Fighting Technology Dependence with Digital Wellness

Is your New Year’s resolution to cut down on screen time? To start wearing blue-light-blocking glasses? If that’s the case, your goals are focused on digital wellness.

Insane in the Internet Brain

We have internet brain and social media sucks time from our day and makes some feel isolated and unconfident. Internet brain is an all-encompassing term referring to our shrinking attention spans and memories. There’s less need for memorization because our best friend Google will gladly tell us the answer. As for our attention span, we're constantly scanning through headlines or posts on social media. Even in our day-to-day interactions, we may be having a conversation while scrolling on our phones at the same time. "Hey Siri, remind me to add great multitasker to my resume."

For an in-depth look at the concept of Internet Brain, check out The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.

Screen your Screen Time

Google made an entire landing page dedicated to digital wellness built around the idea that, “Great technology should improve life, not distract from it.” Meanwhile, Apple prioritized digital wellness with its release of iOS 12 in June. We expect this trend to become a genuine movement in 2019. Both companies prioritized empowering their users to take control (and be more aware) of how much time they're spending on screen and in apps, encouraging users to take breaks. Ideas are abundant on enabling digital wellness: Comcast allows customers to temporarily pause internet access on devices during certain hours, a software called f.lux adapts your computer’s display depending on the time of day, the list goes on. (By the way, you can set YouTube to remind you to take a break every once in a while, too.)

Blue-Tinted Glasses

Is this trend making you feel uneasy because your work entails using a computer at your desk for eight hours a day? Digital wellness doesn't stop at the digital modifiers, we've got some extra armor to add. Your eye doctor will probably suggest blue light blocking glasses, while your office fitness influencer will recommend a...treadmill desk?? Quick tip: if you're more of a stationary person they make standing desks (treadmill not included).

What this Means for Brands

Consumers are worried. Google and Apple realized that they are part of the problem -- and true to their nature, they sought ways to continue to help their users. The thing is, we still need technology. The opportunity here is to jump in on the modifier space.

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