Midweek Mental Greening
I wrote an article at Celebrity Psychings yesterday musing on the effects advanced technology has on our mental health. The article was a culmination of two things: Watching the MTV interview in which Billy Bob Thornton reveals he has agoraphobia and stumbling across an opinion piece in an online version of St. Cloud State University’s newspaper.
The entire post basically deals with how advanced technology is allowing us to isolate ourselves more and more from society and create our own artificial environments, even with the power it gives us to communicate faster and more frequently than ever.
Here, though, I’d like to play devil’s advocate and talk about some of the ways these technological advancements can actually help our mental health. These advancements aren’t necessarily the greenest or most natural, but they do offer alternatives.
The World Wide Web
The Web is an endless smorgasbord of entertainment and information. Netflix and Wikipedia, for example, have taken the place of movie theaters and libraries for some people. YouTube makes it possible to entertain millions without ever shaking a fan’s hand. And, when you can’t find what you’re looking for on the Web, you don’t have to call up an expert or even visit your library. You just have to Google it.
Entertainment and information (especially when it’s accurate) aren’t bad things, but with the Web, we could go for quite a long time without ever having to directly interact with another human being. Still, having these tools at our fingertips can prove mighty useful when you need to do some quick research or you’re just not in the mood to leave your house simply to get a movie. It happens.
Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites fall under the World Wide Web category, but I feel they deserve a slot of their own.
Most social networking sites stand on the same common ground: People can sign up for accounts and “friend” people they already know or meet people with similar interests and perhaps make new friends (think Facebook and MySpace).
While social networking sites make it easy to grow your catalogue of buddies you’ll probably never have lunch with and decrease your need to actually talk to people in person, they also make it easier to keep in touch with childhood friends, expand your network of professional contacts and interact with people when traveling is just not an option. I’ve met lots of decent folks online, many I’ve considered friends for five or more years and several I go to when I need to vent about something stressing me out or want share good news.
iPods
Like Joe Froemming pointed out in the St. Cloud piece, iPods and other mp3 players enable us to turn the volume up and ignore the world whenever we go out. However, they also give us access to our favorite tunes, and we all know music is a great mood booster. Gone are the days of having to wait until you can get in your car and pop in a CD and jam away the stresses of the day. Your iPod makes it possible to get that quick boost wherever you are.
Text and Instant Messaging
Whether you’re using your cell phone or Yahoo!, text and instant messaging means you don’t have to talk face to face (or even voice to voice) with anyone who will text you back. You can type “LOL” rather than actually laugh, and you can even break off relationships without having to muster the decency to tell the person in person. But text and instant messaging also allows you to stay in touch when, say, expensive long distance charges may otherwise prevent it or you just need to ask a quick question or give a simple
“Good morning.”
Television
No, television is not exactly an “advanced technology” anymore, but it is a tool nearly every household in America has and one we can use to isolate ourselves from the world. When the news is bad, you can flip to a rerun of your favorite show. When you need a break from something going on in your personal life, you can pop in a DVD and zone out. As you read those last two sentences, you probably thought, “That’s not so bad.” You’re right – it’s not. Having something like a comforting episode of The Golden Girls to give your mind a rest is always a good thing in my book.
So, while these advancements we make in our methods of communication and entertainment do offer the tools we need to isolate ourselves from reality (as well as stunt the growth of social skills), they also provide tools we can use to stay in touch with loved ones, form new friendships and feel connected to the world. How they affect our mental health is all up to us and how we use them.
(27 votes, average: 3.74 out of 5)
Loading ...You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Links to This Article
Grand Mother Remedy » Blog Archive » Five Technological Advancements to Boost Your Mental Health … (1/28/2009)
Twitter: Is it worth $250 million? « Drei Katzen Media Weblog (1/29/2009)
From Psych Central's World of Psychology:
Congress Aims To Combat ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder’ | World of Psychology (3/18/2009)
24 Comments to
“Five Technological Advancements to Boost Your Mental Health”
The Ipod is the best thing.I love music and at times it has helped me to relax.I do not care much for places like My Space and Facebook.Have huge friends list on there.But hardly hear from any of them.If i heard from more people on those places.I’d like them more.
@ Shannon - LOL, yeah, I think some MySpace and Facebook users try to add as many “friends” as they can, like it’s a popularity contest or something (I don’t mean you, I mean people who have all these friends but never talk to any of their friends). I don’t deal with either of them anymore, but I do remember seeing some of my friends with two, three, and four hundred people on their friends lists. I thought, how do you even keep up with that many people?! Haha. But, like you said, sometimes you don’t even hear from them, which wipes out the whole point of having one.
Nice to know all this web surfing hasn’t been for not!
Good article. Technology is not the enemy. One thing that is ignored by critics of technology’s effect on socializing is that they do not give the web credit for providing a psychologically safe medium for people who avoid socializing to connect with other people. No, the quality may not be as profound as real life exchanges but some avoidants would not communicate at all if it were not for the web. Some reaching out to the external world is better than none.
@ Nattyb - Yes, it is 
Nice website, by the way.
@ Ariel - It’s definitely not the enemy. It all just boils down to how we use it. After I posted this article, I started thinking about how so many social networking sites and others like message boards, forums, and chat rooms provide sort of “online support groups” for people who might not want to get out, or don’t have the ability to get out, or don’t have “in person” support groups in their areas. I wish I’d conveyed that a bit better now.
Fun article - different spin on our info-overloaded society. I think you hit on an important idea - tech stimulation is not inherently evil. It’s the choices we make on how we use it. We are the drivers of our infomanic existence, sometimes we ought not get behind the wheel unless we’re totally aware of the benefits of doing so.
@ Judy - We are the drivers of our infomanic existence…
Excellent point, Judy! It all boils down to us and how we use (or don’t use) the tools available to us.
hey this is a fresh article .
i love facebook as it lets me keep up
with fiends from the past , the present , and potential new friends without much effort …and it makes me feel connected to my community . like texting, it’s simple . lots of people i wouldn’t call i still communicate with via texting and social networking sites … this is better than when phoning
was the only option, i wouldn’t use that option and thus was much more isolated .
i also wanted to say i use my ipod to listen to meditation
tapes and inspirational books that i buy from itunes .
great for the commute !
Hey Cubby, I’m glad those things are working out to your advantage.
My 9 year old daughter just got an mp3. She just loves it and gets everything done that is needed like breakfast…chores. I worried about technology. It’s a bit too advanced for this 41 year old single parent but it not too bad. I managed to put music on her mp3. Now my son is interested in the ipod. We’ll see. But its not too bad, its just “change” I think that I’m afraid of like everyone.
@ Rena - Now that we’re getting closer to spring and summer, I’ve been wanting to invest in an iPod (or some kind of mp3 player) - during the winter months, I just really don’t have a use for one, but once it gets warmer and I’m outside more, I think I will. I have plans for this year that will have me outside a lot. Anyway, I’m always interested in hearing reviews and critiques!
I disagree with the article and I think that it is not good advice because they just help people to be alone or just stay in indirect comunication. my husband is the sample of this article. he can talk to me online better than face to face. it is the worst kind of comunication…. DISASTER…
please don`t advice on using these tecnologies to young people, let them know how direct comunication is beautiful and useful for their mental health.
@ shafagh - Thanks for chiming in. I’m sorry your husband seems to have an easier time communicating online than face to face, but fortunately, we are all different people and what applies to one person may not apply to the next person. It’s very possible to find a healthy balance between human interaction that is online and that which is in person. What we have to do is find - and manage - that balance.
Too, the Internet offers many folks (such as those who are home bound or isolated from others for whatever reason) a chance to communicate with people that they might not have had otherwise.
You are absolutely right. I am so thankful of you as you mentioned “Balance” in your comment. I am computer engineer and I met my husband online first time. I keep in balance,But I really dont know what to do with person who had enough time to chat online in social networks with friends and have nothing to say when see you in front of himself??? should I continue talking online or I can expect direct comunication?
I don’t think it does much good to critique technology that exists -
the main issue is how to use it, e.g., the splitting of the atom
bombs of mass destruction or nuclear medicine uses
as for TV, I have unplugged mine for the last 2 months and I can’t believe how much more time I have and how many more things I like I do as compared to my plugged in days
TV is just too passive today maybe it’ll get more interactive in the near future.
@ jim - It’s definitely in how we use it.
@ shafagh - Hmm…I don’t know. If it were me - if I were in your shoes - I’d probably insist on face-to-face communication from now on. I’d probably tell my husband (I don’t have one, so this is totally hypothetical, haha) that if he wanted to speak with me, he’d have to do it without the computer. What is your living situation, if I may ask? If you two live far away from each other, it might make more financial (and convenient) sense to utilize the Internet for communication sometimes. But if you’re living in the same house, I don’t think so. I guess what I’m trying to figure out is why your husband has fallen into this pattern of communicating online rather than in person - what the circumstances were that led to it.
LOL. It’s funny. I mean those 5 technologies are great things, but they aren’t the things that can help us. In fact those things are like opiates! They make us feel “satisfied”.
I mean, unless you turn it around.
Like let me give 5 examples of why they are good.
The World Wide Web. It’s good because it lets us find things that accelerate our processes of learning things. We can research people who have completed goals we are seeking to finish and find out the mistakes and the things that can actually help us move forward, FAST!
But that’s about it. Aside from….ranting about stuff and playing games.
Myspace and other “SN” sites.
They are good, because you can communicate with others in an interactive way, more interactive then e-mail.
Maybe get some activity going on when your legs are broken or your limping from something. But that’s it.
Ipods are great! They let you play lectures from people that are actually successful, and you can listen to study while your working out or playing some kind of game. So you can turn all times to study times and make your free time, time to advance your skills. You can also play loud music when people turn on FoxNews.
Texting is quieter then walkie talkies so I think it’s smooth and easier to communicate with; Once you learn to type fast on it.
Tv is cool because you can record things that bring out moods of any desire. Plus you can watch the Steelers win more superbowls that way
Great article. I totally agree with your point about television. Some days I find a 30 minute “I Love Lucy” break to be just the thing I need to unwind and recharge.
Just because most of us are out of school doesn’t mean we can’t still benefit from recess.
Thanks for the reminder!
@ Will - Thanks for chiming in I’m glad you grasped the article.
@ Joi - “Just because most of us are out of school doesn’t mean we can’t still benefit from recess.” Ha! I love how you put that
Or, to take Joi’s cute ‘recess’ comment a step further, I love this one: “It is never too late to have a happy childhood.” Let’s all get on with it.
@ Charlie - Excellent advice!
PRAYER IS BETTER THAN THE INTERNET TUST IN GOD AND YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
THE VAST MAJORITY OF RESCOURCES VIA THE INTERNET HAVE BEEN MOST HELPFUL TO I’M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE. ALTHOUGH I THINK THAT SOMETIMES YOU COULD GET A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH WITH CERTAIN ISSUES LIKE STRESS, DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY WHICH I SUFFER WITH ON A DAILY BASIS. MAYBE YOU COULD DO SOMETHING ON THIS AND OFFER SOME GOOD INFORMATION.
@ Cheryl - That’s certainly a possibility. What did you have in mind - how these gadgets can help reduce stress and anxiety and maybe even lessen the symptoms of depression?
Join the Conversation! Post a Comment:
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 28 Jan 2009
