Today we live in a time when the screen is our primary window to the world. We work, learn, entertain ourselves, communicate — everything happens behind glass and light. For many Danes, sitting 5-6 hours — or more — in front of a screen is a daily occurrence. It has become the norm. It is everyday life. But what happens when we are constantly connected? When the brain never really gets a chance to breathe?
Digital fatigue, stress and emotional overload
There is research that suggests that the constant digital presence — the cultural pressure to be “on,” available, up-to-date — comes at a price. More people are experiencing what could be called “digital stress”: headaches, eye strain, poor posture, muscle tension, and not least psychological distress.
What used to be called “Zoom fatigue” with too many virtual meetings on an assembly line is now just part of a larger trend: not just work, but our entire social and mental life takes place through the screen.
When “update” becomes a trap: Doomscrolling and digital overload
There is a particularly modern habit, almost an epidemic: doomscrolling — the endless, often compulsive scrolling through bad news, the gloom, the disasters, the crises. It is easy, addictive — and often emotionally draining.
Research shows that repeated doomscrolling is linked to increased anxiety, stress, sleep problems, emotional exhaustion, and overall poorer well-being. Some describe it as a form of digital “poisoning”: the brain is overstimulated, attention is fragmented, and the ability for calm, depth, and presence is weakened.
It's as if we are constantly feeding ourselves the world's fear — not because we seek it out as a conscious choice, but as an automatic habit: update after update, notification after notification.
A counter-movement: awareness, relief, “digital detox” — and creative rediscovery
But there are alternatives. Several researchers, therapists, and social debaters are talking about the need for breaks — for boundaries. For a form of “digital relief” where we consciously choose to let go of the screen and turn our gaze inward, back to the analog.
A conscious screen-free lifestyle doesn’t have to be radical — it doesn’t have to be “all or nothing.” It can be small rituals: set times without screens, physical movement, time for offline thoughts, creativity, handwriting, reading, deep concentration. A chance to give your mind peace and space to find its own rhythm again.
For those who value the handwritten, the analog, the slow and the fundamental — it's more than nostalgia. It's a resistance to superficiality, overload, haste. It's an opportunity to regain calm and contemplation — with one pen, one piece of paper, one breath at a time.
A personal and societal showdown
This flow — screen, media, news, screen again — is not just an individual habit. It is societal. It shapes our attention, our language, our emotions. It makes us see the world through a filter of alarm, crisis, news, update. When did “staying informed” become the same as “burning out”?
It's time to ask the question: What do we do with our ability to think, feel, create — when everything constantly has to be delivered on someone else's terms and at the pace of the medium? What do we lose when we let algorithms control our focus?
Putting down the screen is not necessarily an ideal of returning to the past. It can be a way of giving the mind freedom — freedom to reflect, to create, to be. Freedom to find your own pace.
