The bright side of darkness

The hippies of the 1960s chanted 'turn on, tune in, drop out' as a way to step out of the mainstream. Half a century later, turning on screens and tuning into social has become the mainstream - and people have never felt so lonely.

The reasons for turning off screens are well rehearsed - better attention spans, better self-esteem, better sleep. It's easy to say 'turn them off', but when we do switch off we can often feel like we're losing information, losing a connection to other people. Here's a reframe: switch off and find yourself.

The 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham knew the oppressive power of being permanently watched. His idea of a self-watching prison called a Panopticon was a dystopian experiment in how to control the minds of prisoners. In the modern age, we are watched by CCTV and we watch each other with our phones.

Since early observations of the Hawthorn effect, many studies (1,2,3) have shown the psychological impact of surveillance on the individual. People are less likely to speak freely and act authentically. We trust less and participate less. But for some, the most concerning effect is the reduction in creativity and self-expression. Bentham predicted social conformity would reduce bad behaviour. He didn't anticipate it would limit people's creative instincts and reduce innovation.

So if you fear missing out when you switch off, consider instead that you're actually making the most of who you are. With screens on, you're self-censoring. With screens off, you're activating the creativity and self-expression your brain craves.

Short-term news cycles are always pessimistic. Zoom out. #TheBrightSide

image: Nocturnal Landscape with Moonlight by Ken Browne