There’s no doubt we spend a lot of time online.: whether to entertain ourselves, stay informed, work, or simply feel close to our loved ones. However, We do not always measure how much time we live online and what the dangers inherent in these new habits are.while magical solutions that seek to simply “unplug” us forget the most important thing.
According to the latest annual report from the consulting firm DataReportal, lInternet users who are between 16 and 64 years old spend an average of six hours and 40 minutes a day browsing the web. That means about 47 hours a week and about 101 days a year.. Thus, anyone who lives to be 80 years old will have spent more than 17 years of their adult life using the Internet.
Many of us will spend the same number of years on the Internet as our childhood and adolescence combined… what will be the consequences? For the Dutch professor and academic Lovink Geert, There are inherent dangers to this online life, as the ubiquitous presence creates a sense of inescapable discomfort and contributes to a decline in mental well-being..
Many of us will spend the same number of years on the Internet as our childhood and adolescence combined.
With a very critical tone, Lovink focuses his darts on social networks, which he believes encourage a passive mode of engagement in people, discouraging critical viewss, and undermining any meaningful connection with others, which ends up impacting personal well-being.
“What does it mean that we all agree that there is an addictive element to using social media, and yet none of us are apparently addicted? Hypnotized by the spell of the social and guided by the positions and opinions of our immediate circle, Our routines begin by viewing recent stories, selecting a reaction, and interacting with those who mention us.” wrote Geert n Sad by design, an essay that is already available here.
But It is not about thinking that our cultural malaise has only one person responsible, nor that networks are the only cause of sadness. Nor, of course, do all users experience these platforms in the same way, since they can also be spaces of connection and joy. But this happens in spite of themselves and not because they have been designed for that, since the architectures of these platforms are focused on maximizing profits.
Internet users between 16 and 64 years old spend an average of six hours and 40 minutes a day browsing the web.
American researcher Matthew Lapierre, for his part, believes that we should not worry about the amount of time spent in front of a screen but rather about the quality of those hours: Leaving a streaming program on a browser tab while we clean the house or go for a run is not as harmful as constantly spending 40 hours a week sitting in front of the screen.
The truth is that recipes to disconnect or have a “digital diet” often forget a key aspect: Being able to get out of the loop of social networks is often a privilege accessed only by those who have jobs, or ways of life that allow it. For the rest of us, it is about not regretting too much about the lost time, and taking the reins to try to create better quality links with digital spaces.