What would happen if we turned off the TV? Switched off the news? What if we stopped taking photos? What then would we choose to consume?
What is our digital impact and how is it affecting us and the planet?

At various points in my life, I have ceased all of the above to discover where I instead spend my energy. More recently, I started to question the impact of our digital lives.

Many of us receive hundreds of emails a week, scroll endless social media feeds, and now quiz AI to write reports, policies, and even make music. We create and store it all on digital devices somewhere in the elusive ‘cloud’. Digital is physical; the cloud is a physical machine that requires copious amounts of energy, water and space to run.

Research estimates that by 2025, the IT industry could use 20% of all electricity produced and emit up to 5.5% of the world’s carbon emissions. That is more than most countries’ total emissions bar China, India and the US. Additionally, data centres, which house these cloud servers, are expected to consume 8% of the world’s electricity by 2030. That’s pretty shocking!

Meanwhile, from a social perspective, we know that as we spend more time online, increasing mental health issues are becoming prevalent. A study from the Royal Society for Public Health found that social media use is linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression and poor sleep. We are seeing increasing sedentary lifestyles leading to increased health issues, putting strain on our NHS. Obesity, heart disease and diabetes are on the rise due to lack of physical activity, partially attributed to excessive screen time.

From an economic perspective, where is our time and money going? Who is benefiting from us spending huge portions of our lives consuming the latest news story? Advertising revenues for tech giants like Google and Facebook have soared, but at what cost to our personal finances and attention spans? The global digital advertising market was valued at over £295 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach £503 billion by 2024.

I’m not saying we should get rid of all technology, but it is worth asking the questions.

What can I do to change?

To reduce your carbon footprint, delete your emails. Have you got thousands of photos stored on your phone that you never look at? Get rid of them. You may even save money from the excess storage. It is estimated that the average person stores over 630 photos and videos on their phone, many of which are rarely viewed after their initial capture.

Could you limit your time on social media? Instead, see a friend in person, go for a walk, sit in the park. Would this help your physical and mental health? Research shows that face-to-face interactions are essential for emotional wellbeing and can decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation.

If your time isn’t online or consuming the latest Netflix series, will you take up a hobby you currently don’t have time to do? Will you cook a proper meal instead of just grabbing a takeaway? These activities not only improve mental health but can also lead to better physical health and financial savings.

By making small changes in our digital habits, we can positively impact our health, our finances, and the environment.