[vkk8]

Anecdotally, I was (as probably many here were) ahead of the curve in digital devices usage when I started hanging out in IRC and various web forums as a teenager in early 2000s. At some point I noticed that just using computers induced some amount of anxiety compared to "old tech"; whenever there was some period of time when I used my computer less (like christmas, vacations, etc.) and joined back to the "world of the normal people", I felt much calmer and happier. Even though I noticed this, it was difficult to log off during normal times since most of my life was in the internet.

Now everyone is using digital devices all the time and the "normal people world" has ceased to exist. Also almost everyone is anxious and/or depressed. I think this is not a coincidence. However, I do not think that this is due to social media per se, but using digital devices for anything (social media being just the reason why most people use them).

My theory is that just using digital devices for anything is somewhat stressful; you have to keep the eyes focused all the time (Can you think of other activities that require this? There aren't many and they are all somewhat stressful), you have to navigate all the various applications and menus, you have to occasionally solve minor problems that you run into when using the devices, etc.

Using digital devices is the same for your brain as heavy, repetitive physical labour is to your body; in small amounts it might even be healthy, but several hours every day is going to destroy your body/mind.

[gnramires]

> Can you think of other activities that require this?

Well, reading books (and other documents). I also am suspicious of screens (and specially spending too much time on them... I'm certainly guilty), but the existence of books is somewhat confusing in this regard. However, I really don't think the population as a whole was reading quite as many books/documents as we today use digital devices or social media. That could be cutting into other things, like sun exposure, exercising, perhaps face-to-face social relationships, social support networks.

Something I've noticed since about that time as well is a growing unease and pessimism with our collective future (and even present!). Some things are bleak (like climate change, uncertainty with technologies, etc.), but there's a sense of little hope that definitely should have an impact on the youth. I remember the 90s as a quite hopeful time and that definitely had an impact on my mood. My personal contribution would be spreading more hope about life.

My favorite author w.r.t. this right now that I recommend is Jane Goodall:

https://bookwyrm.social/book/391141/s/the-book-of-hope

[andai]

Growing up in the 2000s I remember there was much more excitement and optimism for the future. Now it seems to range from cynicism to dread to abject paranoia. Or perhaps my liberal use of cannabis in my younger years shifted me into a more paranoid timeline... alas!

Re: books being less stressful, I think e-ink is a great example. It feels more solid, more permanent, even though the text changes when you swipe the page. It seems to be a combination of the "paper" look making it seem less virtual (than the blinkenlights matrix), and the impossibility of scrolling on e-ink making it by necessity a more calming medium.

Real books are even better, of course, in both regards, but can't compete on price / delivery time.

[atq2119]

Just as another point of anecdata, I feel the same way in terms of optimism that has shifted more towards dread. It's definitely not cannabis use. It may be a general en fecha of getting older, though.

[andai]

Yeah that's a limitation of my memory, my brain was completely different than it is now! It might be that 8 year olds today feel the same excitement for the future that me and my friends did back then.

I sure hope so, but I find it hard to imagine. Most of my excitement came from the constant positive science news at the time. Seems all I hear now is bad news.

[kenjackson]

> Some things are bleak (like climate change, uncertainty with technologies, etc.), but there's a sense of little hope that definitely should have an impact on the youth. I remember the 90s as a quite hopeful time and that definitely had an impact on my mood. My personal contribution would be spreading more hope about life.

I was a child in the 70s/80s and I was in constant fear of Nuclear War/Winter. The level of fear in kids of that generation I suspect is as bad as any generation after.

[MetaWhirledPeas]

> Something I've noticed since about that time as well is a growing unease and pessimism with our collective future (and even present!).

This is why I like movies and stories about the world coming together to overcome great difficulties. Like Pacific Rim, for instance. I'd love to hear more stories like that, no matter how far-fetched. I'd especially like to get some of the pariah states (North Korea, Iran) to be welcomed in for some more team high-fives. We really do need optimistic visions of the future to keep us going.

[geenew]

> reading books

Not sure how much currency this has lately, but back at the dawn of Web 2.0, this was well-known comedy. Relates 'books' to 'tech'.

Medieval helpdesk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

[LarryMullins]

I think it's the connectivity of the digital devices that is specifically at fault, and that offline-only digital devices wouldn't cause this. At any moment, my phone or computer may deliver unwelcome news to me. My boss asking me about some work shit, my family with some sort of unwelcome sad news, or whatever. In the past these would have been relatively mundane stresses, but now there is a social expectation that everybody be attentive to incoming communications at all times. You get at most a few hours a night where people don't expect you to respond, but even then sometimes they forget about timezones and freak out when they don't get a prompt response. There is never any real reprieve and it's starting to seem like this represents a permanent cultural shift.

[narag]

I have another hunch: that working as a programmer, and maybe with computers in general, is anxiety-inducing. As Campbell put it, computers are like old testament gods: lots of rules and no mercy.

[dkn775]

Exactly, everything (outside some probability (which is still a discrete decision point) comes to 0 and 1. I am a big believer of the core assumptions in any system having outsized effects in practice

[thatfrenchguy]

> My theory is that just using digital devices for anything is somewhat stressful

I don’t know, talking to the government and figuring out stuff about your taxes or health coverage over the internet is soooo much less stressful than if I have to call, or worse, go there in person, wait an hour, and have to talk to someone who really doesn’t want to solve my problem.

I can now pay my property taxes online and know it’s done, instead of sending them a letter and hoping for the best, that’s such an improvement.

[scotty79]

Ugh, I guess it varies from person but for me (nearly?) every human contact is somewhat stressful, even watching humans interact can be very stressful. Using devices is downright bliss and calmness in comparison. I'm so happy when I see people interacting with their devices. I feel they are more like me and I feel safer with them than with people who don't.

[prawn]

Not sure if it's true for everyone, but you can see this when you're staying with others or have guests. When they're gone, you can relax and just sit or read or continue a game you'd started or look at your phone guilt free. That's the calmness you mention. You're not starting/maintaining conversation, maintaining eye contact, am I wearing the right thing, etc.

But how much is that and how much is addiction to the device/content? For most people in 202x, I'd guess these things are part and parcel.