Hyper Functional, Ultra Healthy | Dr Romy Gad el Rab: Digital Depletion and Conscious Computing

Burnout in an era of Hyperconnectivity

How can we consciously compute? Psychiatrist and Hyphen-Labs researcher Dr Romy Gad el Rab explores this era of hyperconnectivity and the effects of technology on mental health.

Over the past year, balancing work and leisure has become a dance between multiple screens. With apps designed to trigger our reward systems, and an anxious hyperalertness brought on by online over-availability, we find ourselves reaching a point of digital burnout.  

The new year is here, with over 47,000 health apps to choose from, from quantified self-tracking and digital phone locks, to neatly packaged audio files of pseudo spirituality. Are these really the solution or are they just adding to our digital burden? Dr Romy Gad el Rab explores these questions.

Hyper Functional, Ultra Healthy is a dynamic programme of new commissions, films, workshops, and conversations considering both our individual health and collective wellbeing by exploring societal and ecological issues that affect both people and planet.  

About the Speaker

Dr Romy Gad el Rab is a Consultant Psychiatrist, and clinical research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London. She is interested in the condition of the human mind and the effects of technology on our mental health. She is a resident at Somerset House Studios as part of Hyphen-Labs, an international team of artists, engineers, scientists and architects, creating at the intersection of art and emerging technology.