From Smoke Signals to Smartphones: How Technology Shapes Our Anxiety
Anxiety is as old as humanity — but the way we experience it has shifted dramatically with each leap in technology.
Imagine it’s 10,000 BCE. You wake in the night to distant howls. Your brain fires up: danger nearby. The anxiety is brief, tied to immediate survival.
Now jump to 1820. You open a newspaper over breakfast. A shipwreck hundreds of miles away grips your attention. Your brain reacts as if the danger is near, even though you’re safe. This is the first time in history ordinary people regularly felt anxiety about events they could not control or escape.
By the late 1800s, the telegraph and mass printing meant bad news could travel at lightning speed. The human mind, still wired for local threats, struggled to adapt. Cognitions — our interpretations of events — became the amplifiers. A headline wasn’t just a story; it became a seed for rumination, worry, and behavioral changes like avoiding crowds or hoarding supplies.
Fast-forward to today: smartphones stream global crises to us in real time. The volume, speed, and emotional charge of modern news can keep our threat systems in a constant state of readiness.
Managing the Modern Mind
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help us challenge unhelpful thinking patterns, asking: Is this thought true, helpful, or in my control? While other helpful approaches teach us to notice anxious thoughts without letting them dictate our actions, re-anchoring in values rather than fear.
The takeaway? Our nervous system hasn’t evolved as fast as our newsfeed. But by shaping our relationship with information — and our own thoughts — we can live more calmly in an always-on world.
If anxiety has become a problem, reach out to us at California Coastal Mental Health — we’re here to help.
If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, this blog is part of our podcast “California Coastal Mindset” with an episode releasing next week, where we’ll share tips and a deeper dive into the history, psychology, and practical tools to manage anxiety in the modern era.
