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DL 192

Baby Steps to Mental Health

Published: 2019-04-06 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to Digitally Literate 192. Baby steps to mental health.

Hi all, my name is Ian O'Byrne and welcome to Digitally Literate. In this newsletter, I try to synthesize what happened this week so you can be digitally literate as well.

I posted a couple of other things this week:

🔖 Key Takeaways

📺 Watch

Tim Ferriss on Listening to Your Body

This video from Tim Ferriss shares some actionable advice on paying attention to your body when you feel like you can't keep up.

Ferriss translates athletic recovery wisdom into knowledge work context. The body signals overload before the mind admits it—sleep disruption, appetite changes, persistent fatigue, inability to concentrate. Pushing through these signals works short-term but creates long-term debt. The productivity obsession treats humans as machines requiring optimization; bodies resist this framing. Sustainable performance requires reading physical signals and responding appropriately. Rest isn't weakness—it's investment. The paradox: taking breaks improves output more than powering through.

📚 Read

A new article from the New York Times Magazine details the decade-long history of ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, tracing the trajectory from a small Facebook group of dedicated tinglers to a massive pop culture phenomenon. We've started to see this phenomenon sweep into the mainstream in advertising.

Of particular interest to me are the steps ASMR artists have taken to protect themselves from creeps. Gibi suggests the following:

I've learned a lot about cybersecurity. If you ever want to start a YouTube channel, delete everything, and then go back and delete more. Make everything private. Act like you have five million subscribers when you're starting, because you can't go back… People are naturally curious. They can look up if it's raining where I am.

ASMR represents fascinating internet subculture—millions seeking relaxation through whispered videos, tapping sounds, personal attention roleplays. The phenomenon emerged organically, named by community members rather than researchers. But Gibi's cybersecurity advice reveals darker dimension: intimacy-focused content attracts boundary-violators. Creators, especially women, face stalking, harassment, doxxing. The advice to "act like you have five million subscribers when you're starting" acknowledges asymmetric risk—digital traces from before fame become weapons after fame. Creator economy demands visibility; safety demands invisibility. This tension defines online presence.

Eric Ravenscraft in The NY Times on how to use tools built in to your smartphone to help you limit how much you use your devices.

If that doesn't help, perhaps you'd like to fully convert your phone to minimalism. Thanks to Doug Belshaw for the tip.

Platform companies now offer tools to limit platform use—Screen Time on iOS, Digital Wellbeing on Android. Set app timers, schedule downtime, track usage patterns. The irony: companies whose business models depend on maximizing engagement providing tools to minimize engagement. The tools help surface usage patterns users might not recognize—discovering you spent three hours on Instagram creates awareness. But awareness doesn't necessarily enable change. The apps are designed by behavioral psychologists to override conscious intention; timer notifications become speedbumps, not walls. Minimalist phone approaches go further—removing apps entirely, converting smartphone to "dumb phone." The question: can you use the tools of attention capture to escape attention capture?

So you think you want to be mindful and not be tracked online? Here's the eight steps you'll need to take. Can you do it?

The list reveals privacy's true cost: convenience death by eight cuts. Each step removes functionality modern life assumes—no Facebook means no event invitations, no Google means no Maps or Gmail, no smart devices means manual everything. The guide is accurate; it's also practically impossible for most people. Privacy becomes luxury good requiring expertise, effort, and willingness to opt out of networked society. The "paranoid" framing is telling—reasonable security precautions coded as paranoia normalizes surveillance. The guide inadvertently demonstrates why privacy regulation matters: individual solutions don't scale when the default is exposure.

Alex Hern in The Guardian on a recent study, published in the journal Psychological Science. It is an important data point in the growing debate about whether excessive screen time can damage the mental health of young people.

The research, based on analysis of the screen use of more than 17,000 teenagers across Ireland, the US and the UK, found use of screens before bedtime was completely unrelated to psychological wellbeing, and screen time more generally had a "minuscule" effect on wellbeing in teenagers when compared with other activities in an adolescent's life.

The study complicates moral panic narratives. 17,000+ teenagers, three countries, rigorous methodology—and screen time effects are "minuscule" compared to factors like sleep, family relationships, and economic security. Bedtime screen use—supposedly the most harmful pattern—shows no relationship to wellbeing. This doesn't mean screens are neutral; it means simple screen time metrics miss what matters. Quality matters more than quantity: passive scrolling differs from active creation, bullying differs from connection, algorithmic manipulation differs from intentional use. The research suggests policy and parenting focused on minutes-per-day addresses wrong variable.

A photo shared by Tara Holman details a check-in system for students to support their mental health.

The board provides simple mechanism for students to signal emotional state without public disclosure—moving name tag to numbered position indicating how they're doing. Teachers can identify struggling students without requiring verbal disclosure (often difficult for adolescents). The viral spread reflects hunger for practical classroom mental health tools. Traditional education focuses on academic performance; emotional wellbeing gets addressed only in crisis. Check-in systems normalize discussing mental health, catch problems early, and demonstrate adult care. The approach aligns with trauma-informed pedagogy—creating safety before demanding performance.

🔨 Do

BJ Fogg's Behavior Change Framework

BJ Fogg, Director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University, teaches you the three things you need to do to change your behavior over the long term.

You can join in on his five day method at the link above to learn the skills you'll need to fully benefit.

Fogg's research demolishes willpower mythology. Lasting behavior change rarely comes from resolution or motivation—those fade. Three paths work: epiphany (dramatic insight reframing entire perspective), environment change (making desired behavior easier and undesired behavior harder), and baby steps (tiny habits building gradually). Baby steps prove most reliable because they bypass motivation requirements. Want to exercise? Don't commit to daily gym sessions—commit to putting on running shoes. The tiny habit creates foundation for expansion. Fogg's framework explains why New Year's resolutions fail (motivation-dependent) and why phone "do not disturb" settings work (environment change). Design your life for desired behavior rather than relying on willpower.

🤔 Consider

"Instead of trying to build a brick wall, lay a brick everyday. Eventually you'll look up and you'll have a brick wall." — Nipsey Hussle

Hussle's metaphor captures Fogg's framework in street wisdom. The wall overwhelms; the brick is achievable. Focus on daily action, not distant outcome. Consistency compounds—imperceptible daily progress becomes undeniable over time. Mental health, digital habits, life changes—all respond to brick-by-brick approach. The patience required is itself the practice.

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