Touch of Grey: The Easiest Digital Detoxes 📵

Rethinking our relationship with our screens. We will get by, we will survive.

4-5 min read

WHINY HAPPY PEOPLE

The annual World Happiness Report by Oxford and the UN was released this week, and the USA is crushing it at sad trombones. We’ve dropped seven places just since last year, from #16 to #23.  Oy.  Led by Finland and outpaced by all of Northern Europe, the sadder fact is that the decline is thought to be largely driven by the unhappiness of our young people, compared to our over 60s who ranked highest in happiness. And it doesn’t take Oxford and the UN to see the correlation between age and smartphone usage—the older people are, the less they are addicted to their phones, and the happier they are. Whether our tech is fostering artificial relationships, vacuuming our time, attention and dollars into gaming and online shopping, or simply just overloading us with information, smartphone addiction is real, and seeing what it does to us as adults, it’s not a leap to imagine the impact it’s having on our young people. This is your Auntie Erica asking you to please practice safe techs.

DEEP SPACE NINETY-THREE

From the department of happy and inspiring seniors, William Shatner turned 93 last week and he’s got more spring in his step than cyborgs half his age. The beloved actor’s sharp wit and deadpan delivery have carried him from the Starship Enterprise into the annals of modern comedy.  But his soul is even older than his 93 years- a new documentary gives you a rare glimpse into his personal world, and there is A LOT to explore including his fear of loneliness, his passion for the environment, and his beliefs in life beyond.  I was lucky enough to see it last year at a film festival and I’m thrilled he’s still here to celebrate its theatrical release. Do NOT miss the chance to see You Can Call Me Bill. ​​If Bill could get to the theater to see it at 92, so can you. 

As a warmup, please enjoy this TV spot from long before the Priceline days, created and shot by none other than my dad: cinematographer, tennis lover and lifelong Shatner fan, likely his most fun day at the office. 

HERE’S A TIP, MAKE THE CHANGE

Since most of us American mortals are not as enlightened as Bill or as naturally happy as the Finnish, we may need some extra tools to access those moments of zen.  A digital detox is easy to talk about and hard to enforce. Yes, with busy family calendars and a constant cycle of breaking news, setting tech boundaries can be a challenge, but I challenge you to accept it with these suggestions: 

• If your phone is also your alarm it’s hard to sleep with it in a separate room, despite the popular advice.  So why not make a rule that you have to be out of bed, teeth brushed, and (delayed) caffeine in hand before actually using your phone as anything more than a timepiece? Emails, but first, morning sun. ☀️

• Silence as many notifications as possible. Do you really need to be updated on every new cat video right meow?

• Make your phone less enticing by simply turning the display from color to grayscale. It immediately becomes less visually stimulating and encourages those brain monkeys to sit still 🐒🐒🐒

Before and After. It’s working already! 🧘🏻‍♀️

For iPhone:
Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. Turn the Color Filters toggle switch on, and Grayscale appears as the top option.

For Android (v9.0 or later):
Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental control > Wind Down

Be well, and also have fun, and please consider upgrading to support my work! A few more joy bombs ahead if you’re a premium subscriber…

I got A LOT of pushback from last week’s tip about not rinsing your mouth after brushing teeth (you’re paying attention, and I love you for it!), so here is some further wisdom on the matter: