The importance of the 'off' button this holiday season

I'd like to submit that among the most important decisions we could possibly make this holiday season is the use of the "off" button. Of course, there are many "off" buttons, but the one "off" button that we hardly ever use is the one located on the device you're currently reading this article on.

The irony of writing this article for an outlet that is only available in a digital format is not lost on me, dear reader. But my thesis still stands: We need to make better use of the "off" buttons on our devices, especially now that the holiday season is upon us. There are (I hope) family and friends you anticipate seeing, hearing from, and even arguing with this Thanksgiving.

I mean, in a fundamental sense, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

I don't mean to suggest that we should permanently exempt ourselves from the digital cosmos. As individuals firmly situated in the 21st century, it's basically impossible to imagine the world without the internet. But at the expense of sounding like some kind of Luddite hipster, there's certainly convincing evidence to suggest that many of us have overdosed on the digital drip.

A report published at the beginning of 2022 went into some important detail about how smartphones affect us, and the findings are not very inspiring. I think the majority of us understand some of the pitfalls of constantly being glued to our phones, but there's also the sense that we're somehow not the victims of smartphone addiction.

The truth is: We are.

The report mentioned that smartphone addiction has become such a problem that it was welcomed into the fifth edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." Among the many signs that we may be unconsciously addicted to our electronic devices are anxiety about not being able to send or receive messages, loss of interest in other, real-world activities, and growing irritation when we don't have immediate access to our devices.

An old adage seems to have relevance here: The first step in fixing a problem is to realize that you have one.

There are dozens of reasons why spending inordinate amounts of time on our smartphones can prove detrimental — and many of these are worth considering — but the one that strikes me as most pertinent during this particular time of year is our fear of missing out on something that plays out online.

It has been well documented that David Foster Wallace, an author and academic who passed away in 2008, was addicted to television for a number of years. He explained in much of his writing that it was difficult for him to watch television because he was so paranoid that something was more entertaining on another channel. Realizing this, he lived without a television in his home for a good while.

It's not hard to see how this ultimately leads to a kind of paralysis by analysis.

My hunch is that many Americans have experienced a similar plight. Only instead of television, it's now endlessly scrolling through social media, fearing that something is going to happen without our immediate knowledge.

There's basically nothing that plays out in the digital cosmos that's worth forgoing our opportunity to spend time with family and friends. For many of us, the pandemic really woke us up to this realization. Some of us lost family and friends during that ridiculous time — I happen to be among them.

My hope is that you utilized the "off" button before you made it this far into the article, but if you're still here, I'd like to wish you a safe and joyful Thanksgiving.

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