Six Years On Screens: What It’s Cost Us And Our Kids


In This Issue

  • How’s the Water? An Editorial Piece
  • In-Person In Orleans November 7-8: Three Spots Still Available

How's The Water?

“There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?’”

This was the parable American writer and professor David Foster Wallace told at his 2005 commencement address.

That is our relationship with the internet, our phones, social media, and now AI. We have lived inside them so long we no longer perceive them. The pandemic accelerated this. What had been a habit became vital infrastructure: school, work, friendship and recreation moved onto screens, and much of it never moved back.

The cost is a loss of intimacy with life, with our own inner experience and with the people in our lives. We take in more information in a day than the human mind evolved to process in a lifetime.

Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan observed: “One thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element they live in.” (Can you tell I'm loving the fish-in-water-analogy?😆)

This describes our children precisely. For those coming of age after 2020, screens, online “connection,” sedentary recreation and isolation are not a change. They are the baseline.

I suspect that some of our kids already know though. Young people are asking for dumb phones and looking for someone to go to the movies with. Children who cannot yet put it into words, are showing us through behaviour. Heavy screen use in children is consistently linked to anxiety, depression and social withdrawal, and to poor sleep, hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, oppositional behaviour, inattention and learning difficulties.

For the rest of us, the correction starts small. Spend time with a friend, your kids, or yourself, without a phone in reach. Get yourself a modern landline like the coilie. Go to the movies this weekend - I assure you, they still exist.

It’s time to course-correct and find our way back to ourselves and each other.

NB. If you suspect your own tech use has crossed a line, support exists: Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous internetaddictsanonymous.org).


In-Person In Orleans November 7-8: Spots Still Available

I’ll be at the Orléans Naturopath clinic (2179 Mer-Bleu Rd) the weekend of November 7 and 8, and have 3 spots available on Sunday, November 8. This is a good opportunity if you’d like to meet IRL to:

  • Reconnect after some time away with a reactivation visit
  • Continue your care with a follow-up
  • Go over your recent results with a lab review
  • Book an acupuncture treatment

Book through Jane App or reply to this email to reserve your time.

Until next time, scroll intentionally.

Dr. Dominika

Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny

Naturopathic Doctor

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hello@drdominika.com​
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www.drdominika.com​
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​Schedule an Appointment​

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Hi! I'm Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny, ND

First inspired by the work of Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Dominika has focused much of her career on helping her patients connect the dots between early adversity and trauma and their impact on lifelong health and well-being. She knows that the reversal of chronic illness involves the nervous system, and so she has dedicated her practice to helping patients master their own nervous system to positively influence their mind and body, behaviours and ultimately health outcomes. Her explanation of disease doesn't pathologize or blame, but is nuanced, humanized and filled with hope. She trained with various psychologists and experts in the field of psychological trauma. She incorporates the principles of neuroscience, attachment theory, mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory and compassionate inquiry in her approach with patients. Combining these with her naturopathic training, she likes to say that she works at the intersection of science and human experience.

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