Phew, sometimes I really feel like flooded, rather overload – more specifically: my head. So switch off properly – that means to shut down your own computer – does not exist anymore, because you are constantly “on” while feeling convinced, it would have to be that way. The bad thing is: it is getting worse. Every day the number of informations, demands, tasks, responsibilities, commitments, dates increases and everybody is supposed to process and handle them, but that’s not enough. There are on plus the various channels that make you think you’re important. So professional and social life is full of digital tools and means of communication, which should at best be used at once and the same time in the best case, differentiate the important from the unimportant and end up doing a great job. Online and offline.
Digital burnout
Even if the term digital burnout is not (yet) a medical diagnosis; according to my personal assessment, there are many close to it, and it is not for nothing that I hear from others again and again that they are totally annoyed by this being “always-on”; somebody always waiting for prompt answers, likes or anything else. It’s just exhausting. Constantly buzzing, ringing or something pops up somewhere. I find that extremely nerving in the long run.
At the same time, this is probably only the beginning of the digital fire, which nobody can really escape from – because we always want higher, better, faster, more. Even though technology makes this possible theoretically. Instead, I do not believe that we humans can do that because we are not machines. Slowly but surely we come to the limits of what human data can be processed, unraveled, filtered, analyzed, evaluated, even absorbed by the human species. Although we use each day algorithms that make us live much easier, but we still don’t work that way, what make thinks difficult.
We do need digital breaks
My first guess, that because of my aging process this developement beats me more than younger people – because they’re much more used to it – has not been confirmed, because initial studies say that younger working people in particular are the most exhausted. See, even the young are not able to run the continuous data load.
And yes, I found another confirmation: Offline. When we traveled to our relax-vacation-location this year, we found a lot more young couples than usual. At this comparatively small, unspectacular hotel, in which except at the time of the water aerobics, of course, called water gym, no sound from the speakers at the pool takes place, one may ask that ever. No action, no music – except for the evening entertainment, how can that attract young people between 20 and 30? I asked and the answer was: rest. We just want to have our rest and turn everything off. Never hear and see anything for a week. Holding a very normal book in your hand, eat, drink, relax, turn from the right to the left on the sun bed, sleep a lot and nothing else. No mood for nightlife, sound 24/7, an entertainer who tortures you to the beach volleyball – no, they did not want anythink more than relax and staying offline. Not even diving, which is why many others travel there. And they also talked about the level of their job-related stress, which at times is simply unbearable. For companies, this means understanding the digital load as a task, talking about it, and possibly finding new framework conditions and rules for how to handle it.
It is striking that apparently more and more people are looking for and need digital breaks, which is why places where little or nothing happens become more and more attractive.
We personally always like to return to this place because it means a total „shutdown“ for us. Just sun, beach and sea. Nothing more than that.
Who likes, can take a breath of this atmosphere:
Click here for more information about the hotel.
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