Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman presented at SXSW 2016 on the topic of getting a grip on technology and tech wellness. They discussed how technology has changed our brains and behaviors, including reducing our attention spans to only 8 seconds on average online. Excessive technology use can lead to issues like "technoference" where technology interrupts important moments, "email apnea" where we hold our breath while checking messages, and information overload from the constant stream of notifications and messages. The presentation provided a technology wellness assessment to help attendees understand if their technology usage habits were healthy or leading to issues like being tech compulsive or energy depleted. Tips were shared on developing a tech wellness roadmap including being more

1. Beth
Kanter
and
Aliza
Sherman
Co-­‐
Authors,
The
Happy
Healthy
Nonprofit:
Impact
without
Burnout
Photo
Source:
Eric
Pickersgill
SXSW
2016
Workshop
Go
Reboot
Yourself:
Get
a
Grip
on
Your
Tech

2. Aliza
Story:
Insert
Slide
Aliza
The time
I started
dropping
things…

3. Beth

5. Beth
Kanter:
Trainer,
Author,
Speaker
and
Nonprofit
Thought
Leader
@kanter
www.bethkanter.org

6. Aliza
Sherman:
Web
Pioneer,
Author,
Speaker,
Tech
Wellness
Advocate

7. Think,
Write,
Share
• What
is
your
burning
quesEon
about
technology
wellness?
• What
do
you
want
to
learn
today?

8. • Greater
awareness
of
tech
wellness
• IdenEfy
one
technology
wellness
habit
to
build
and
pracEce
aIer
SXSW
Topics
OUTCOMES
• InteracEve
• Try
out
techniques
• Sacred
Space
FRAMING
Why
Get
A
Grip
on
Your
Tech
Assessment:
Is
your
tech
use
healthy
or
toxic?
Your
Tech
Wellness
Roadmap
ReflecEon,
Q/A,
Raffle
Agenda
Resource
Materials:
hTp://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/SXSW-­‐2016

9. Sacred
Space

10. You
Can
Draw!
.

11. You
Can
Draw!

12. Think
and
Draw
Think
about
a
Eme
when
your
technology
use
made
you
feel
stressed
or
overwhelmed
or
distracted
or
even
sick?
What
was
the
situaEon?
What
does
it
look
like?
Draw
It!

13. The
Bigger
Picture:
The
Problem

14. And
it
has
changed
our
brains.
Our
technology
has
changed
our
informaEon
consumpEon
habits

15. We
have
no
downEme.
52%
of
smartphone
owners
check
their
phones
a
few
Emes
an
hour
or
more.

16. We
are
losing
our
ability
to
focus
and
remember.
“Google
Effect
on
Memory”
-­‐-­‐
Daniel
Wegner,
a
professor
of
psychology
at
Harvard
University

17. What
is
the
average
human
aTenEon
span
online?

18. AMenNon
Spans
Online
…
Source:
NaEonal
Center
for
Biotechnology
InformaEon,
US
NaEonal
Library
of
Medicine
Flickr
photo:
Josullivan59
AMenNon
Span
StaNsNcs
Data
The
average
human
aTenEon
span
in
2000.
12
seconds
The
average
human
aTenEon
span
in
2013.
8
seconds
9
seconds

19. We
are
drowning
in
a
sea
of
messaging.
And
some
of
us
have
SMAD.*
*Social
Media
Anxiety
Disorder
-­‐-­‐
Neil
Mehta,
MD

20. • Always
at
your
fingerEps.
• Always
scrolling
news
feed.
• Always
manipulated
by
filters.
• The
adrenaline
rush
of
“Like.”
Syndrome

21. Mindless
ConsumpEon

22. *Brandon
T.
McDaniel,
doctoral
candidate
in
human
development
and
family
studies
at
Penn
State
“Technoference*”

23. Email
Apnea
Are
you
holding
your
breath
when
you
check
email?
You
may
have
“Email
Apnea*.”
*coined
by
writer
Linda
Stone

24. Body
effects
Text Neck*, Eye Strain**, Disturbed Sleep*** "
*Kenneth
K.
Hansraj,
chief
of
spine
surgery
at
New
York
Spine
Surgery
&
RehabilitaEon
Medicine
**American Optometric Association: Computer Vision Syndrome or Digital Eye Strain
***Studies out of Harvard and University of Toronto

25. Distracted
Walking

26. The
Perils
of
DistracNon
in
the
Workplace

27. “Technoference”

29. We
are
not
saying
ditch
your
mobile
phone
or
never
use
the
Internet
again
We
are
saying
Tech
Wellness
skills
are
essenEal
21st
century
survival
skills!

30. Tech
Wellness
Assessment
QuesEons
Is
Your
Technology
Use
Healthy?

31. Information Overload
What’s
Your
Tech
Wellness
Score?
1. Is
the
only
Eme
you
take
a
break
from
your
tech
when
you’re
sleeping?
2. Do
you
check
your
phone
before
you
go
to
bed
or
right
when
you
wake
up?
3. Do
you
have
problems
recalling
informaEon
and
resort
to
searching
on
Google?
4. Do
you
feel
that
you
oIen
have
a
hard
Eme
paying
aTenEon
or
focusing
on
a
single
task?
5. Do
you
experience
frustraEon
at
the
amount
of
online
informaEon
you
need
to
process
every
day?
6. Do
you
frequently
or
constantly
check
your
email,
TwiTer,
Facebook
or
other
online
services?
7. Do
you
someEmes
check
your
mobile
phone
for
messages
while
in
the
bathroom?
8. Do
you
find
yourself
reaching
for
your
phone
even
when
you’re
with
others?
9. Do
you
sit
at
your
computer
at
work
or
home
for
longer
than
30
minutes
at
a
Eme
without
gesng
up
to
take
a
break?
10. Do
you
ever
check
your
mobile
phone
while
walking
outside?
Add
up
all
the
quesEons
you
answered
“YES”
to
for
your
score

32. 0…1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10
Source:
LulumonathleEca
Healthy…………………………………………………………………………Unhealthy
What’s
Your
Technology
Wellness
Score?

33. The
Road
to
Technology
Wellness:
A
Few
Tips

34. Tech
Compulsive
Energy
Depleted
AMenNon
Deficit
Mindless"
Mindful"

35. Being
Mindful
means
pausing,
paying
attention,
being aware."
“
”

36. Exercise:
Experience
Mindfulness

37. Mindful
Tech

38. Monitoring
Tech

39. How
To
Be
Mindful
At
Home
Set
up
a
charging
staEon.

40. Movement
and
Stretching
“Boga”

41. Turn
Off
the
Damn
Computer
and
Go
for
A
Walk

42. Beverly
Trayner-­‐Wenger
List
of
Standing
Desk
Resources
hTp://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk
Stand
Up
At
Work:
Standing
Desk
Hack

43. Manage
Your
Energy

44. Manage
Your
AMenNon:
18
Minutes
A
Day

45. CreaNve
AcNviNes

46. Another
Way
To
Improve
AMenNon:
Coloring
hTp://www.bethkanter.org/adult-­‐coloring-­‐books/

47. Zentangle:
Yoga
for
Your
Brain

48. Zentangle:
Show
You

49. Zentangle:
Show
You

50. Zentangle:
Show
You

51. Zentangle:
Show
You

52. Your
Turn

53. Your
Technology
Wellness
Road
Map

54. Takeaways:
Share
Pairs
• What’s
one
Np
or
technique
that
you
can
put
into
pracNce
to
improve
your
tech
wellness?
• Put
on
index
card
with
your
name/email
for
raffle
for
a
prize

55. Slide
Title
Thank
you!
AlizaSherman.com
@alizasherman
BethKanter.org
@kanter
HappyHealthyNonprofit.org