Our mental well-being is down the toilet

The application of capitalism to technology had led to a decline in our well-being; it's affecting how we connect socially. I want to also share with you how I aim to keep connected with real people.

I don’t know if it’s my algorithm or if it’s real, but I do think our mental well-being is a decline.

I think a large part of this reduced social connection is capitalism being applied to technology.

Capitalism is great — it makes a nation rich. But often it provides us with optimal solutions for making money at the expense of our mental well-being.

At the moment, technology is optimally used to suck our attention and provide us with maximal convenience.

Applications live and die on the advertising dollar which requires the most views.

Views can be acquired through various techniques that can make us addicted to the service they provide.

Bored? Scroll. Feeling bad? Scroll some more. Do you need to deal with your problems like a normal, healthy adult? Scroll, scroll, scroll, self-diagnose, and back to step one again.

It’s also good to know that most of my Instagram audience aren’t lonely. However, there are some who do.

Social media gives us the illusion of social connection, but as humans, we need to do real things. And these apps distract us from what really needs to be done — taking steps to meet up in person.

Now, it’s not all doom. Technology does provide us with some positives. One specific example is applications like meetup.com help us find others who are into similar interests to, as its namesake, meet up in person. This has been a great benefit to me for Software meet-ups. And these meet-ups are key because I don’t have anyone I can physically talk to about my career or interests in programming (because my team is remote).

We can’t adopt this black-and-white approach to technology. After all, it’s just a tool. But I’m hoping we are at some common ground with the harms of technology if used incorrectly.

But what am I trying to do about it?

Since working remotely, what I am lacking is social connection and a stimulus to routine.

Also, because I have autonomy, bad habits can slip, like waking up later or getting distracted.

Willpower alone won’t save me.

Steps I take:

1. I try and maintain a morning routine to ensure I have a consistent schedule. For example, walk the dog, meditate, cold showers, skin routine, and get dressed for work like I would when I was an optometrist.

2. During Lunch, I go for a walk to the local supermarket-type area to at least see some other human beings.

3. At the end of the workday, I have something planned that puts me in a situation with other people and also out of the house. For example, I do jiu-jitsu on Monday and Friday, weightlifting Tuesday and Thursday, and dance on Wednesdays. At the weekends, I try and meet up with friends, and am currently learning how to fly and play golf.

4. I occasionally journal and as you can tell, I am trying different hobbies as outlets and ways to meet people.

I don’t do this perfectly. My problems are doing to bed late, and scrolling on the internet, but I’m a work in progress and I am trying to do my best.

To conclude, make sure you have a routine, exercise, see people regularly, and don’t use digital devices too much.

I hope this is useful to you. If you think it is feel free to share it.

If you’d like to say anything, please get in touch.

Stay focused and talk soon,

Shivan

My Favourite Things this Week

1. Video: I Talked With The US Surgeon General About Mental Health

This fantastic video was the catalyst for this post. Loneliness is an epidemic. Something I want to do more is reach out to more people — be it in person or over the phone. This makes me uncomfortable — I am usually nervous about interactions, but usually, it’s more scary than it actually is. Picture yourself when you reach out to that person, them being so happy that you did. Also, think back to events in the past when you did reach out and how positive those interactions were

2. Movie: Baggio: The Divine Ponytail (2021)

This is a biographical movie about the life of Robert Baggio, at the time, one of Italy’s most prolific football players. We learn about his journey into Buddhism. One thing I learnt: is yearning for success greater than being surrounded by those who truly love you? I’d take the latter.

Videos

A patient story I will never forget

This is a story of a patient I had in the low-vision clinic. It gave me a new perspective on life.

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How I want to make videos

I’m not popular on YouTube and I just want it to be a different outlet for me; this is how I want to do it.

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Quote of the Week