What is a digital detox, and why would anyone consider undergoing a digital detox?
These days, it is easy to find a lot of articles online on the impact of digital technology in society. The positive and negative sides of technology on the culture, on children, and many more subject targets.
This fact should make us stop and think on how we as individuals are personally subject to the use of technology every day.
Not to mention the effects technology has on us, and the level of our ability to self-control over its use.
Take social media as an example. How often are you on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, not to mention Snapchat and other social mediums?
Do you find yourself always online and continually wanting to know what is going on in other people’s lives? Or fear that each time you are not online, you are missing out on the next big thing?
Has your being on LinkedIn turned into a 24/7 job that you are not getting paid for or do you go online just to troll people and get reactions??
If yes, then it is time for a digital detox.
What Exactly Is a Digital Detox?
Just as the words already imply, a digital detox is an act of detoxing ourselves from digital devices all around us, more like a digital diet.
As defined by the Oxford dictionary, a digital detox is a period during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers. While it also described as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world.
Reasons You Might Need a Digital Diet
Mental Health
Regarding articles online on the impact of digital technology, Stanford University released a scholarly report in April 2019 titled ‘The Welfare Effects of Social Media‘.
In this article, there is considerable emphasis on the impact of social media welfare. The potential social benefits and the harms of social media that include depression, addiction and other issues.
Based on research carried out by the writers of the article, one of their main points in the report that was this:
“We find that four weeks without Facebook improves subjective well-being and substantially reduces post-experiment demand, suggesting that forces such as addiction and projection bias may cause people to use Facebook more than they otherwise would. We find that while deactivation makes people less informed, it also makes them less polarized by at least some measures.”
This point is not just about Facebook and other social media platforms but all types of everyday-dependable digital technology.
In line with Harvard Business Review, “Our digital lives do not need to make us unhappy, unhealthy and unwise“.
We must rethink the values or the pros and cons of technology because now and then, our brains deserve a break.
Pros and Cons of a Digital Detox
Do you know that 67% of mobile phone owners find themselves checking their phones even when it is not ringing or vibrating?
Also, 95% of people use digital electronics in the hours leading to bedtime, and an average employee at work checks 40 websites a day.
Some of the negative sides of a digital detox are that it makes it very easy to lose touch with what goes on around the world.
You could also suffer from social media withdrawal and the astronomical load of emails and news that will need attention when you finish with your digital detox.
On the positive side, a digital detox gives you the chance to pick up new hobbies and polish up on old ones you have not done in a while.
Also, a digital detox helps to improve your spoken vocabulary through reading and being more socially active.
You get to sleep much better and an ‘every now and then‘ digital diet helps you connect more to close friends and family.
With a mini break from technology, you are guaranteed a less stressful life and the chance to travel and physically explore new places, people and cultures.
Ways to Enjoy a Digital Detox
Travel
Going on a digital detox vacation is a great way to enjoy a tech-free life while improving your mental well-being.
You can either sign up for a digital detox retreat that includes different pre-planned activities to suit your personal needs, or go on trips to places with terrible Wi-Fi connections.
There are lots of nice places to go on a digital detox vacation with cellular dead zones and other impediments that will frustrate you each time you peek at your mobile phone.
Read
Rather than opening a computer, or picking up your phone to find something to do, pick up a book or two in any genre that interests you.
Reading sharpens your mind, increases and improves your vocabulary.
It also enhances your imagination as well as strengthens your writing skills.
Good books are an excellent way to enjoy a digital detox.
Go out More
Instead of being addicted to screens of any type, go outside.
Take a walk, plan activities with friends, look people in the eye and talk to them. Laugh and have a good time while experiencing different sounds, sights and tastes.
Going out and connecting with people, nature and culture is one of the best ways to help you not miss technology while on a digital diet.
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