What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Roll over in bed and scroll the ‘gram? Check your WhatsApp messages? Read your emails? Does a flurry of panic take over if your phone battery dies during the night? If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then it may be time to consider a digital detox.
Over the last decade, tech journalist Blake Snow has poured himself into finding a balance between his online and offline life. This led to him unleashing his findings in 2017 in a book called Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnection, where he discusses the toxicity of being addicted to screens. In his book, he writes, “The very devices that were meant to free us are making us negligent friends, parents, and lovers.” If you’re looking to better your relationship with technology, he offers some serious advice in his book.
What is a digital detox?
Being on your phone and/or laptop for the majority part of the day isn’t uncommon, especially considering how most of us are working from home. Digital detox aims to break the feeling of dependency that we may have on tech. It refers to the time a person voluntarily takes off from using digital devices such as smartphones, laptops and computers, as well as television. Many people, however, also limit it to their usage of social media platforms.
According to a 2015 study by the UK- and New York-based research organisation Kovert Designs, going without our phones for a few days can give us better posture, help us to former deeper friendships, hold longer conversations with ease, improve memory as well as sleep better. Cutting out devices cold turkey may be intimidating so here are three truths that will make it easier to consider a digital detox…
Distractions, distractions, distractions
According to Snow, there are four burners in your life—think family, friends, health, and work. Anything that doesn’t cater to these four pillars can be eliminated. This means disabling alerts, buzzes, and notifications from unnecessary apps. Most emergencies are a figment of our imagination so removing distractions can help us focus on what really matters.
Realise that being busy all the time doesn’t make you cool
You spend about five days a week using your phone so detaching from it for a day or two is going to be tough. Plus, claiming that you’re busy is so much easier than deciding what you want to really do. Scrolling mindlessly on your phone and consuming content makes it possible for us to feel like we’re doing something whereas the truth is, you’re just addicted to tech.
Think about why you’re using your phone
Before picking up your phone, think about why you need it. Is it to seem busy? Or are you trying to escape a situation that’s in front of you? Being mindful about this can greatly help to push down your screen time and will help you to pinpoint the moments when you use your phone to escape reality.
5 tips to reduce your screen time
Screen addiction is real and we all know it. Try these five tips to balance your usage.
· Consider deleting all social media apps from your phone. Use them only from your computer. If this seems too daunting, the least you can do is add them all in one folder and move that to another part of your phone screen, away from your home page. This will give you three seconds to realise you’re not supposed to be using these apps, even when you’re looking for them on your phone.
· Turn off all notifications and buzzes for any unnecessary apps. Think ones that don’t contribute to your four burners.
· Invest in an actual alarm clock and keep your phone away before bed. This ‘out of sight, out of mind’ theory can go a long way in cutting down digital time before bed.
· Make it a point to put away your devices while spending time with loved ones. Yes, this includes meals and meetings.
· Instead of carrying your phone around with you, drop your phone in a fixed location once you’re home. Use it only when you’re in that spot.