What’s that buzzing sound?
Design by: Elsa Rosengren & Siri Danared
At the time of writing, my device statistics say I hear buzzing on average 181 times per day. That’s approximately 11 notifications per waking hour or 2 notifications every 10 minutes of my day. To some of you this might be on the lower end, but to me it’s suffocating, claustrophobic even. Humanity has never been this available before, people (even ones you’ve never met) can contact you in a million and one ways and they will reach you. What’s more – they expect an instant response.
Does this exacerbate our feelings of loneliness or increase our levels of stress? My personal experience is, as mentioned above, that it does. Checking my phone unequivocally adds no value to my life and yet I used to do so obsessively, not giving it a second thought.Come March this year, I took a small trip where I completely neglected my messengers, Twitter and any news sites. I felt happier than I had in months. It became crystal clear to me that the constant connectedness and unquestionable availability are making me miserable.
It was then that I started experimenting. The first idea I had was to try and take a conversation from chat to email, aiming for more substance and less guilt to respond instantly. The project failed rather quickly – we exchanged 3 emails before the person texted me on WhatsApp, never to respond by email ever again. The second plan was to put my phone on “Do Not Disturb” for a full week. The only thing this accomplished was to have me pick up my phone two times more often in order to check the notifications I assumed were coming in. Obviously, I needed to go back to the drawing table. The last thing I tried was to not touch any technology for the first one or two hours of my day. The rule was simple: wake up at 7 o’clock and live my life without any internet until 9. It was to be as if nothing else exists, as if the world stands still before me, even if it’s just for a little bit. This has been my morning routine for little over a month now and I must say that I haven’t felt this calm in a long time. Starting my days removed from other’s expectations of me, putting distance between me and the endless noise has without a doubt been one of my best decisions so far.
Of course, this is only one woman’s experience, but there seems to be a growing body of research to corroborate my story. Some small-scale studies have found that notifications create imbalances in your brain. Others focus on the way distractions in general affect us, not to mention the countless anecdotes of people suffering from anxiety, associated with checking their work emails. It becomes evident that a lot of us feel trapped by our phones and that those little notification sounds, or badges, or banners are, in all likelihood, at the core of the problem. Thankfully, businesses seem to be responding to this by introducing the “Do Not Disturb” mode, advanced and granular ways to regulate notifications, apps that make you take a deep breath before opening social media etc. The solutions out there are countless and varied - something to suit everyone’s needs.
I realize this is not the first time I preach getting off social media to you, but apparently, it’s the hill I’ve chosen to die on. Our lives are too fast and too connected, and in a way taken hostage by a meaningless background buzz. So, why not make an active effort to slow down and live more in the here and now, rather than the there and then. Why not prioritize the mulling of everyday beauty that surrounds us, over the buzzing of the metal hunks found in our back pockets.