International Digital Wellness Day will be celebrated around the world on Friday, 7 May 2021.The aim of this day is to raise global attention for mental, physical, emotional health, and safety when using digital devices.
The Johannesburg-based Technolife Wise Foundation is excited and honoured to be part of this necessary initiative. According to Dr Marlena Kruger, founder of the Foundation and integrative wellness coach, it is vital that we educate young and old on how to strike a balance between real joy in the real three-dimensional(3D) world and the flat, two-dimensional world (2D) of screens.
“We are created as wonderful human beings with many dimensions and an array of the most intelligent and complex senses working in an integrated way from head to toe. An imbalance in how, when, and why we use technology could affect our human beingness adversely.
“One example of this negative impact of the overuse of technology is that when parents use digital screens to babysit their children, these young bodies and minds could display symptoms of ADHD, Digital Screen and Functional Disorder Syndrome, and even Autism (ASD) and other neurological disorders.”
Several national and international experts, such as Drs Victoria Dunckley and Robert Melillo describe these realities. “Many children who are glued to screens experience a lot of frustrations because their brains and bodies are too young and therefore, they haven’t developed any of the mechanisms to regulate themselves when they experience for example hyperarousal and other associated symptoms.
Hyperarousal, continued states of stress, and sleeplessness happen very easily because of the overstimulated environment of all the stories and video games, including the most wonderful educational games, that over-activate their reward system and wreak havoc with the normal functioning of all their systems, including their hormone system and secretion of neurotransmitters.”
In support of and to celebrate this day, the Technolife Wise Foundation will be hosting a free seminar titled Exploring the links and solutions for ADHD, Digital Screen Syndrome and Autism (ASD).Register at www.technolifewise.org for this free seminar on Friday, 7 May 2021 from 15:00 to 16:00.
