If you are walking down the street and hear expressions like "very demure", someone saying "I'm a Black Cat and you're a Golden Retriever", or if you are able to see an image of a dolphin and instantly think of Clean Bandit's song "Symphony", these may be signs that you spend a lot of time on the internet.

The expression

The RAE defines "chronic" as that which is habitual, being used to denote illnesses or ailments that are felt repeatedly over time. Recently the term "chronically" has been put alongside an "online", a topic of debate, especially for Generation Z, which is experiencing life where the cell phone seems to be an extension of the body. They have put under observation and analysis the amount of time that can be spent online and the already observable consequences of its use.

In recent years, several studies have revealed that excessive use of technology can cause sleep problems, anxiety, low self-esteem, irritability as well as a decrease in our ability to concentrate.

How can we deal with a problem intrinsically related to a device that is indispensable to the life of the modern human being? The answers are offered by those who become adults in a digital age.

The "Mobile Circuit"

Ana Perez(@nacidramatica on Instagram) in her book "Therapy to go" (2023) points out that while the phone has been a great help for communication, professional activity and accessibility to information, there is also a programming in the apps to capture attention and use it as long as possible since, in her words, the more time you spend a day, the more ads they can show us and the more money they make.

The psychologist born in 2000, who is part of Gen Z, mentions that apps analyze the user's preferred content to then show it to them so that they end up spending more time on the app; giving rise then to the "mobile circuit" whereby: "we go through different apps and it is always usually the same (...) a circuit that we repeat frequently and that makes us waste a lot of time".

Young people are looking to "break the circle".

Being the percentage that should be used to a world full of stimulus, Generation Z chooses not to post much and prefer trends from the past. Several content creators in this age range, under 30, have raised awareness to decrease screen time.

Irene Nortes, a 25-year-old Spanish youtuber, in her video "how to stop being addicted to mobile" segments a guide to combat this from the perspective of a person who, for her very career, must be in an online world; emphasizing on:

• Stop giving power to a device.

• Be aware of what you use your cell phone for and what the apps you currently use contribute.

• Train your mind to perform activities in the real world.

• Not using the phone when waking up and before going to sleep.

• Get away from the device physically.

• Do activities that involve being present.

Nortes also reminds us that: "it's no use watching a video if you don't take action".

Is it possible to live "as before"?

Today, humans are facing a future where it seems that social networks are not an option but something natural: we socialize, acquire knowledge, watch the news and even buy and sell through them because we can reach a larger number of people than on the physical plane.

The world and its way of functioning as it was conceived was transformed by giving us many tools and creating its own barriers. Future generations have the responsibility to shape the way this window of possibilities is used as well as to set the boundaries within an online community where there seem to be none.