This past week, the topic of digital addiction came up for me. I mean, it does for all of us nowadays, right? Or at least for most of us. But it came up bigger than usual for me this week.
A person who I work with face to face on a regular basis seemed to be treating me with disrespect or contempt. Violating a boundary I thought I had been very clear about.
But after a while of seeking a thread of reason amid my intense wash of emotion, it occurred to me: This might not necessarily be about contempt; it might be about addiction to social media and online content.
And THAT is something I can strongly relate to, as someone who very much depends on social media and other online media for her work. It’s no exaggeration to say that my smartphone is my main work-tool.
But even though I legitimately need to use my phone at various times throughout the day, there are times I can feel myself crossing into compulsion. A little too much research-reading, for example, when more of what’s called for is rolling-up-my-sleeves -type actions.
And also, my sheer daily number of hours of screen-time have much room for tightening-up. I’ve been working on this with some success but then find myself falling back into scrolling, rabbit-holes, needless lingering.
In one of those cool synchronicities of life, a very dear colleague had sent me an ecological video, and underneath it on the same YouTube channel was a video about digital addiction!
It’s about an hour and 30 minutes, and although I rarely watch videos, preferring to get information by reading, I watched the whole thing,* and hope you will too. At least please watch the first 9 minutes, it’s a pretty good overview.
*Full disclosure: a few minutes in, I set the speed at 1.5x, and ended up setting it at 2x. But seriously I would have bitten the bullet and sat through the whole video even if high-speed play were not an option.
Highly recommended for everyone’s further exploration:
• “Dopamine & Addiction in the Digital Age” https://youtu.be/iksSRPpLOzQ?si=DPoAjZ08ymeHKSMa ; Anna Lemke, interviewed by Nate Hagens (The Great Simplification podcast YouTube channel).
• “Is digital detoxing an act of rebellion? How limiting your screen time can redefine you and help us arrive at the tomorrow we deserve.” https://reimaginednews.beehiiv.com/p/is-digital-detoxing-an-act-of-rebellion ; Nicole Cardoza, ReImagined news (formerly Antiracism Daily), January 15, 2026.
• Here at Starshine House / Trailhead 501, I ask residents to maintain “dark and quiet” space on our “inner sanctuary” patio area from midnight to 6am. This means no electronic audio, and no artificial lighting. I don’t try to control people watching videos, podcasts, etc., in their rooms (with headphones) during those hours. And I don’t ask people to use headphones outside of those hours even in common areas. But at least in the “sanctuary” area I can provide a space that encourages us all to unplug for a few hours. I’m considering restricting the use of screens, period, even without audio, on that patio during the dark quiet time window.
• Oh, and on a direct ecological note, do check out the video my colleague Chris of BioIntegrity initially sent me. “Why We Need Forests: Their Vital Role in Climate Dynamics, Rain, and the Biotic Pump.” https://youtu.be/GWdXCqVOFkY?si=VvNQsEpLM3NWnZ8k Nastasia Makarieva, interviewed by Nate Hagens (the great simplification podcast youtube channel). (Not up for a 2-hour video even on 2x speed? Check out this 2-minute video intro to the “biotic pump” concept. https://youtu.be/3JyaSL2Mioc?feature=shared ) “Biotic Pump and Flying Rivers.”