As someone who works in the digital world, I am all too familiar with the toll technology can take. It’s a constant issue I see with my clients and colleagues. The barrage of notifications, the pressure to reply instantly, and the endless scroll of social media information overload us all and can be detrimental to our mental health. In fact, ‘digital burnout’ is more widespread than ever, with a significant rise likely due to the pandemic years, often blurring the lines between our personal and professional lives. 

What is digital burnout?
Digital burnout is the mental and emotional exhaustion caused by spending excessive time on digital devices and online activities. Fatigue, anxiety, disengagement, and apathy are all symptoms of this, but it can also prompt physical effects like chest pains and long-term sickness.

During the workday, for example, our brains are constantly bombarded as we flit between tasks across multiple devices. This creates a state of urgency and fuels our adrenaline. We’re ‘always on’, whether that’s attending Zoom calls, responding to emails and messages, or keeping up with industry news on social media. Switching off just isn’t easy in our hyper-connected age.

Searching for dopamine
Have you ever reached for your phone on autopilot, clicked on an app, and suddenly found yourself mindlessly scrolling for what feels like hours? You’re not alone. According to a McKinsey Health Institute Survey in 2023, over one-third of Gen Z respondents said they spend more than two hours each day on social media sites. However, Millennials take the crown for most active users, with 32 percent stating they post either daily or multiple times a day.  This constant social media engagement fuels our desire for dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. 

Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are designed to be dopamine factories.  “Likes,” notifications, and new content alerts all create a sense of anticipation and reward, keeping us glued to our screens.  This triggers a ‘dopamine loop’ where the initial pleasure of social media use fuels the desire for more, leading to compulsive checking.

As Anna Lembke explains in her New York Times Bestseller, ‘Dopamine Nation,’ these platforms tap into our intrinsic need to connect with other humans. But by manipulating our dopamine pathways, they can turn this healthy desire into an unhealthy dependence.

Tips to reduce your screen time
We should all set boundaries when it comes to how much time we spend on digital devices and here’s how:

1. Set boundaries: Setting some solid rules around phone usage is a practice many people could benefit from. Whether it is leaving your phone in a different room at night and using an old-fashioned alarm clock to wake you up in the morning or experimenting with setting time limits for social media use (a good starting point might be 30 minutes or an hour). Frequent breaks are the key to cutting down on the amount of mindless content you might be absorbing.

2. Curate your feed: Have a look at who you are following, who is following you and what you are seeing on your ‘Explore’ page. You can control all of these facets easily and sometimes, a clear-out of uninspiring follows is a great mental refresh. Remember you can also select a ‘close friends’ list on Instagram and choose who to share your content with.

3. Elminate distractions: While we would probably all love to switch our phones off for a few hours or even days, it’s not realistic when we rely on our devices for so much of our lives. Instead, you can use tools such as ‘Focus Mode’ on the iPhone which allows you to disable certain functionalities at different times of the day. With social media, there are a whole host of settings you can change to streamline what you see and have access to. This includes limiting direct messages from strangers, and managing notifications for likes and comments, or even consider turning them off entirely for a more drastic approach.

In the workplace
If you work from home, even if it’s only for part of the week, take a critical look at your work-life balance. If it doesn’t feel right, speak to your manager and see how you can improve the situation. Remember, reaching the point of digital burnout can be detrimental to your well-being. Mental health is extremely important, and any good manager will be happy to help you manage your time and stress levels more effectively. You can also speak to a professional such as a doctor or psychologist to discuss any concerns and check up on your overall wellbeing.

As a CEO, I believe it is incredibly important to lead by example. I want my team to enjoy their time away from work in the evenings and weekends and to be able to switch off. I strive to model this behavior in everything I do. It’s mainly about offering autonomy – empowering our employees with a degree of flexibility and ownership over their work. For instance, we offer flexible work schedules and trust employees to manage their workload effectively. We also value and support their boundaries by discussing clear ‘off-line’ hours, so they’re not expected to respond to emails after a certain time.

Across society, whether in the workplace or at home, whether for children or adults, balanced tech usage is the key to preserving mental wellbeing. Take a few minutes today to change your settings, switch off or mute notifications, and you’ll instantly feel lighter.

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Following a tremendously successful year marked by pivotal projects within the GCC’s hospitality industry, such as Atlantis the Royal and One & Only One Za’abeel, among others, Like Digital & Partners’ venture into Saudi Arabia signifies a new chapter in its rapid growth trajectory.

Renowned for providing digital transformation services to some of the world’s leading retail and luxury brands, Like Digital & Partners currently operates from offices in Dubai and London. Its expansion into Saudi Arabia underscores the agency’s commitment to the region, facilitating enhanced client engagement and fostering a deeper understanding of the local business landscape.

Like Digital & Partners aims to employ 10-15 members of staff based in the KSA office by the end of 2025, which will create new jobs primarily in the fields of project management and UX/UI design.

Experts in digitalising the hospitality experience, the company is perfectly placed to support the influx of new hotels and resorts entering the Kingdom over the coming years.

Karl Escritt, Chief Executive Officer of Like Digital & Partners, expressed his enthusiasm: “As we continue our rapid expansion into the GCC market and beyond, we are delighted to lay down roots in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Having dedicated years to nurturing our business in the Kingdom and developing our knowledge and expertise of the market, we are looking forward to further strengthening our ties and servicing new clients. The visionary ambitions of Saudi Arabia’s leadership are truly inspiring, and Like Digital & Partners is poised to wholeheartedly support the objectives of Vision 2030.”

With established offices in Dubai and London, Like Digital & Partners boasts an award-winning team comprising expert designers, e-commerce strategists, growth planners, developers, and content marketers. Specializing in the luxury, fashion, and hospitality sectors, the agency serves a distinguished clientele, including Mulberry, One&Only Resorts, Chalhoub Group, Majid Al Futtaim Group, Atlantis Royal, Atlantis The Palm, La Perla, and De Beers, among others. The agency excels in Digital Transformation Strategy, Brand and Content Marketing, Growth Strategy, UX & UI Design, and Technology & Development.

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A recent addition to AstroLabs’ diverse and ever-growing expansion network, and known for its innovative, results-driven approach, Like Digital offers tailored solutions for companies to enhance brands’ online visibility, generate leads, and boost sales, enabling them to stay attuned to industry shifts and stand out from the competition. The company offers a broad range of services in digital strategy, including web design and development, UX design, copywriting, application design and development, e-commerce solutions, SEO, marketing, branding, and creative design services, among many more.

Co-founder & CEO of Like Digital, Karl Escritt, commented on the strategic move to Saudi Arabia: “With digital transformation in Saudi Arabia happening at such speed, Like Digital’s expansion into the Saudi market comes at a very exciting time and we are looking forward to being part of this incredible digital future.”

AstroLabs’ Director of Expansion, Alex Nicholls, shared that the company’s partnership with Like Digital exemplifies a shared vision to propel the digital-first vision in the Kingdom, which is a core focus of the nation’s economic transformation roadmap.

“Expanding a company such as Like Digital, renowned for its global perspective and top-tier expertise in pivotal sectors such as hospitality, retail, and luxury, presents a gateway to unlocking growth potentials across diverse sectors in Saudi Arabia. This, in turn, magnifies the company’s impact on the economy, directly fueling the growth of the digital economy in the Kingdom. We are excited to see Like Digital support the development of strategic industries through its digital transformation services in Saudi Arabia.”

Like Digital was formed on the premise of delivering growth-oriented digital services that empower brands to effectively engage with their customers and increase their product reach. With a fast-growing client base and a team of seasoned specialists and marketing virtuosos, Like Digital is uniquely positioned to equip businesses in Saudi Arabia with the necessary tools to improve their agility and thrive in the digital age.

Having served top retail brands like Chalhoub Group and Majid Al Futtaim, Like Digital is poised for continued growth with its Saudi market foray. The company’s expansion comes at a pivotal time for businesses in Saudi Arabia, with an ongoing economic transformation drive catalyzing the demand for automation and frictionless, personalized customer experiences across multiple industries.

Saudi Arabia has grown to be a strategic location and a global hub where innovators can benefit from its thriving business landscape and world-class internet connectivity, offering the ideal place for the likes of Like Digital to expand their footprint and assist companies to succeed in the Kingdom’s digital realm.

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Once the realm of sci-fi films and nihilistic novels, AI (artificial intelligence) has firmly entered our everyday vernacular over the past few years. Whether it’s watercooler discussions over whether Chat-GPT is coming for your copywriting job, or the very real fear generated by Diary of a CEO’s interview with Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google – who claims that AI poses a bigger threat to the world than climate change – there’s no escaping the prevalence of AI.

While AI is not a new concept (the term ‘artificial intelligence’ first came into common usage in the 1950s), it has recently experienced a meteoric rise in terms of both functionality and accessibility. What was previously the domain of an exclusive club of scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers, AI is now open to anyone with access to the internet, bringing myriad possibilities and pitfalls to our fingertips.

And it shows no signs of slowing down… According to a recent article in the Harvard Gazette, the global business spend on AI services will top US $50 billion this year and is expected to reach US$ 110 billion in 2024.

Benefits of AI for businesses
When used correctly, there’s no denying that AI can bring substantial benefits to businesses. Key advantages include increased efficiency and streamlining of processes; optimization of logistics, workflow and resources; enhanced productivity; better decision making and data analysis; and error avoidance, as you remove the human element – all of which can lead to improved customer satisfaction and measurable cost savings.

According to the PwC 2022 AI Business Survey, 86% of CEOs view AI as an essential aspect of their operations, as leaders leverage “data, cloud and analytics for a bigger payoff.” Of the 1,000 survey respondents, the highest success lies with those businesses that are taking a holistic approach to AI integration. Rather than focusing on one goal at a time, these AI leaders are implementing core competencies in three areas simultaneously: business transformation, enhanced decision-making, and modernised systems and processes.

The report notes that these ‘AI leaders’ are twice as likely to report “substantial value from AI initiatives to improve productivity, decision-making, customer experience, product and service innovation and employee experience” than those businesses that are taking a piecemeal approach.

In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Tsedal Neeley noted that AI technology is not simply a tool for making us work faster – it is a set of systems for collaboration that can identify patterns the human eye cannot see, providing data-based insights, analysis, predictions and suggestions. If you start to view AI as a way to improve business from a bird’s eye view, you can begin to harness its full potential.

The ethics and accountability of AI
For businesses today, it’s not a matter of if they will adopt AI within their workplace, but rather, when. OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia have brought AI within reach of everyone from students writing their term papers to top-tier organisations, but with this comes the entirely unchartered waters of ethics and accountability – and whether the robots really are coming for jobs. As AI technology excels at a pace that laws and legislators cannot keep up with, the responsibility for ethics and accountability currently lies with each individual user.

As AI can process data at a rate far faster than anything we’ve seen before, transparency becomes vital in terms of how the data is sourced, analysed, and implemented. Neeley cites the large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s Chat-GPT or Microsoft’s Bing, which are “trained on massive datasets of books, webpages, and documents scraped from across the internet — OpenAI’s LLM was trained using 175 billion parameters”. This opens AI up to unintentional bias, as it is trained on data sets that may not be representative of the global population. To avoid this bias being embedded into the AI systems, developers are being called on to include more diversity in their data sets and in the make-up of their teams. Only then can we ensure AI is truly for all.

Many AI algorithms are self-learning, constantly evolving and refining their output, which, when left unchecked, could lead to the perpetuation of harmful bias, the spread of misinformation, privacy violations, security breaches, and even harm to the environment, Neeley notes. Before sharing sensitive information with an AI programme, business owners should ensure privacy and end-to-end security is embedded into the design of the programme. For those that are processing sensitive details, such as employee information, businesses should consider hiring a privacy expert for their team.

The human element
Much of the general discussion around AI is whether these systems will replace humans in the workforce. While there are some areas where AI far exceeds human capabilities, particularly in medical and tactical military fields where its precision and insight is light years ahead, in many instances AI output is missing that much-desired human element. Whether it’s emotion and empathy in copywriting, originality in design, or personalised risk assessment in finance, AI can’t replace the individual nuances of the human workforce… yet.

What comes next?
In terms of future-proofing the world from the potential pitfalls of AI, global players are recognising the need for a united front. The European Union is in the process of drafting its Artificial Intelligence Act, which proposes three tiers of risk categories: unacceptable risk (such as the social scoring employed by the Chinese government – and famously parodied in Black Mirror); high-risk (such as CV-scanning tools, which should be subject to specific legal requirements); and those that are neither banned or high-risk, which could be left unregulated.

Globally, a collection of non-profits and research institutes such as the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and the Responsible AI Initiative are establishing their own ethical standards, guiding companies in the use of AI to protect consumers and employees.

And while Elon Musk previously called for a pause in the creation of AI digital minds, along with Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, and Emad Mostaque, who founded London-based Stability AI, he now feels that ship has sailed. As the co-founder of OpenAI, Musk believes the way to avoid what he describes as a “Terminator future” is to create an AI programme that is at least as smart as humans. In announcing his superintelligence programme xAI on Twitter in July, he said “From an AI safety standpoint … a maximally curious AI, one that is trying to understand the universe, is I think going to be pro-humanity.”

The only thing that’s certain is that AI is here to stay – now we humans just need to stay in control.

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