I understand that technology is often a young-man's game. The drivers of the professional and hobbyist culture starts with college aged kids with lots of time on their hands, more or less. And a lot of that time is staying up late when it's quiet and no one is bothering you, coding, gaming, playing online, doing projects, etc.. at night, stereotypically while jacked up on caffeine.
But the stark reality is, when looking at anxiety and depression rates in this country we need to focus more on just how technology has become total immersion and reality augmenting to the point our brains never get to calm down from all the over-stimulation.
Quality sleep is one of many factors we could promote to reduce suicides and psychiatric disorders. The professional, educational and even hobbyist requirement that 20 somethings and teenagers spend endless hours at night attached to a screen needs to come with health hazard awareness akin to government warnings on packs of cigarettes, IMHO.
I think FOMO fuels a desire to stay attached to screens (or fuels a rejection of mind-calming activities), which in turn increases FOMO when 90% of social media is about productivity life hacks, boasting about doing fun things, impressive personal projects, and side hustles making money. People expect a public health solution to this problem but I suspect there is none besides increasing access to tools like therapy or digital sabbaticals.
It isn't FOMO, it is just that the real world is boring since nothing happens without a lot of effort. From a computer you can go and see what most parts of the world looks like via Google maps, play any game, watch people do anything you can think about on youtube etc, all with no effort from you. It is very hard for reality to compete with that.
But the stark reality is, when looking at anxiety and depression rates in this country we need to focus more on just how technology has become total immersion and reality augmenting to the point our brains never get to calm down from all the over-stimulation.
Quality sleep is one of many factors we could promote to reduce suicides and psychiatric disorders. The professional, educational and even hobbyist requirement that 20 somethings and teenagers spend endless hours at night attached to a screen needs to come with health hazard awareness akin to government warnings on packs of cigarettes, IMHO.