A study published in Nature Portfolio investigates the relationship between our sense of identity during the COVID-19 lockdown and our increased digital intake.
According to the study, a shift towards a hyper-digitalized lifestyle and self-isolation can lead to dissociative disorders. Depersonalization (DP) is described as feeling separate from oneself. Those who experience this phenomenon express concern about feeling out of their own body, feeling on autopilot or even feeling the sensation of floating. Usually triggered by severe trauma or emotional distress, derealization, or the feeling of living in a different world or in a dreamlike state, it forces oneself into extreme detachment from the environment. When experienced chronically, it can lead to a diagnosis of depersonalization-derealization disorder.
In an international online study, 622 participants completed the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS-29) questionnaire and lifestyle survey to identify PD experiences and the intensity of positive or negative emotions before and during COVID -19. Notable changes in behavior were reported, such as living a more sedentary lifestyle with fewer physical gatherings and proximal movements, i.e. touching fewer surfaces, objects, or people. Instead, people spent more time watching movies, TV, and YouTube videos, playing video games, and meeting people online than engaging in physical labor or manual labor activities, such as visiting others or exercising.
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The researchers found that although most participants remained connected online with others during the pandemic, an increase in digital communication also increased PD experiences. Negative emotions during lockdown were also more vivid than positive emotions experienced.
Study limitations included data from 2 principal component analyzes (PCA). One PCA measured the frequency of each activity while the other PCA identified differences in lifestyle habits before and during the pandemic. The lifestyle survey required each participant to recall daily life from the previous 6 months, which could compromise the results. Also, the season of each country may have varied for each participant, ie summer, outdoor activities versus winter, indoor activities.
The researchers concluded: “Our study may help address key questions related to human well-being in the general population during a lockdown. Our results suggest that, paradoxically, increasing online social interactions and digital activities may have negative effects in some people, such as inducing feelings of living more in the ‘head’ (mind) and less in the body. These findings also point to potential risks related to overly sedentary and hyper-digital lifestyles that can make people feel less ‘real’ and less connected to their immediate physical and social environment.”
Reference
Ciaunica, A., McEllin, L., Kiverstein, J, Gallese V, Hohwy J, Woźniak M. Zoomed out: Digital media use and experiences of depersonalization during the COVID-19 lockdown. scientific Representative 12, 3888 (2022). doi:10.1038/s41598-022-07657-8
Source: www.psychiatryadvisor.com