For people who work in the IT industry or read online tech newspapers religiously, the term “tech fatigue” might seem like something relatable. It’s one of those things that makes some people grumpy in the morning and unable to go about their day without turning into a big red ball of cynicism. But what exactly makes this happen? Can we even define it? And if we can, what is the cure?
Getting Acquainted with Tech Fatigue
We are not only surrounded by screens every day but also constantly bombarded with new tech announcements that are either overhyped or somewhat promising. People who follow these developments on a daily basis might eventually tune them all out as background noise and just go about their day with a very sober sense of reality. Sometimes, being bombarded with new things makes you (ironically) lose your optimism along the way and might even make you grumpy as the barrage makes its way to your news feed on a daily basis.
In some ways, you might feel a sense of apathy that cements itself as time passes, giving you an inclination to just swing in another direction, clicking or scrolling past things that might have previously caught your interest.
This phenomenon is kind of similar to the one that takes place in the era of the 24-hour news cycle, where people who often follow the news find themselves desensitized to events like natural disasters and scenes of violence. The apathy sets in once you get accustomed to seeing these scenes, and you’re no longer moved by them.
Everyone is different. For some people, tech fatigue will never really take root for a long time. The apathy will go away after a day or so. For others, it’s something that plants itself in their minds and gives them a strong dose of cynicism.
How to Cope With It
People have different ways of coping with things that happen to them. In this particular case it would probably be helpful to try to “center” yourself, kind of like pressing a reset button in your brain. Take your dog out for a walk, go out in nature, or do whatever helps you get to a point where you don’t feel the need to check your feed every five seconds.
The idea here is to try to take a very limited break from the daily cycle of stories and announcements that hammer at your brain like a deaf man ringing a bell. It’s basically a more intense version of “me” time.
Just like how your devices and equipment need regular maintenance, your brain also needs a little bit of rest to process the world around it properly!
A Little Cynicism Isn’t the Worst Thing in The World
It’s important not to confuse tech fatigue and “looking past hype.” Tech fatigue happens when you start viewing every single new development in technology with a pair of green lens, no matter how promising it is (specifically because you’ve become apathetic to the daily bombardment of announcements). Our world is evolving at a rapid pace, and it’s normal to get a little jaded. But it’s equally important to look past all of the over-inflated optimism that some startups sometimes have about their products and look at everything with a more sober point of view.
Have you ever felt tech fatigue? What kinds of coping mechanisms did you use to get over it? Let’s talk about it in a comment!
Miguel has been a business growth and technology expert for more than a decade and has written software for even longer. From his little castle in Romania, he presents cold and analytical perspectives to things that affect the tech world.
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