, and if it's turned on, it turns off your motivation. That's what Dr. Kyra Bobinet, the author of Unstoppable Brain, states: It causes us to feel unmotivated.

Even though we know what we should be doing, it prevents us from actually doing it. It prevents us from taking action. She states that this is so frustrating because if we knew more about the habenula and how it works, that we could do something about it. Because when we're more aware of our body and of our actions, and why we do what we do, then we can make the corrections.

What can we do about it? Well, in my opinion, it's time to take a tech time out, and you may actually find that your stress and anxiety are reduced along with an improvement to your sleep, mood, motivation, and concentration. Here are some of my suggestions. 

Put your phone in another room. Turn off notifications and remove your smartwatch so you won't be tempted when you are trying to take a tech timeout.

Can you start with one hour a day? Maybe only 30 minutes. Perhaps it's 15 minutes. You have to start somewhere, but my suggestion would be an hour a day. 

Plan non-digital activities. Use your body. Go hiking. Read a book. I had surgery last week. And the recovery time, which I'm still recovering, but the first few days were really, really rough. And I found that my phone and, my laptop, my iPad were typically on the other side of the house, and I was unable to get to it. Sure, I could have asked my husband or friend who was over another family member to go grab my phone for me. At times I did, but I found myself reaching for a book instead.

And it was awesome. I can't tell you how long it's been since I sat back and read a book without being interrupted. It was wonderful. And I highly encourage you to do something similar. Meditate. Even if it's just for five minutes, turn everything off and try it. I like to try breathing exercises a few times a day.

I breathe in for a count of four. So I count one, two, three, and four as I'm breathing in, and then I hold it for the count of eight at the same pace. And then I exhale. So I breathe out for a count of eight, and I do it five times in a row. It only takes a couple of minutes, but it makes all the difference. It reduces a lot of stress and energizes my body.

So perhaps it'll do the same for you. I also would suggest an app to use, but we are trying to go tech-free. However, if you do need to bridge the gap and you can't quite let your phone go out of your sight. I encourage you to turn off the notifications and use an app such as Calm. You can also try other apps on any of your devices that limit your time on social media and prevent distractions.

Did you know that if you add up the average time spent on social media, you might be shocked to see how much of it you're actually giving away? Gallup statistics show that 51 percent of teens between the ages of 13 and 19 spend an average of more than four hours a day on social media, and adults over 20 years old almost two and a half hours per day. Friends, That's 60, six zero full days a year at four hours a day and 38 days; this is 38 full days a year at two and a half hours per day.

And that's probably a low average. To me, it's mind-boggling and very eye-opening. You, my friend, are valuable, and so is your time. Please don't be a statistic. Take a tech time out; your future self will thank you for it and make it fun, make it meaningful and make it work for you because that's what's important.

Now it's time for me to practice what I preach and take a break, too. Maybe a cat nap by the pool is in order, or finishing that book that I started. But I really want to thank you for making space in your day and joining me for this conversation about taking a time out. 

Next week, for episode 12, we are going to be tackling the importance of setting boundaries. It's a sticky topic, for sure, and I can't wait for that episode. In the meantime, send me a message from the description page link if you know of anyone who would be a great guest; perhaps that's you. I'm currently in the process of setting up a few guests for January and February. I think that will be very exciting.

I'd love for you to connect with me on social media but don't spend too much time there. And it's also a great way to learn about your fears, whether you're facing them or have overcome them. Do this when you have time, of course, and check out the links and resources in the mentioned section, subscribe, and share.

Thank you again for joining me, and until next week, keep reaching for the sky and never settle for less than what you can be. Take care, everyone.