Freedom from the Digital World
This weeks topic in class was very interesting and something that intrigues me. The article from the Digital Detox website that I read was called “Digital Learning & Inquiry”. This was a deep read because there were many “big” words in it that I had to look up definitions for to get a better understanding of what the article was all about, but after I did some research and some learning, I got a lot out of the article. There was a quote in the article that talked about as soon as students are engineered and optimized instead of building agency, you have gone too far. This is in relation to all of the technology and media platforms like zoom and virtual learning that students at younger ages are having to deal with, and it is somewhat turning them into robots instead of being social and learning face to face communication skills.
Another intriguing point in the article was when they talked about the digital world in pedagogical and how it is turning students and teachers into crops to be harvested instead of the teachers being the nurturer and actual teacher of the student. One of the readings I really enjoyed was an article by Ghaffary, it talks all things digital detox; what it is, why it’s important, and all the new science and research done that shows that it is something that most, if not all of us need to do. It is an issue that is fairly new in regards to human existence, and something that I am sure will be looked into more and more as the years go by, but I think the pandemic has amplified this issue and made people so addicted and preoccupied to their devices that it is hard for them to be social in the real world and have a real conversation or go a few hours without looking at their phone. This stuff is really interesting to me because I am intrigued by mental health and sleep patterns, and spending too much time in front of a screen is detrimental to both.
Some things that I am personally challenged with in regards to my digital devices is sleep. I spend too much time on my phone before bed and it affects my ability to fall asleep and wind down. Some things I could do to establish better tech habits for a healthier lifestyle would be to start reading books or find something more relaxing to do before bed. I typically don’t use my phone that often throughout the day but I think that if I could get away from using it so much at night then I would have much better sleeping habits.
