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Life is Live
Statistics reveal that a typical adult spends around eight hours and 45 minutes daily in front of a screen, with over half of mobile phone owners never turning off their phones – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Although technology makes our daily lives and communication much easier, the line between its beneficial and harmful use is increasingly thin.
It is estimated that over a billion people worldwide suffer from digital addiction and that it now surpasses all other forms of addiction combined. Currently, about 6.8 billion mobile phones are in use worldwide, and data shows that over 65% of the global population exhibits signs of nomophobia — addiction to these devices.
The current estimate of the average time spent in front of mobile, computer, and TV screens amounts to an astounding 20 years of one’s life, while the average mobile phone user touches their device 2,617 times a day.
Closeness and connection are vital for mental health stability
Excessive screen time, using social media, watching various forms of content, and playing video games, are associated with numerous mental health issues and disorders. Digital identity and the virtual world seem to have become more important than real life, especially among younger people.
This issue is of utmost importance today, as impaired mental health is a leading cause of illness, disability, and social exclusion, while authentic conversation, closeness, and connection are vital resources for its stability.
The concept of being “last seen” online has become one of the primary pieces of information people seek about us on social media and other communication platforms. When did we last feel adored and loved? When was the last time someone kissed or hugged us? When did we last dance? Are we, paradoxically, more connected yet lonelier than ever?
Alienation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, digital violence and abuse, feelings of unimportance, and an unstable self-image are everyday topics in psychotherapy. Creating a complete digital identity as opposed to a real one, the illusion of connectedness and friendship without real closeness has led to young people being lonelier, more depressed, and more anxious than perhaps ever before.
This campaign is primarily aimed at them, but also at anyone interested in the topic of mental health and, relatedly, digital addiction.
Let’s stay truly connected, because life is live.
