Digital Detox – It’s time to unplug

One of our greatest creations has been the Internet, social media, mobile phones, computers, and technology in general. We are constantly surrounded by technology nowadays, and everyone around us, including ourselves, is addicted to it. We spend more of our time online and on social media than we do in real life. When I observe people around me, I notice that almost everyone is texting, using social media, or “living their life online.”

Amid the current crisis, everything is shifting online with work from home to online classes, we are glued to our screens like never before. Also, with social distancing protocols in place amid the Covid-19 pandemic, hours of isolation taking a toll on our sanity, screens have been a saving grace for many. But now, the tide is turning in reverse, many vacationers today are looking for experiences free of technology.

Stuffing it into our Basic Needs

Are there any negative consequences to the constant need to be online? For starters, social media addiction is on the rise. Most people can not imagine sitting alone and not robotically scrolling through Instagram until they are numb with boredom. “Escape” from boredom or simply being alone with one’s thoughts has become second nature when using a smartphone. Using digital devices compulsively to the point where it interferes with daily life is the hallmark of addiction. According to Time to Log Off, there are three types of digital addictions, a company dedicated to digital detoxification. Phone addiction, Social Media addiction, and Internet addiction.

Negative Consequences of Too Much Technology

Whatever you want to call it, unplugging, detaching, or shutting down from technology is critical to our productivity and mental health. Here are a few examples of how being digital “always-on” impacts our health.

Stress increases: After work, our brains require time to relax. Late at night, receiving a stern text message or an urgent email keeps your adrenaline levels high and your “fight or flight” reflexes active. Worry and tension as a result of this are a natural progression.

Sleep deprivation: When you are stressed and “wired,” it’s common knowledge that sleep is difficult to come by. But did you know that utilizing technology late at night, even for entertainment purposes, can affect your sleep? Cortisol, a hormone that helps us stay awake, is to blame. According to studies, blue wavelength light from LED-based devices (phones, tablets, laptops) boosts cortisol release in the brain, keeping us alert when we do not need to be, and blocking the generation of melatonin required for sleep.

Are you a junkie? Tech can be addictive, I am not talking about FOMO (fear of missing out) addiction, I am talking about drug sort of addiction. According to studies, heavy Internet users’ brain sizes have changed, and there are issues with connectivity between certain brain parts. As if that weren’t bad enough, Internet abuse can result in a pattern of neuronal circuitry linked to a loss of self-control, a decreased ability to maintain long-term goals, and easy distractibility.”

It’s all about the likes: The society we are becoming is also a result of the addiction to connectivity. Society members compete for Instagram hearts and feel depressed when their Facebook likes are lower than average. Studies have linked heavy Facebook use to depressive symptoms, such as low self-esteem, according to researchers. As a result of social media, one develops a dual personality to validate oneself through other people’s opinions of pictures or status updates that rarely reflect the truth of one’s life. In terms of emotional well-being, a world in which happiness is determined by the number of thumbs-ups or hearts is not healthy.

Heavy Internet users’ brain sizes have been found to have changed, as well as their brain’s ability to communicate with certain areas.

It is not something that you would like to see in yourself. A digital detox should be on your radar for yet another reason. But what is a digital detox, and why is it important?

Digital Detox—Breaking the Addiction Cycle

Detoxification is a vital element of recovery for many people in addiction treatment. A different type of detoxification that people in recovery can benefit from is a digital detox. You can find new ways to improve your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness by minimizing technology usage. A digital detox is just a break from all things digital to breathe, contemplate, and make our relationship with technology healthier, from using it more meaningfully to set some boundaries. Here’s how you can do it:

Be attentive

If entirely avoiding technology is not possible right now, how much is too much? Consider how you feel when you are online, in addition to how much time you spend on the Internet. If you are online and it feels like it’s taking more from you than it is offering, it is a sign that you should log off or interact differently. Consider which of your online habits you find nutritious and which you find tiresome. Are there any analog options for the latter? Consider getting the weekend papers delivered and consuming your news offline occasionally, for example, attempting to keep up with news updates on Twitter makes you feel more nervous than informed.

Limit spaces

Setting time restrictions on our device use is a typical strategy for reducing our reliance on technology. Still, it may not be the most successful. In the toilet and bed, two of the most common places when individuals check their phones, we should pay more attention to our bodies than our phones. It would be a significant step to make your bedroom and bathroom tech-free. Put your phone on the other side of the room if you use it as an alarm clock. You do not want it to be the first thing you grab in the morning or the last thing you see at night.

Quality trumps quantity

Going offline is not always the opposite of wasting time online; it’s about being more deliberate about what we consume. Anything we can do to raise the quality of the content we consume is a good thing. Rather than bouncing from one YouTube clip to the next, sit down and watch an entire movie. Instead of scanning a dozen headlines, read one lengthy article. Try to limit yourself to just one technology at a time. If you’re working on a document, close all other tabs and disable all notifications. Do not hold your phone in your hand while watching TV. These activities are more effective than a time detox because they reorient our use of technology so that we do not overload our bodies and minds.

Make it more human

Technology keeps us linked, but we should utilize it in a way that enhances rather than depletes our connections. Anything we can do to bring a human factor to our relationships and contacts with others will benefit us. Consider making a phone call instead of sending a text message or sending an audio message instead of a text.

Indulge in boredom

Smartphones provide continual stimulation, but the more we have, the more we require to keep us happy. Our technologies provide us with never-ending novelty, which is like a drug to the brain since it craves novelty. Block out two ten-minute intervals a day, devices out of sight, sit with your thoughts or do something useless like folding a paper airplane to “reset” the brain. You may find yourself hankering to check your messages. Still, with practice, you will grow accustomed to not relying on your phone as a source of distraction.

Take short breaks

Even now, most of us can manage to spend one day a week, if not totally, then at least half, offline. Remembering that the world goes on without our likes, dislikes, comments, or interaction is a good reminder to keep in mind regularly. The key to making it a success is to have a plan for what you will do instead. It may be a socially distant hike with a friend or an afternoon on the couch reading, but whatever you do, make sure the focus is on what you are gaining, not what you are losing.

Avoid falling down the rabbit hole

Have you ever gotten out of the shower and grabbed your phone to check Instagram, only to find yourself sitting in a moist towel 45 minutes later, unable to stop scrolling? Our phones have a knack for drawing us in, despite our best efforts. People should keep track of how much time they waste by falling into rabbit holes. Then look at it at the end of the day and ask yourself, “How do I feel about that?” Was there anything else I could have done with that time that would have been as satisfying? If you are prone to mindless scrolling, she recommends setting out two hours a day to do it guilt-free rather than dipping in and out. Making it more difficult to fall into the hole in the first place is another way to break the pattern. Create digital friction, small speed bumps to make it a little more difficult to reach our phones in our usual ways. This could entail removing social media apps from your phone and only checking them on your computer, or simply leaving your phone in another room. But don’t be too hard on yourself if your best intentions go haywire and you find yourself binge-watching your favorite show while simultaneously updating Twitter and emailing your best buddy. Allow yourself to be compassionate with yourself, and lean into whatever is now sustaining you.

Results of detoxification

Fast Company, a monthly American business magazine, conducted a study to explore if a digital detox could enhance the brain. They observed 35 highly successful people in the Moroccan desert and discovered that after only a few days without technology, the group experienced the following:

Better Posture, Deeper Friendships: People’s postures changed substantially after three days without electronics. They began to adjust to looking ahead into people’s eyes instead of downward into their displays.

Google (Search) Is a Conversation Killer: When a general trivia question arises in today’s connected society, individuals immediately Google the answer, putting an end to that particular line of inquiry.

Improved Memory: People were more likely to recall minor details about each other, such as distant relatives’ names spoken casually.

More Effective Sleep: The visitors on the vacation reported they didn’t have to sleep as long and felt more refreshed and invigorated as a result.

New Perspectives: When people went offline for a while, they tended to make significant changes in their life.