Tag: digital age

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Editor's Picks The World

When you need a break from the news, it’s okay

A group of people protesting.
[Image Description: A group of people protesting.] Via Unsplash

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Being informed is a virtue – there’s no question about that. But do you find yourself feeling stretched too thin while catching up on the constant onslaught of information from your social media feeds, phone notifications, news sites and TV channels? Add a global pandemic to the mix and you have a very exhausted mind trying to keep up with news snippets from everywhere in an attempt to make sense of the world.  

So what if less is more when it comes to consuming the news?

According to a survey by Digital Third Coast, 68% of Americans said the news has left them feeling anxious during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 65% and 67% of respondents reported feeling overwhelmed and burnt out by the news respectively. 54% even said they were cutting back on their news consumption to escape these feelings. The trigger in anxiety is not just limited to news readers in the US or the pandemic.

Dutch researchers in 2017 conducted a study on how hard news that deals with shaping political perspectives affects well-being. It was discovered that on average, well-being falls 6.1 percent for every additional television hard news program watched a week. The researchers explained this by noting the dominance of negative stories on such programs, and the powerlessness viewers might experience as a result in the face of all that bad news. 

So how do I know if I am overdoing it?

First things first — check in with yourself. 

– How does reading the news make you feel? Does it trigger anxiety or stress about things that are completely beyond your control? 

– Do you find yourself repeatedly consuming “alarmist” content – think natural disasters, breaking political news, riots and protests etc instead of a more well-rounded news diet that adds value to your knowledge repository?

– Is your body sending you signals via a strained neck, frequent headaches, lack of sleep and/or bad posture indicating that you are spending too much time looking at screens?

If the answer to one or all of the above is yes, it is time to slow down.

Start by changing the little things

Just like all other habits, shaping our news diet should be a conscious process.

Here are some small changes in your routine that can help you stay informed while avoiding emotional and mental burnout.

– Take digital sabbaticals: Simply put, take a break from the news. Not on a specified day or time of the month, but everyday. Set aside hours in your day where you DON’T look at your social media feed or news sites. Similarly, define a time in the day, preferably 30 mins in the morning and once late in the evening when you catch up on the day’s events. Don’t do anything else in that time but focus mindfully on what you are reading, seeking out the relevant sources and finding the right background and contextual information. You will notice an uptick in the quality of your news diet without feeling bombarded with non-stop updates

– Skim less, read more: If you find yourself merely skimming through headlines multiple times a day without finding the time and bandwidth to delve into the stories in depth, you are doing it wrong. Nourish your brain with high-quality, research-backed content instead of overwhelming yourself with the same “breaking” news headlines packaged in different ways.

– Be protective of your time: If the past one year has taught us one thing, it’s that our time is limited and infinitely valuable. Hence, when choosing news sources, be picky about who you devote your time to. Prioritize publications that report responsibly, refrain from sensationalism and provide their readers with a healthy balance of content instead of holding their attention captive with triggering or shock-and-awe content

– Support good content: Show appreciation to those who are putting in the work and enriching your news diet. It can be something as simple as leaving a meaningful comment telling the outlet/journalist that you derive value from their work. Or show financial support to projects, news outlets that are trying to break the advertising-driven journalism mould with more cutting-edge holistic news coverage.

And lastly, don’t forget to tell us if these tips and tricks helped you in being more mindful with your news consumption patterns. Remember, unplugging from time-to-time from your screens does not equate to slacking – instead it is a sign of respect for our time, emotional and mental well-being and the most rewarding form of self-care.

This guest post is a part of The Tempest’s collaboration with The NewsRun. For the next month, we are working together to encourage mindful and smart news consumption. 

Categories
Tech Money Now + Beyond

Read this before switching to an app-only bank account

[Image Description: Lady scrolling on her smartphone outside] Via Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash.

I first heard about app-only banks when my friend showed me her Monzo app. I was pretty dubious about the digital-first challenger banks coming to the market, particularly when it comes to security and lack of face-to-face support. Since then my views have turned 180 degrees. It’s amazed me how app-only banks have quickly dominated the finance world. Consumers can manage their bank accounts digitally without having to visit a branch. All you need to do is submit personal details and ID proof via the app, and you’re all set!

It’s a big disrupter with a lot of potentials to make finances easier and accessible to customers.

App-only banks are becoming more popular with millennials and Gen-Zers. In a Censuswide study, where they interviewed 2,000 adults with a bank account, 83% said they would open a new account if certain features would entice them. A third of respondents would be attracted to a bank that gives them a prediction of whether they were on course to run out of money before their next payday. Their disruption to the market isn’t a surprise, considering the appetite millennials and Gen-Zers have for digitising their finances.

Here’s a roundup of the best app-only banks:

Starling Bank – best for opening a current account

Starling Bank logo
[Image Description: Image of Starling Bank logo] via Starling Bank.
  • Voted Best British Bank and Best Current Account 2020
  • Offers personal, joint and business accounts
  • Real-time notifications on your phone as you spend
  • Savings goals to set and monitor
  • Round up transactions to the nearest pound and the spare change is automatically put into your savings
  • No fees for spending abroad
  • Customer service available 24/7
  • Compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay
  • Available in the UK only
  • Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), protected up to £85,000

Monzo – best for budgeting

Monzo logo
[Image Description: Image of Monzo logo] via Monzo.
  • Real-time notifications on your phone as you spend
  • Offers personal, joint and business accounts
  • Set spending budgets with the app along with a summary of your spending
  • The card is accepted worldwide
  • Savings ‘Pots’ available that set money aside (by rounding up every purchase you make)
  • ‘Bill Tracker’ feature
  • ‘Get Paid Early’ salary advance feature
  • Compatible with Apple pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay
  • Available in the UK, but as stated on Monzo’s help page, you can open a Monzo account even if you’re not a UK tax resident. All you need is a UK address. If you don’t have a UK address, a Monzo account cannot be offered to you. If you’re in the US, you can join the waitlist here.
  • Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), protected up to £85,000

Revolut – best for spending money abroad

Revolut logo
[Image Description: Image of Revolut logo] via Revolut.
  • Hold and exchange up to 26 currencies in the app
  • Spend on the Revolut card in 120 currencies
  • Real-time notifications
  • Analytics to track spending habits
  • Round up transactions to the nearest pound and the spare change is automatically put into your savings
  • Spend and send money abroad with no fees
  • Withdraw cash abroad fee-free
  • Use the app to buy and exchange cryptocurrency (premium feature)
  • As stated on their website, the app is available in the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan and the United States
  • Authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but not FSCS protected

Atom Bank – best for savings, loans and mortgages 

Atom Bank logo
[Image Description: Image of Atom Bank logo] via Atom Bank.
  • Offers savings accounts, mortgages and business loans (doesn’t offer current accounts)
  • Offers competitive savings rates
  • Mortgages are available through its broker service, accessible via the app
  • Customer service available 24/7
  • Uses face and voice recognition
  • Lets you personalise – you can name your bank, create a logo and choose your colour scheme.
  • Available in the UK only
  • Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), protected up to £85,000

Monese – best for using worldwide and for international students

Monese logo
[Image Description: Image of Monese logo] via Monese
  • You do not need a proof of address to open an account
  • Real-time notifications on your phone as you spend
  • Accepted worldwide
  • Transfer money abroad into 14 currencies
  • Track spending habits
  • Specialises in current accounts
  • Provides real-time insight into your available balance
  • Available in the European Economic Area (EEA)
  • Your money is safeguarded under the EU Electronic Money Directive 2009/110/EC and UK Electronic Money Regulations 2011 but is not FSCS protected

I decided to open an app-only bank account and I found the experience so quick and easy! Creating an account didn’t feel overwhelming compared to opening up with a traditional bank, the whole process was efficient. After supplying the required information and reading the T&Cs, I was all set. All within 5 minutes! Once I was set up, I was able to see the options available at my fingertips: setting up notifications, saving money, accessing support, how I can track my spending and more.

Is opening up an app-only bank right for you? Check out our pros and cons list:

Pros

  • Don’t need to fill in paperwork to open up an account
  • Everything can be managed on your smartphone
  • Can provide a convenient and quick service for customers through the app
  • Easy savings options are available
  • Free transactions abroad
  • Lower fees
  • Real-time notifications
  • Ability to freeze your card if lost or stolen

Cons

  • Relies on an internet connection
  • Can’t visit a branch
  • Do not offer face-to-face support
  • Paying in cash or depositing cheques can be tricky
  • Financial products on offer are limited compared to traditional banks e.g. overdrafts and loans

If app-only banks are not available in your country, there’s no doubt they’ll be popping up soon. It’s a big disrupter with a lot of potentials to make finances easier and accessible to customers.

I am completely with you if you have concerns about using an app-only bank. For me, I’m on-board with having an app-only bank, but only with the option of having this alongside my traditional bank account as well. I’m drawn to the innovative features and effortless user experience of app-only banks, however, the products and incentives offered by traditional banks are more wide-ranging compared to app-only banks.

Perhaps soon, app-only banks can provide incentives for customers to switch over to them and leave the traditional bank behind. But for the moment, I’m happy balancing between the two.

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Categories
Culture Family Life

A love letter to libraries

[a girl wearing glasses in standing between shelves at a library] Via Unsplash
[Image Description: A girl wearing glasses is standing between shelves at a library] Via Unsplash.

I know that I am not alone when I say that we, as humans, find a lot of solace in libraries. They are temples of knowledge, housing collections of stories and dreams alike on their shelves. Libraries are as much a part of our culture as anything else. People have relied on these spaces for warmth, insight, and marvel for centuries. In a way, they hold the key to all of our stories,

I love libraries, and I am terrified to see their eventual demise, especially as our world becomes almost entirely digital. They are gems from the past that have maintained vitality no matter the circumstances or happening outside of their walls. Not to mention they are the cornerstones of entire communities, maybe even countries, granting light and stability to people when nothing, or no one, else seemed able to. They offer more than just books; they offer entry into a space that seems more like a sanctuary run by people grounded in compassion, commitment, creativity, and resilience.

People have relied on these spaces for warmth, insight, and marvel for centuries.

I used to go to the library near my grandparents’ house every other Friday. For the most part, my mom took my brothers and me there to get a new book for school or to see what DVDs we could bring home to watch that evening. But I remember roaming around, starstruck, in between the tall shelves, wondering about the people who wrote each and every single one of those books and how long it might have taken to get them all here.

Most weeks, my mother let me get two books instead of one. I could spend hours there if it was permitted. I always liked watching my mom pick her books for the week, too. She seemed so sophisticated and gentle while scanning the shelves, yet she never knew exactly what she was looking for. If it was winter, afterward we would all pile back into the car with our hardcover books and grab a slice of pizza. If it was summer, we would walk to the Italian Ice shop down the street for some cream ice – those were the best days. 

I fear that libraries have been taken for granted, even in my own life, and am always spellbound to find them chock full of unexpected people, doing unexpected things, with unexpected passions. There is absolutely nothing that compares to the feeling, the pure excitement in my stomach, that erupts every time I am searching in a library for the perfect tale to dig into. A trip to the library seems, to me, to be enchanted. I become whimsical, enveloped by the completeness and simplicity of the entire journey.

Even the smell of a library is impossible to replicate because of its specificity and poignance. I am reminded of sandalwood, dusk, and a particular, antiquated, dampness. Its familiarity is beyond comforting. The air itself seems to be saturated in possibility and imagination. 

I feel at home while pattering around and tracing my fingers between the shelves of books. I fall in love while blowing the dust off of the covers, revealing bright colors and exquisite lines. I spend hours crinkling through the aged, already yellowing, pages of novels wondering which I will pick this time. It is never an easy decision, and I always leave with dozens underneath my arms wondering if the others will still be there when I return the next week. But, that’s the beauty of libraries, isn’t it? Every visit is entirely different from the last and there is no telling what you might stumble upon. Yet each visit is also starkly familiar. 

The air itself seems to be saturated in possibility and imagination.

Books have changed so much of my life, with plotlines, characters, and lessons that have been woven into nearly everything I do – that is every decision, every consideration, and everything that I have grown to appreciate or even pay a little bit more attention to. Books are there to remind me of what’s important, and when I’m not so sure, they’re there for me to lean on. Without libraries, though, I might have never been allowed membership into such a world of splendor. 

Categories
Weddings

Here’s why Zoom weddings are actually really great

A grayscale shot of a bride and groom kissing.
[Image description: A grayscale shot of a bride and groom kissing.] via Hisu Lee on Unsplash.

Imagine falling in love with someone and planning to get married to them in April 2020. We would all laugh at that plan now because it would be nonexistent. It’s impossible to have a wedding while quarantined in the midst of a pandemic – unless, of course, you knew the perfect platform on which to gather your loved ones and pull off a virtual ceremony. For many couples, that platform is Zoom.

At first, I laughed when I heard that a couple tied the knot via a digital video-calling platform. I thought it was ridiculously funny. Why are people even thinking about getting married during a pandemic? I mean, it’s crazy. Doesn’t it make more sense for peoples’ focus to be on practicing social distancing and flattening the curve? Then again, who wouldn’t want to attend a wedding in pajama bottoms?

Well, welcome to the world of technology. After New York Governor Andrew Cuomo approved marriages to legally happen over the internet, inspiration struck and the Zoom wedding was born. Almost immediately, people made plans to wed their significant others online, with loved ones attending ceremonies from all across the country.

Although physically being there is an important part of a wedding, in a time of crisis, it makes sense to search for certainty. And that certainty lies, for many, in love. I think it’s quite beautiful that couples won’t let a virus stop them from getting married and living the rest of their lives together. Thank god they’re doing it safely, though. 

There also comes a point at which we need to stop focusing all of our energy on Coronavirus. In all of this chaos, Zoom weddings have actually brought light and fun into people’s lives. We could all use an excuse to stop and enjoy our time, even if it’s just for an hour or two. 

For our own mental health, it could be beneficial to have a Zoom wedding or any other virtual celebration to look forward to. In general, these gatherings are also just a fun way to reconnect with friends and family whom we are unable to see during this time. A definite plus of Zoom weddings is that it is much easier to Venmo some cash as a gift rather than to actually go and buy something off a registry. Gifts aside, Zoom weddings have, in some small way, brought society together during these trying times.

In the same way it hasn’t been able to stop weddings from happening, COVID-19 shouldn’t stop us from living our lives to the fullest either. Our lives will not end with this pandemic. It will eventually pass, if we are safe, responsible, and take care of ourselves. We should look for inspiration to keep going and live our lives in order to remind ourselves that we have a future. Zoom weddings represent exactly that. There is more to life than Coronavirus – and that doesn’t mean that we go out with friends and forget about social distancing. It means that we can all take measures to look for certainty even when there seems like there is none. We can find it in our homes, in the promise of true love, and, perhaps, with the help of Zoom.

Categories
Love Life Stories

How falling in love with the idea of someone taught me to look up (from my phone)

[Image description: a woman stands and look at her smartphone against a backdrop of a lake] via Becca Tapert on Unsplash

Once upon a time, I fell in love with an idea.

Well… an idea based on a boy – a real one.

Let me explain.

We had mutual friends, so I knew for certain that he was, in fact, a real person, but he had moved away a little over a year before we were introduced. 

We used to chat on MSN for hours. I remember the eternal struggle of trying to connect to WiFi on my crappy phone or my iPod Touch when I wasn’t at home. Oh, the good old days. 

We’d message each other first thing when we woke up and all throughout the day, often into the early hours of the next morning. It was the kind of friendship that surpassed geographical boundaries. If anything, the fact that we had become so close despite the distance made it feel all the more real to me. 

We talked about our favorite rock bands, sent each other links to new songs we’d discovered and played 21 questions. 

We were there through all of it: through each other’s young and reckless relationships, through long nights of self-inflicted existential dread and through the times we talked about our dreams enough that we felt like maybe, just maybe, we could do anything.

And I can only speak for myself when I say this, but after months and months spent hunched over my phone, it began to feel a lot like love.

I always said that we would meet one day, and he never believed me. In fact, I think he found the conviction with which I said it pretty annoying. I’d say it was fate, and he’d say that fate had nothing to do with it. Nonetheless, when I asked him what he would want me to bring from Saudi if we ever met, he said that all he wanted was a bag of spicy Cheetos and a pack of Sour Punk. We were 14 at the time.

Needless to say, our friendship didn’t last. We cared about each other, but we clashed just a little too much for it to be worth the effort anymore. To him, I was dramatic and overwhelming, and to me, he was callous and cold. That was the root of it. 

Five years after we’d first met, he was accepted to study Mathematics at Oxford University, just over an hour-long train journey away from where I went to school in Birmingham.

I’d say it was fate.

I never expected anything to come of it, nor did I want anything to; I had moved on. But the need to put a face, not a picture, to a name was undeniably there. So, after several dead-end conversations of trying to make plans to meet, one day, I showed up in Oxford with a bag of Cheetos and Sour Punk.

I had reconciled with the fact that he didn’t seem particularly interested in meeting me, so I just texted him to say I was in the city and asked for his faculty building’s address so I could drop something off. Surprisingly, he seemed excited and pressed for us to meet face to face. I won’t lie, part of me wanted to say no just to prove a point, but I didn’t want my pettiness to get in the way of getting what I came for – closure. 

We met in a graveyard, I can’t make this stuff up. I stood there, in my black lipstick, combat boots, and leather jacket, and watched as this guy in a navy jumper atop a white collared shirt and chinos walked up to me. When I think about watching it from a distance, I can’t help but laugh. 

I don’t know what I expected; he’d always been just a person I knew through a screen. But the person in front of me wasn’t the sarcastic and witty, steadfast friend I thought I knew. He looked like the guy in the pictures, but otherwise, he was a complete stranger. 

I could feel myself going into shock, and despite my better judgment,  I agreed to grab a bite to eat. 

We sat in some cafe on the corner of some street that I can’t remember the name of, and I picked at a chocolate muffin as I “mhm’d” and “uh-huh’d” in appropriate time to whatever he was saying. Over the course of the next hour, my state of shock morphed into something closer to hilarity.

What the fuck was I doing?

For five years, FIVE YEARS, I had expended time and energy on a person who didn’t really exist. Instead, this guy did, and I had no idea what to do with that. 

When we said our goodbyes he asked for a hug and said, 

“We should make plans to meet up again.” 

I smiled, and before I even knew what I was saying, I replied,

“Dude, this is probably the first and last time you’re ever going to see me.”

And it was.

As silly as it all sounds, it was a really defining moment for me. I boarded my train back to Birmingham with a newfound determination to focus on what was real in my life. I remember looking at my phone and marveling at how much time I had spent falling for a person who only existed on-screen. But even though he didn’t turn out to be who I thought he was, he’ll always be the boy who taught me to look up. 

Categories
Tech Now + Beyond

Technology needs the liberal arts more than you think

pexels.com

It’s a common belief among millennials that a successful career requires you to major in the ever-progressing technology industry. I can’t begin to explain the reactions I receive when I get asked my major and I say it’s creative writing; most of them being along the lines of “Oh, that sounds fun!” This sort of skepticism is nothing new to me. It is part of a debate against liberal arts that has been going on long before me, and will most likely continue my entire life the more we progress into the digital age.

Every day, the economy is changing to support a growing field of scientists, technicians, mathematicians and so forth which puts into question the value of a liberal arts education. Both my parents were in IT, so I was going against the grain when I decided I wanted to be a writer. Whenever I come home during holidays, my dad still asks me what I plan to do after I graduate. I am constantly confronted with the reality that the humanities are seen as less important in a world that is more obsessed with playing video games than reading novels.

According to Time magazine, we are living in an age of distraction and we need more people with an ethical grounding to respond to real human needs. There’s always a rush for what we need now, instead of considering its lasting impact, which has tech companies more concerned about their products than the market they are selling them to. This ADHD behavior may be why fidget spinners hit it off so well. It is also why everyone is so absorbed in the latest technology that it’s starting to take away from our human interactions.

There is a reason behind why the humanities are better at grasping human behavior than any other field of study. We have to read. A lot. It’s incredibly important, as a writer, to learn how to empathize with people, and that’s what books help us do. I can’t help but think of all the instances in which robots claim they don’t have feelings. Technology helps us, but it doesn’t replace like us. No one should have to make the choice between them because the two compliment each other. 

One of my English professors once asked our class to define liberal arts. The question threw me off guard. I had always imagined the answer to be obvious, stored away somewhere in my brain, for this exact kind of moment. But I didn’t have a response. The latin definition of liberal means “free” or “unrestricted;” therefore, freeing one from menial work to train the mind. And the mind needs more than just one type of training.

A recent piece from the Harvard Business Review titled “Liberal Arts in the Digital Age,” argues that to prepare students to solve large-scale human problems, we must push them to widen, not narrow, their education and interests. I still have friends that are concerned about finding a job in the tech industry because technology keeps advancing to the point where human tasks are being replaced by machines. Their focus is so specialized that it limits their capabilities towards what else they can do.

When I think of a well-rounded education, I think of more than just a handful of skills and majors; how you think also matters. If we all thought analytically, then we’d forget that there is more than one way to solve a problem, or interpret a conversation, or see more than one perspective. Amidst today’s technology, it’s even more critical that we apply ourselves to different and new opportunities. I did not major in technology, but at least I know I can still make a difference.

Categories
Tech Now + Beyond

3 steps to stay vigilant in today’s hostile social media environment

Pexels

Social media is a driving force in how people stay informed. More people now than ever get their news through their social media accounts than they do through a newspaper. So what happens when the information you’re consuming isn’t as trustworthy as you thought?

Seemingly benign social platforms are now battlegrounds for an array of agendas. Through social media weaponization, people are using social media to strategically sway public opinion with information that’s not always truthful. The unsettling part is that it’s actually working.

This phenomenon was especially salient in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign cycle, where social media was used to purposefully misinform voters. Widely-shared fake news stories about Hillary Clinton, for example, were created to paint Clinton as a untrustworthy candidate.

Social media isn’t going anywhere. As digital media consumers, we must be vigilant about the news we find on social media. Although it can be difficult to know when to question credibility, try out these tips to empower yourself as a digital media user in today’s social media environment:

Question your sources and information.

We come across an array of information on social media, but it’s important to remember that not all information is trustworthy. You have to do a lot of questioning.

First, examine the source. Is it from a reputable news organization? Second, determine if there is bias. Who are the sources? Are they from corporations or government sponsors? Are there any voices from public interest or progressive organizations? Is there diversity among these sources?

If you’re only reading news from one source, challenge yourself to follow more than one news organization on social media. It’s important to consume a repertoire of news sources to absorb different perspectives and catch discrepancies among news reporting.

It is also helpful to visit sites like PolitiFact and FactCheck.org, whose missions are to fact check statements and claims made by politicians or political organizations. If you’re ever a doubtful about a claim reported in a news article or floating around social media, do a quick check on these sites.

Use these plug-ins to help you spot fake news.

If you’re having a hard time detecting fake news by yourself, there are browser extensions that can do the job for you.

Chrome extensions like B.S. Detector helps you identify fake or satirical news sites by attaching warning labels to untrustworthy sites or news articles in your social media newsfeeds. Gmail extension LazyTruth flags emails that include political myths, urban legends or security threats, and debunks them within your email program before you even think of sharing it on social media.

Get outside of your bubble.

Thanks to Facebook’s algorithms, all you might see on your newsfeed is content that reflects your views. Although its affirming to read articles that support your views, scrolling through your newsfeed can turn into an echo chamber of similar or identical opinions. A similar pattern occurs with Google searches: When different people search the same topic, each person will get different search results based on meta data and Google algorithms.

Make sure to get outside your bubble once in while to assure that you’re diversifying your information sources. Chrome extensions like Escape Your Bubble allows you see articles on your newsfeed that differ from your own views. The New York Times’ Right and Left features news articles and opinion pieces on both the left and right, challenging readers to better understand each side.

Social media is changing the way we consume digital media and form opinions. Although social media can be weaponized, we have the power be vigilant about the way we navigate digital content so that we can be empowered by trustworthy information.

Categories
Tech Now + Beyond

I’m exhausted by everything on my phone – but I can’t look away

A woman holds her phone in her hands while she is texting. Her nails are manicured and she wears a watch on her left hand.
[Image description: A woman holds her phone in her hands while she is texting. Her nails are manicured and she wears a watch on her left hand.] Via Unsplash.

We are consumers, selfie-takers, and social media enthusiasts. Tech-savvy, politically-inclined, and independent, millennials are the most information-hungry generation to date. We are constantly bombarded by torrents of information, be it from our peers or an electronic screen.

A few weeks ago, my communications professor asked us to raise our hands if we owned a cell phone. All 82 students’ hands went up. 77 of those hands, it turned out, swiped right on iPhones. In a different class, my professor shared that students, on average, check their emails/texts/social media once every 5 to 10 minutes. Yeah. That’s an average of 12,400 times that you check for new content, per semester. An article I found earlier details a study done at Baylor University, in which college students were found to spend between 8-10 hours on their phones, with women spending more time than their male peers.

While these figures differ from person to person, the consensus is clear: we spend a lot of time on our phones, and we’re incredibly media-savvy. We’re skimming breaking news on our Twitter feeds, while plugged into the latest episode of our favorite podcast.

And yet a problem plagues almost every individual – a feeling of blasé.

Here’s what the dictionary says: Blasé is indifference or boredom with life as a result of “excess worldly pleasures.” Blasé conveys a feeling of “world-weariness.” Blasé is being unmoved because you’ve seen it all before.

It almost seems contradictory for a millennial – a seemingly bright, active, vivacious, forward-thinking, literate individual – to experience this feeling. And yet somehow, you and I both know it so well.

In a way, it makes perfect sense. Millennials are “over-fed” information, causing us to gorge, gorge, gorge until it becomes too much. No matter what it is – the latest atrocity in the Middle East, another case of racial profiling, or your friend’s latest puppy purchase – it simply becomes too much.

Considering the number of times I check my phone during the day, I can only imagine the amount of sheer stuff that goes into my brain on a daily basis. This excess of information prohibits our ability to fully grasp what’s going on. All the inflammatory language used to pique our attention gives the impression that everything is loud! and scary! and terrible!

As such, we lose interest in world affairs and become increasingly weary of it.

It seems that the only way to alleviate this feeling is to make sure that one isn’t in a constant state of being “plugged in.” After every article you read, take a minute to really think about it.

Let yourself feel something. Get inspired. Get angry!

Formulate your opinion and spread the world. If you don’t make the effort to engage with the information you’re fed, you run the risk of experiencing blasé.

Now it’s my turn to sign back into Facebook and scroll through the latest headlines. But not, of course, before taking a minute to digest them.