Technology
Why We All Need to Be On Airplane Mode…
Our Lives Are Run by Apps, Notifications, and Alarms It’s Time We Regain Control.
As a Millennial, I fully understand the culture of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). The entire social media culture was built around it, whether it be your best friend’s destination wedding or your sister’s new sourdough bread, everything has to be shared and documented everywhere, all the time. Unlike my daughter, I did not grow up with these types of technology. Aside from having used it for work, I try to limit myself when it comes to social media. I noticed most people today, especially the young generation has somehow gotten overly obsessed with social media. Instead of talking, they would message or tweet, instead of finding time to enjoy a cup of coffee while thinking about their next steps in life, they are scrolling through news feeds or Tik Tok videos.
I recently decided to take a good friend’s advice and put my phone on Airplane mode every single night before I go to bed and you know what, it has made all the difference in the world mentally and physically. Some of the changes I noticed was I could sleep better, and wake up less fatigued. During the day, I now put my phone on airplane mode during certain periods when I have to focus on getting work done. I find that message notifications from social media has been the main culprit as to why there were days I felt I couldn’t get enough done. If you’re looking to find out more about the benefits of airplane mode, look no further.
Increase productivity
Remember how we were all in disbelief when we read that Mark Wahlberg goes to bed between 7–8 pm? To be honest, when I heard about it, I thought he was just trying to get beauty sleep, but in fact, that man was on to something! Wanting to see if sleeping earlier would help me be as productive as Mark, I combined putting my phone on airplane mode along with sleeping earlier every night, around 9 pm max. At first, I was skeptical, I thought if I was constantly online 24/7 reading the latest news and everything that was going on in the world, I would never miss a single thing. Like ever! Guess what, there’s this thing called time difference. So even if I stayed up late reading every single breaking news item under the sun. I wasn’t getting updated on anything new because when I’m awake, people in Europe and the United States were sleeping. So really, the new news cycle for me would be in the morning my time. What ended up happening was I was constantly exhausted from being sleep deprived, my mind didn’t have enough rest and I became cranky daily. Then when I woke up in the morning, I’d have to keep up with the news cycle from the US and Europe and my mind would be in overdrive. And now due to the pandemic, we all need to be extra vigilant with how our minds are shaping and thinking. Now that I have enough rest and my phone is on airplane mode, I sleep a lot better knowing that I won’t wake up to 50 unread messages and notifications. In addition to getting a good night’s rest, I have become more productive in the mornings. I can wake up early enough to take an online course, write for around 30–45 minutes, have breakfast, and then start working. This has been the most productive I have been in years! Normally I would have to chug down two cups of coffee just to be able to face the day.
Helps with focus
If you’re into music, then you might have noticed that today’s music sounds a little more different than it was in the early 2000s or even the 90s. Today’s music is somehow more heavily auto-tuned with strong techno influence. This got me thinking, why is it that there are no longer great classical and instrumental music being written today such as the likes of pieces composed by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven? If that’s going too far back, let’s take a look at great movies or series with great music such as Guardians of the Galaxy which was filled with the 70s and 80s music. The songs and music of the past seemed to have more soul, more depth, and more meaning to them than today’s hitmakers. I then went on to review my work. Articles which I’ve written on quiet evenings, with thought and dedication, as well as those which I wrote in the early mornings when even the roosters are still sleeping. And you know what, those pieces stood out from the rest of anything that I write during the day, whether it be at lunchtime or right after work. Having the serenity and quietness allows my mind to wander off and be creative not only with the subject matter but also with word choice, the angle of the story, and the depth of emotion being conveyed. Putting your phone on airplane mode will eliminate all the noise and clutter around you and will keep your mind focus on the task at hand.
Take care of your physical health and avoid Cancer
I came across this article by my fellow medium writer Mia Everett regarding the Health Benefits of Airplane Mode recently and yes this was an eye-opener for me. For the longest time, I’ve avoided the truth about the dangers of technology, in particular when it comes to mobile devices. Partly in denial and partly too scared to find out what dangers lurked in my phone and tablet. I was a devout believer in “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers too” but now, I needed answers because the world is getting so technologically advance, and as a mother, I want to be able to protect my family from the health dangers of technology that is so intertwined in our daily lives. And guess what, the humble smartphone, the one that makes your life easier by 1000% is easily the biggest Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) emitter in your life, with about 5–7 different sources from one phone. This was something I didn’t know about until today! Your phone emits EMF from having Wifi, data, cell service, blue tooth, GPS, NFC. EMF can cause health issues since the body is constantly exposed to constant low frequency radiation. There are many ways you can incorporate Airplane mode into your daily life to reduce EMF exposure and take better care of yourself and your wellbeing.
Human connection
You know the old saying “Feeling lonely in a crowded place”, this is the trend in the world right now as we are all spending more time looking at our phones and less time talking with each other. Even I have to make a conscious effort to connect with my own family. Especially when we are outside, before the invention of the smartphone, the outdoors was a great opportunity to meet someone new and expand your horizon. Nowadays venturing to new places often means wanting to get at picture of yourself on that popular Instagram location or to have a great hip location tag at the “It” place. Gone are the days when we sit at a park bench, breathing the fresh air, enjoying the sunshine while people watching and strike up a conversation with a stranger next to us, just because it was a beautiful day. Now when it’s a beautiful day, someone is going to capture the moment by taking a picture of the blue sky, and fluffy clouds, upload it to Instagram with the #blessed #beautiful day. It’s so tempting to recluse ourselves to our little online world and create a great presence there. There have been many instances where social media influencers take time off due to deep depression or simply being burned out from constantly sharing their life every single minute of the day. Humans are social beings, we are not meant to stare at a screen 24/7. This is not a whole and fulfilling existence. Why do you think mental health is such an issue today? People are not getting enough human connection. You may think I’m unorthodox but when I take the MRT or a flight somewhere, instead of documenting every single moment on social media, I take time to people watch, to connect with humanity, see the tears of goodbye from parents sending off their only child to university in a different city, or the look of a worried man seeing that the flight he was waiting to arrive for has been delayed. There are many ways to connect with other humans, we just have to take the leap and make the first effort. Pay attention to our surroundings and strike up a conversation now and then. You’d be surprised how uplifting little acts of kindness can be for ourselves and others.
Mental wellness and prevent burnout
Burnout from social media is a real thing. I’ve experienced this myself in the past when I am constantly online all day, every day, including weekends. If there’s anything that I’ve learned the hard way this year is that no matter how smart and up to date we are or try to make ourselves be, somethings are just out of our hands. So why not make time to disconnect and recharge. Make yourself a priority, tech-free, turn on that airplane mode every at least on Sundays to unwind. A 24/7 existence does nobody any good! Having put my phone on airplane mode during the weekends or at least on a Sunday for the last few weeks has made a difference in my life. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Not knowing everything all the time is blissful. I now make it a point for weekends to be my “Me time”, to reconnect with myself, and get back to my hobbies which somewhere along the way was replaced with Netflix binge-watching. Doing manual labor, exercising, and focusing on hobbies that require your body to physically move, will liberate your mind. So take a deep breath, go out for a brisk walk, learn how to paint, or sew a new dress. These are all the things that will keep you balanced and grounded.
Now if you’ll excuse me, having finished sharing this article with you, I will now be logging off and enjoying my morning Café Au Lait…
