It’s the first thing you look at in the morning and the last thing you check before falling asleep at night. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the countryside, at the beach, by the pool, in the supermarket or at the chiropodist. You and all of us are addicted to our mobiles, internet, Wi-Fi areas, social networks, etc. There’s no getting away from the fact that we are heavily dependent on technology. It’s the mother of all addictions of our time and can lead to a series of psychological and even physical problems. So, now is the time for some digital detox and to give yourself a break from your electronic devices.
You’ve left home, you put your hand in your pocket, and you can’t find your mobile. Your pulse starts racing, you get angry and you can’t find it any place. You break out in a cold sweat, and it feels like you were naked in the street. You check your back pocket one more time, and it’s there. Your pulse and temperature return to normal. Everything is ok again.
We’ve all experienced this feeling at least once. A real dependence that prevents us from being even a few metres away from our phone. We feel that we have to be constantly immersed in what’s happening on social networks and the internet.
The digital world has become more important than the real world around us and having unread messages in one of our WhatsApp groups is almost a sin.
It’s much the same for social networks with notifications coming in and content to be reviewed. And that’s before we even mention the stress of checking how many people have viewed the last photo or video you uploaded, and how many likes it has. A review of how many likes or shares your photo gets can determine whether you have a good or bad day emotionally. The ego always comes first…
Altogether it seems a somewhat sinister dependence, almost like an episode of Black Mirror, but this is a reality. We need to disconnect completely and do a technological detox to regain control of our lives.
We’re convinced that it will cause you some anxiety, so we’ve prepared a few tips for you to pull it off successfully with certain guarantees.
Set a start and finish date for your digital detox
You should ideally do this during a holiday period to avoid your brain from completely exploding. This way, you won’t have to worry about checking work emails, reading messages in chat groups, etc.
You should try to do this for at least 3 days, but we recommend a week to replace these addictive habits with other non-digital behaviours.
Set hours for disengagement
Even if you’re trying a technological detox, you still have your obligations, family, etc. We don’t want to take you back to the middle ages either, so set a limited period of time to look at essential emails and important issues on social networks.
We recommend switching off all digital devices for 5 or 6 hours a day. Be strong, turn off your phone or put it in flight mode.
Don’t turn into the Hulk
Anxiety will come knocking on your door, you’ll also probably become a bit irritable during the first few days. It’s normal to be tempted to look at your phone, get angry and complain about anyone who tries to come between you and your electronic devices…
But, take a deep breath and think about the fact that you’re doing something beneficial for your physical and mental health. Your neck and carpet tunnel will thank you for it!
Search for partners in crime
Try not to handle this problem on your own. You’ll have a much higher chance of success if you can recruit some friends or family members to join you on your digital detox plan.
You can coordinate your daily disconnection schedules with them. And, if you can do them at the same time, everything will flow much more easily.
It’s also a good way to avoid worries and scares when you’re unreachable for a number of hours a day. There’s strength in numbers.
Get back to having hobbies
Blow the dust of your guitar and start playing again. Go out for a bike ride, a walk, or to do some yoga in the park.
There’s a wide range of possibilities available in the offline world. The digital world has taken over from activities, but you can play the guitar without downloading tabs, go for a jog without measuring distance and heart rate on your smartwatch, or even go out with friends to enjoy some tapas without posting it on Instagram. It might sound crazy, but you can do it!
Put your mobile out of sight during mealtimes
It’s essential to keep your mobile away from the table at mealtimes. It doesn’t matter if you’re eating alone, it’s no excuse. You can still read a newspaper or a book.
And you might say, “I can read the news on my mobile and save paper”. And, yes, you’re right, but after you’ll be tempted to take a quick look on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and you know it.
If you have kids, the worst thing you can do is let them see you eating with your mobile next to you on the table. To make sure they eat their food without watching Pocoyo on the tablet, and you must lead by example.
Delete the apps you don’t use very often
Before starting your digital detox, make an examination of conscience about the apps you have installed on your phone, and then delete all the ones that aren’t very useful or that you only use once in a blue moon.
This way, you won’t have so many apps to check, and you won’t receive unnecessary notifications that will draw your attention back to the screen.
We also recommend deactivating sound and visual signals, pop-ups and other alerts, so you don’t check your phone so often.
Put your mobile in a drawer
It seems obvious, but not having the object of temptation in sight works wonders if you’re trying to take a break from your smartphone.
Stick it in a drawer with some papers on clothes on top of it, and this way it’s not the first thing you see each time you open the drawer to look for some cutlery before having lunch or dinner.
Another more radical option is to hand over your smartphone to someone when you’re going through your digital detox. It might sound like a Greek tragedy at first, but it’s the best way to make sure you stick to your commitment.
Good luck to all those who try it, and may the force be with you!
