Digital Wellness Lessons from Inside Out: Finding Harmony Online
“In a very real sense, we have two minds – one that thinks and one that feels.” – Daniel Goleman
Emotions are at the core of what make us human. The ability to feel, analyze and react to our surroundings is unique to every individual, yet it connects us all. Every decisionwe make is influenced by our emotional intelligence. Have you ever wondered how life might change if our emotions guided our digital consumption habits—much like in the movie Inside Out, where Riley’s emotions work together to bring balance and coherence to her life?
Digital devices have become integral to our daily lives, shaping how we wake up, communicate, work, and wind down. With such pervasive influence, it’s essential to regulate our emotional responses to our digital interactions.
The Inside out series beautifully showcases the importance of emotional regulation and symphony of body and mind. Learning from Riley’s character and her 5emotions (Joy, Sadness,Fear, Disgust and Anger), let us explore how emotional well-being is intricately linked to digital wellness.
Lesson 1: The Brittle Game of Balance
In the depths of her mental world, Riley’s emotions worked hard to establish a harmony for her to function well. In this, “Joy” often took the lead to manage it all while the due recognition that other emotions like “sadness” deserved were not given. This symbolizes that allowing only one point of view to take the lead often creates misbalance and monotony in life.
This imbalance mirrors our digital lives. When we allow one emotion or impulse—such as the joy of instant gratification—to dominate, we risk neglecting other vital aspects of our well-being.
Endless scrolling, constant notifications, and impulsive online interactions can create a sense of imbalance. According to the National Institute of Health,the increased usage of digital devices can have effects on brain functioning that will compromise sleep and cognitive activeness source. Similarly, a Canadian study found that children with over two hours of daily screen time were eight times more likely to develop ADHD compared to those with less screen exposure. Source
These findings underscore the importance of mindful digital habits.
Lesson 2: Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth!
When “sadness” accidently touched Riley’s Core memories making her anxious and restless. It leads us to understand that sudden exposure to a lot of information makes us stressed and overwhelmed. Riley was not in the “mental state” to deal with and process so much at the given moment.
Similarly, the availability of countless options may not always lead to efficiency and better outcomes. Yes, World Wide Web has made the world a global connected village but who will draw the line to limit the available information?Feeling bombarded by too many options on the internet is a common experience often referred to as "choice overload" or "the paradox of choice," where the sheer abundance of available content across different platforms can lead to decision fatigue and a sense of being unable to choose anything at all due to the overwhelming number of options.
This loop of choices often causes distress, and a human is more prone to taking faulty decisions in such situations. Even if an individual decides on something, there is a constant FOMO about the other choices that could have been better. Striking a balance and setting boundaries can help mitigate this overwhelm.
Lesson 3: The Myth of Digital Detox- Is Complete Isolation the Solution?
At a point in the story “joy” and “sadness” accidently get lost in the depths of Riley’s mind. Leaving the other 3 emotions alone and independent. From here, Riley’s life begins to go downhill. This proves that we need a little bit of everything to make life function smoothly. Extreme reliance or cancellation of one aspect leads to ambiguity.
Some may believe that cutting off completely from digital devices may lead you to a healthier lifestyle. Most influencers also propagate this idea with challenges like “24 hours without mobile phone”, “One month without social media”.
However, as tempting and inspiring this might sound, it does not solve the problem but only suppress it for the time being. True digital wellness comes from resilience and self-regulation, not avoidance. Cutting off digital use entirely is like compressing a spring—the pent-up energy will eventually rebound. Instead, we should focus on building healthier habits and learning to manage our impulses over time.
The solution is not to let the urges die but to learn how to manage them. This only comes with practice and everyday decisions.(Learn to balance your digital life)
Lesson 4: Embracing Change: A Catalyst for Growth
If Riley would have never moved out from Minnesota she wouldn’t have got to know her true potential. The other emotions may have never realized the importance of “sadness”. A change is what pushed Riley and her emotions to grow out of their comfort zone and strive for better functioning.
Alterations aren’t bad if they bring along a new perspective with them. If you are unable to change your digital habits, you can try start small and change the default features of the device. Several apps allow you to make modifications to their settings to ensure your limited usage. Simple steps like turning off autoplay on YouTube, limiting notifications, setting an average usage time limit may motivate you to not over consume. Additional steps like switching to podcasts instead of short videos, having grayscale mode to reduce visual appearance help in controlling dopamine and cortical levels. (Learn about more such suggestions )
Lesson 5: Know Yourself-Inside and Out
Sadness is an emotion that no one desires to have. But towards the end, we see the crucial role that sadness plays to help Riley reconnect with herself. It is important to acknowledge the change that you need in your perspective. While throughout the movie, “Joy” seemed as the hero that saved the day, it was actually “sadness” that ran the show from behind the curtains.
The most important step in the journey of Digital wellness is to ensure that you identify the need for a change and understand that why you need this change. Embracing every emotion and every dimension leads to a satisfactory life. Acceptance of lack of control and self regulation in the context of digital usage is essential to change the behavior. As it is said, “To fight a problem you must know what the problem is. Identify your poor digital habits that affect your functioning, lay out a blueprint to change them and take one step at a time. (Planning to change your Digital Habits? Have some Inspiration )
Make sure to unhinge from your digital devices for a while and you can sit together with your loved ones to watch this thought provoking movie about human emotions and share your insights in the comments below. The movie’s exploration of emotions offers valuable lessons for both children and adults.
Watch Inside Out on Amazon Prime, YouTube and Google Play
Let this be an opportunity to reconnect—both with your loved ones and with yourself.
-Chandrani and Rijul
