A period during which a person refrains from using any digital devices, such as TVs, smartphones, laptops, tablets, and social media portals, is referred to as a "digital detox." Digital detoxification is an excellent method to reduce stress caused by persistent device interference and concentrate on in-person social interactions without interruptions. Please think about the possible advantages and justifications for going through a digital detox.
Reasons for a Digital Detox
For some people, staying connected in the digital world is a regular part of their everyday life. According to one research from Nielsеn, an average US adult spends about 11 hours daily watching, listening to, reading, or interacting with some type of media. A device overuse is a real behavioural obsession that can drive to psychological, physical, and social problems.
Digital media disrupt sleeping
All evidence suggests that heavy use of digital devices, especially prior to bedtime, will likely disrupt sleep quantity and quality. The most affected are children when using devices before bed, it significantly worse and less sleep. Also, using social media at bedtime increases the possibility of insomnia, anxiety, and shorter sleep duration.
Device overuse is associated with some mental health concerns
Daily tech use is closely linked with an increased risk of mental health concerns amongst adults. When people spent more time using digital technologies is linked to progressed signs of ADHD and worse self-regulation.
Experimental study linking the use of social media like Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram to decreased well-being. Revealed that restricting social media use decreases the symptoms of loneliness and depression and.
Being connected all the time makes it hard to balance work/life
The feeling of being connected constantly can make it difficult to create barriers separating the home life and work life. For some people, it is hard to resist the temptation to review their own mailbox, or reply to a message from a coworker, or check the social media profile. The use of smartphone impacts overall job satisfaction and job stress.
Social Life Profile Comparison Makes It Harder to Stay Content
If you “waste” some time on social platforms, you have presumably found yourself comparing to your friends, relatives, and celebs, comparison actually can be the stealer of joy. You can see yourself less valued, rather than someone who lives an exciting or richer life, based on what you see on their social media profiles.
FOMO – The feeling that you are missing out something –
FOMO is the anxiety that you are missing the activities online that someone else is already seeing. This leads to constantly checking the device, because of fear of missing out things online.
When You Should Detoxify From The Digital World
You should detox yourself from social media and digital devices on a regular basis, especially if your work requires to stay close to electronics. If you re not sure when detox should be performed, therefore we have listed few situations when detox is urgently needed.
- When you feel stressed that your phone is not nearby
- If you feel compelled to check the smartphone very often
- When you feel angry or depressed after wasting time on social media apps
- When you regularly have a need to comment or share something on the social media
- If you feel FOMO – constantly checking the device because of the fear of missing the activities on social media
- Immediately looking for your phone after wake up, or staying up late to play with the smartphone
- You have difficulty to concentrate on a single task without checking the smartphone meanwhile
How to Do a Digital Detox
There are two types of digital detox, complete abstinence from any digital devices or social media or limiting the social media or digital device connectivity. The first one is beneficial for mental health, the second one is about setting boundaries and keeping the devices as far as possible away from you.
For beginning make realistic goals, if you can’t get completely disconnected then try staying connected only for work, or other obligations. Just pick a period of the day when you want to switch off the devices.
Set Limits the type and timing of connections you’ll attend to helps ensure that you can enjoy real-world activities completely free of digital diversions.
Remove Distractions, just turn off the push notification on your smartphone, or only for certain social media apps.
Leave the smartphone behind, you might find this really helpful because of the presence of a mobile device lowers empathy levels and decreased conversation quality when communicating with people.
Additional Tips
Some people find giving up from their electronic devices really easy. Some are finding it more difficult and even anxiety-provoking at times.
There are some things that you can do to ensure that your digital detox is more successful:
- Let your friends and family know that you are on a digital detox and ask for their help and support
- Find ways to stay distracted and keep other activities on hand
- Remove some of the social media apps from your smartphone to lower the temptation and easy access
- Try to get out of the house; go for a walk, or dinner with friends
- Keep track of your progress and write down your thoughts about the experience
