Most of us spend our lives surrounded by screens, which offer us convenience as well as connection and an ocean of information. But since it’s easy to feel pressured to keep up with every notification, technology may feel more like a burden than a blessing. Thus, the idea of “digital detox” is becoming increasingly inviting.

The phrase “digital detox” describes getting rid of TV, phones, computers and other forms of technology that control our lives for a period of time. Some experts advocate completely avoiding unnecessary screen time for 30 years. Others suggest using an app that will limit the amount of time one can spend on certain websites. A third option is logging out in evenings or on weekends. Others simply turn their phones off at scheduled times. Some even pay high prices to take vacations in places where they can unplug from their digital routine.

Why might you want to take a digital detox? Perhaps you find that you are spending longer than you intend on certain apps or that they distract you from more important things. Perhaps social media is depressing because you compare yourself to others or you fear missing out on things that other people are enjoying. Constant negative news can also give rise to a lot of stress.

Technology can also have physical effects. Many people experience back or neck pain as a result of bending over screens. The blue light coming from most screens can also affect people’s sleep by preventing production of melatonin (褪黑素).

Giving up all screens may not be realistic, but strategic breaks from technology may be good for your body, mind, emotions and relationships. It is high time that you picked a time to turn off your devices and focus on really important things.

When you look through Facebook, you can see posts about simple stretches to make the back pain less, how to make apple pie, and how to be single and happy. Or if you go on Youtube, you can find fashion experts talking about makeup tips, or Youtubers teaching playing the guitar. But those stretching exercises, the way to make apple pie, how to be happy being single, how to make up, and how to play the guitar better are things that most people never master doing at the end.

Technology has brought a surplus (过剩) of information to the world, but it hasn’t made people smarter. On average, people spend 50 minutes per day on Facebook alone. Being exposed to this surplus information is not the same as internalizing (内在化) the information really, so it doesn’t make people better at thinking, understanding and learning.

Today, the quality of the knowledge is sacrificed for quantity. There’s disequilibrium between the information we access and the information that we use. The chase (追求) for more information is exciting too. The desire to keep up sends most people looking through Facebook on a frequent basis. People are troubled by the fear of missing out. Most are up to date on impressive stories, and are sharing like mad on Facebook and WhatsApp, but convenient access to knowledge is no replacement for deep learning through effort and concentration. Only very little of the easily-accessed information have people really applied in their lives.

While it’d be perfect to absorb and apply 100% of the information, it’s not quite possible. If you want to hang onto information for a long time, you’ll need to be selective about what you choose to absorb.

Get a brain filter (过滤器). Looking through the Internet is a passive form of knowledge acquisition (知识的获得). The amount of information that you can access is always going to be more than you can process. To focus on the information you take in, remove the information that doesn’t make you become better than before. What must you learn to be successful? Taking this simple step enables you to pass over unrelated information.

Knowledge isn’t useful until you can apply it. If you are trying to learn a new skill, you’ll have to do the things that you’ve read about in your research. Until you’ve made many attempts to master the ski-trick you saw on Youtube, you haven’t internalized it. When you can land the trick without thinking or recall information without struggling, it is yours. True learning is not always easy. You’ll experience struggles as you deal with new challenges and go through the Digital Age.

WeChat, one of the world’s most popular mobile apps and social networks, brought home iF Gold Award for its smart retail innovation, Scan & Go. It is the first ever Chinese product to win4 gold in the iF Service Design category.

Established in 1953, the German-based iF Design Award has always been known for its “Independent, Rigorous(细致的) and Reliable” standards.

Scan & Go enables shoppers at retail stores to turn their mobile phone into a virtual checkout counter. When shopping, customers use their mobile phones to scan product barcodes(条形码), view product information, get discounts, complete self-checkout, and pay directly within the app via WeChat Pay. There is no queuing up at the cash register.

According to statistics, sales during peak hours in traditional supermarkets account for 60% of total turnover, and on average customers spend three to five minutes on queueing and payment during peak hours. With Scan & Go, customers no longer have to queue, and the payment time is shortened to one minute.

In order to realize queue-less purchasing, the WeChat team greatly optimizes retailers’ in-store customer handling efficiency during peak hours, and enables overall management of the consumer traffic flow. By introducing dedicated lanes for Scan & Go, supermarkets have achieved over a five-fold increase in converting(转变) digital members within two months.

In addition to improving retailers’ checkout efficiency and providing customers with a better shopping experience, Scan & Go also combines promotion and marketing modes through Mini Programs, to help increase sales. It helps retailers(零售商) to link the online and offline aspects of their business, and has become the standard tool in China for merchants to realize digital transformation. Scan & Go is now widely used by retailers in China.