What Is Digital Detox – How To Make It Effective

Digital Detox is a conscious decision to stay away from the digital world temporarily. The focus is to create

Less stress , More interaction with the physical world.

Though this is a very generic meaning, what level you want to refrain from technology and how, falls entirely within your judgment. There is no defined pace in which detox can be done.

Most people welcome this kind of disruption to their constant use of phones, to bring their lifestyle back on track. The concept of digital detox is clouded with arguments that goes both ways,

Digital Detox is proven to give good results or digital detox does not have enough scientific evidence. There are many arguments that support the good benefits and many that still argue there have been no properly established connection between a digital detox and health benefits.

So why should we take this seriously?

Role of smart phones

We are highly dependent on our smart phones in our daily lives. Our work and entertainment have constantly revolved around it. When this trend continues for a long time, it comes to a point where life without a smart phone is unimaginable. This constant usage can give rise to anxiety and stress that you feel burnt out in extreme cases. This is called a smart phone addiction.

Here is my own experience of how I stayed off my phone for 6 weeks and the impact it had on me. My detox was not intentional but it made me take the concept of a digital detox seriously.

But all digital detox need not happen at that extreme point.

Instead observe how your behavior with your smart phone is.

• Do you constantly carry it everywhere?
• Do you spend maximum time of your day on the phone?
• Is your phone deciding how your day should be?
• Do you feel, it has come to a point where it seems impossible to operate without the phone?
• Does the idea of staying away from your phone even 24 hours seem impossible?

Then it is time for a digital detox.

Scientific evidence

In this survey of a digital marketer, 80% of people between the age group of 18 to 30 have said that a smart phone is the last thing they see before going to bed and the first thing they see in the morning. 40% of people had responded that they could not live without their phone even for a day.

This research report says 41% of Indians do not go on vacations because of their work and 34% check their mails atleast once per day.

Work is the biggest factor for our heavy dependence on technology. Entertainment comes a close second.

What does this data show?

That we do not consciously monitor our mobile usage anymore. We do not know how many actual hours we are spending on our smart phones. Technology has taken over our lives in a very big way and it is not going to change anytime soon.

Nomophobia

Did you know there is a medical name for the fear of not having access to the mobile phone?

Its called NOMOPHOBIA. Its short for NO Mobile PHOBIA.

In the present scenario, all of us are dependent on our mobile phones to some extent. Tech addiction is a real challenge to not just a country like India but to every country in the world. A mobile phone is more than an accessory. It defines us and is a part of us, staying with us from morning till night. Not a day passes by without checking mails,messages, getting entertained or simply not touching the phone.

It has come to a point where the technology which is meant to serve us has taken hold of us completely.

Technology just does not hold a pocket space anymore.

It holds our mind space and rules our time.

This mobile problem is so enmeshed in our daily lives that we cannot separate and identify the problem any more. Constant use has triggered even kids to take to it at such a young age when they should ideally stay away from it.

The only way here is to acknowledge there is a problem and try to limit the usage of mobiles and the dependency on them.

Impact of technology

Instant Gratification

The constant search for instant gratification through movies, music,social media and games is very dangerous.

No one has the patience to wait for anything anymore.

If a movie is not available in netflix, go to amazon prime.If not in prime, go to hotstar or youtube.

Same applies for entertainment, health, parenting. The search for the correct answer quickly and easily is constant. Instead of simplifying our needs, the smart phone complicates our emotions and needs.

• Do you see a movie because you wanted to see it or because you don’t want to be left out when your friends discuss it?
• Do you buy a product because you need it or because you want to appear COOL?

And even if you watch that movie or buy that product, do you take time to enjoy it. NO! Because the next big thing already landed on your phones while you were busy watching that movie.

The lines are blurring. There is no clarity between what is a want and a need anymore. Everything seems urgent,important and a life-or-death issue.

There is no satisfaction even when you explore a hundred different things.

Stress

A mobile phone is carried from morning to night to do various activities. Gone are the days when the phone only served the simple purpose of talking. It is the era of multi-tasking and the smart phone lies in its core. When taking care of so many things at once, it naturally causes a great deal of stress.

• The timelines of various activities are different
• The deadlines are varying
• Goals are different
• There are multiple constants and variables within each task
• Time becomes a crucial factor
• Memory and reasoning are over-stretched

All these together cause a great deal of stress on the system. Imagine this scenario happening every day. That is the level of stress we are talking about.

Constant Comparison

It is difficult to be happy and satisfied when you are constantly pitted against your classmates, colleagues,parent group members, gym mates or any other social group. The gateway to all that is the smart phone. It causes a lot of insecurity among not just children but adults too.

• Am I doing enough?
• Are they better than me?
• Is my lifestyle the best?
• Do I have a work-life balance?

Endless questions feed the insecurity already present in the bottom of your mind.

Sleep Disruption

High usage of mobile phones have been linked to mood disorders and poor sleep in children. The body mass index is also severely affected. Children have difficulty falling asleep after using the mobile phone. Since they need more sleep than adults, they are more affected. Also prolonged exposure to a bright screen in the dark, can impact their eyesight. It can also give rise to additional problems like

• Restlessness
• Mood Disorders
• Insomnia
• Eye irritation

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

Why do we keep checking the phones?

We want to be updated about everything that is happeneing around us whether they are relevant to us or not.

FOMO is the fear of missing out on something important and exciting.

• Is my life exciting enough?
• Should I have gone to that concert?
• Will my friends see me as outdated?

So you constantly keep checking your phone.

These are just tip of the iceberg. There are still many other reasons we constantly check our phones.

Isn’t it scary to think how technology that is meant to be under your control and listen to your instructions is taking over your life slowly and completely?

We talk about smart phones primarily because that is fast becoming our single point of contact for all our technology needs.

A digital detox is common to any kind of technology be it, the computer,laptop, play station or any other high-tech gadget that you constantly use.+

What is digital detox?

A period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world.

Oxford Dictionary

Digital Detox has caused real concern so much so that it has its own definition in the dictionary.

Benefits of Digital Detox

The benefits of a digital detox depends on a lot of factors and it varies from person to person. The duration and intensity are important parameters for consideration that can decide the benefits of a digital detox. There are no fixed guidelines here. The most common benefits are

• Less Stress
• Less Anxiety
• Mindfulness
• Relaxation
• Work-life balance

The best benefits of digital detox are experienced in natural settings. Studies has showed that the color green is a very relaxing color and nature does have a profound calming effect. This has given rise to an upcoming trend called the digital detox vacation. It is basically a vacation where you do not access technology.

Children

Looking at us, even our kids have taken to our phones in a big way. Most kids think of a phone as some kind of toy for their entertainment, not really knowing the inbuilt hazards along with the million apps in the phone. Parents should be vigilant when their kids are online. Apart from the numerous issues like triggering a lack of memory,concentration or thinking, you are putting your child’s safety at risk.

How do you know that you need to take control from kids:

• Trust your instincts
• Do not hesitate to react if you think the situation is getting out of control.
• Do not bring phones into the bedroom. It hinders their sleep.
• Plan more offline fun activities – sports and social programs.

Here is a list of six proven ideas to keep children away from phones.

Young Adults

Researchers in Sweden have found that next to children young adults have severe problems.

Young adults are at a higher risk to mobile addiction than children because most teens have a phone of their own. It becomes very difficult to see what they are upto and whether they are safe online. Mobile constantly accompanies a young adult when they are walking, driving, eating and even before sleeping.

The peer pressure to fit into a high-tech society is immense and this creates lesser opportunity for teens to explore other opportunities and not just their smart phones. Cases have been on the rise with respect to teens having serious mobile addiction issues.

How many young adults have you seen, look at you and talk when they are doing something on their mobile?

Many people don’t even look up, especially young adults. Their listening skills and comprehension become vastly under developed. This kind of mobile exposure severely challenges their cognitive and emotional skills.

Since they do not have the necessary skills while growing up, as adults they are not willing to take up responsibilities. They cannot learn to update in a day.

Young adults look at responsibilities like a choice. Either they can take it or leave it.

They don’t understand that with age, our society holds every single person to a set of responsibilities and a certain degree of accountability.

One fine day when they realise this, then comes the shocker! That their answers do not lie inside a phone anymore!

That they are not equipped to handle whatever they are expected to handle in life.

At this point, their emotions overwhelm them. Mood swings become regular. If not attended to, it turns into depression. Life becomes miserable.

Digital detox for young adults

• Engage them in a variety of tasks even from an early age. This will effectively cut down their idle time. Give them small household responsibilities like watering the garden, washing the vessels or washing their own clothes.
• Set a time limit for online interaction.
• Spend more time with them to know what are they upto and who their friends are.
• Talk to them about online safety and data privacy.
• Even when they tell you uncomfortable things, listen to them fully before reacting. Take time to process the information and then react.
• If you feel, your child needs professional help, do not hesitate to seek one.
• Make sure to do the detox process gradually. If your teenager is staying online for four hours, limit it to three and then to two. You cannot directly jump from four to one. It will do more damage to their emotions than actually help.

How to use this time?

A digital detox is the best time to turn to real world things you can do. Make time for your health and happiness. Pick up a hobby that you have been really meaning to do. Gardening, Reading,painting or knitting! Try all those you really wanted to try but you were hard pressed for time.

Technology undisputedly is the single biggest consumer of our time. By restricting that one component, you save loads of time which you can make use of.

A detox time need not be a productive time. This is a constant misconception. It can be a time you can take for sitting simply and doing nothing.

Another point to note is that a detox does not mean that you completely stay away from technology. It is not possible for our current lifestyle set up. Instead you are choosing to use technology on a restricted basis.

How to do a Digital Detox

1. Make a gadget list

Write down all the gadgets you own. This way you will get to know how dependent on your gadgets you are.

2. Set a time limit

The best you can do is to limit the usage of phones. There is no escaping technology. So set a time frame and follow it dedicatedly.

3. Observe your behavior and set goals

Observe why you reach for your phone and when? According to this you can set goals that best suit for you. However small the goals are, if you are able to achieve what you have set out to do, that means you have taken the right step towards a digital detox.

It can be as simple as

• Not logging into FB on a Saturday afternoon
• Not playing candy crush more than 20 minutes
• Checking whatsapp only every four hours.

Whichever is applicable and possible for you , choose that and give it a try.

4. Share

Share that you are in a digital detox process with your friends and family. Their support will make your journey much easier.

5. One change at a time

It is impossible to do your detox overnight. The process takes a lot of time and effort. For it to be highly effective, try focusing on any one habit and do the change.Overcoming one obstacle successfully will give you the much needed confidence to go after the other goals.

6. Focus on others

One major aim of this digital detox is to give the necessary attention to people. That is exactly what smart phones have taken away. Talk and listen to people genuinely. Be an active part of your surrounding.

7. No push notifications

Turn off the push notifications for your social media. That way you can control the constant urge to check your phone.

8. Buy an alarm clock

Sounds simple,isn’t it? One major reason that mobile phones have found their way to the bedroom is the reason for setting up alarms to wake up. This functionality is actually a trap for bigger things. Get an alarm clock and don’t take your mobile to bed. It will make your digital detox process much simpler.

9. Utilise the airplane mode

If you don’t want people to disturb you for a short duration, take advantage of the airplane mode temporarily. It will give you the much needed break.

10. Take things slowly

You might have lofty detox plans, but changing a habit is never simple. Take it slowly and increase the digital detox period as you go along. You will be tempted multiple times to ditch the whole plan and go back to whatever it was you were doing before. Recognize the feeling and work on it. It is quite natural.

Now that you know about digital detox, give it a try. Start slowly and then extend the detox process.

What kind of digital detox do you want to do?