Less screen time and more serene time

Do you suffer any of the following symptoms?

• Feeling panic when you leave your phone at home?
• A sense of anxiety at the prospect of having to put your electronic devices away in a meeting or workshop?
• An almost obsessive desire to log in to social media feeds to “stay current” on events?
• A desire to escape from a task at hand by adventuring into the digital world?

If you experience any of the above you may be experiencing a condition termed B.S.A. If you’re not familiar with the acronym, B.S.A is short for Bandwidth Separation Anxiety.

As I was travelling into the city on the train one day, I was struck by the sheer number of people whose heads were down, buried in their phones (texting, talking, scrolling, searching) and no longer looking up, smiling and looking at each other’s faces or making eye contact. 

It seems to me that we don’t appear to be noticing the people or the magical moments unfolding right in front of us anymore.

​We’re so “networked” and “linked” online, with more “friends” than we could ever have dreamed of, and yet we seem to be lonelier and more stressed than ever.

Maybe it’s time we consciously turn off our technology in order to connect more fully? 

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Before you reach for your device, consider what the possible benefits of turning off your technology might be?

• Greater situational awareness?
  
• Clearer thinking?
  
• Deeper connection with others?
  
• Possible new relationships?
  
• Peace of mind and enhanced well being?
  
• More efficient task accomplishment?
  
• Better sleep hygiene?

Next time you feel the the pangs of B.S.A kicking into high gear, consider doing the following:

1. Put your phone on silent and then remove it from your physical reach. Remember idle hands are the devil’s playground.
2. Switch your phone off during creative thinking times. Devote your full attention to the task at hand. You will be more efficient and effective. 
3. Create specific appointments with yourself during the day to check your messages and emails. Check them at the designated times, then put the device away till the next appointment time arrives.
4. Connect with someone by being fully present and treating your conversation as the most important one you are having at this moment in time.
5. Get out into nature (a park, a garden, a beach), look up and out and notice what is around you and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth at least three times to help centre yourself.