Digital Detox Methods
If you think your life moves around your mobile phone, if
you feel restless without checking your WhatsApp messages or you can’t sleep
without watching television or if you feel a certain emptiness in your life without
your digital devices around you, then you need help. Help, to reduce your
dependence on devices like mobile phones, television and tablets, make you feel
normal and usually live and maintain a positive and healthy relationship with
technology. These devices with which we and our friends and family started as a means to regularly connect with each other have led us to their addiction
leading to stress, anxiety and overstimulation of the brain due to their overuse.
Common digital stressors observed in people across all age groups area;
1. Increase in screen time leads to eyesight and
concentration problems, especially in young kids.
2. Too much consumption of online content has
changed the equilibrium of life, as a technology that was meant to save time has
turned into time spent using technology.
3. High level of smartphone use demands too much
attention and engagement.
4. Prolonged period of digital connectivity has
created a digital version of us on every platform.
It is impractical and highly impossible to get rid of the
medium, content and technology altogether. But we can try to control the urge
to use it, in order to bring a balance into our mind and body we need a digital
detox to stay away from technology for a specific period of time. Digital detox
is the healthiest and one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Signs that you need a digital detox
I. Feeling anxious, depressed and poor sleep.
II. Lack of concentration or motivation and
constantly feeling distracted.
III. Feeling lonely or isolated.
IV. Don’t want to leave your house without your
phone.
V. Walk with your phone in your hand.
VI. Fear of missing out and checking your phone
without any reason.
VII. Feeling pressured to comment, like or respond.
VIII.Taking pictures of everything.
IX. Falling asleep with a laptop, tv or smartphone.
X. Eating with your smart devices.
Detox or detoxification means holistic healing, to do some
pre-defined practice to get rid of harmful things in the body. Digital detox
here is switching away from digital devices for a few hours or days so that you
relax and create a buffer zone free from smartphones, the internet and social
media. But it is entirely on you to realize your problem and decide how and
when to detox. Some of the measures you can try are as follows:
1.
Schedule your time away from the screen
You need to schedule your time away from the screen and plan
your day accordingly as it is going to be tough to manage initially. Cut your
screen time to about 30 minutes each week which you can increase gradually. Turn
off all notifications that will keep you away from checking your phone
periodically. Eat without looking at your smartphone or laptop. No scrolling of the screen before sleep time. Let sleep come to you naturally in a relaxed
atmosphere. Make a no-phone zone in your house while making a phone zone
specifically for charging and checking it then and there only.
2. Take a break
from technology
Plan for your weekend or weekly holidays without your smartphone. Indulge in outdoor activities walk, run, jog, cycle and spend some time in the lap of nature without checking your emails or looking for messages. Let the
people (friends/family/office) know you will be digitally detoxing so that
they will stop messaging during that period. Set up an away message on your
email account to make your contacts aware of your weekend break.
Downgrade your smartphone and go for earlier versions of cellphones that have to call and texting facilities, for office and other important work you can log on to your laptops or desktops whenever required, but by downgrading your smartphone you will be able to curb your desire to check for messages, likes, battery percentage etc. If you don’t want to downgrade your smartphone altogether, then try to replace it with a simple cellphone for a few days or a week or two.
4. Keep time for family meetings
Create no-phone or digital-device-free areas in your home
where you can chill with your family. Try to keep your phone away so that
family time is for intimate chatting with family members. You can make this a rule
for all the members of the family to keep their smartphones or laptops away
whenever there is a family meeting, get-together or chill time. Keep an eye on
your kids' screen time too as they too need a detox from digital devices.
5. Turn off
your phones for specific timings
Make a daily timetable of your smartphone/laptop/television-related activity as well as when you plan to switch it off for a couple of hours. This way you can be free from it without getting anxious about the work needed to be done. Make a daily schedule of hours you are going to invest in digital devices and away from them. A weekly audit of your away time will encourage you to get independent of it and look for recreational/relaxational activities.
6. Start a
hobby
After switching off your smartphone don’t rush towards your tv as this will fail your digital detox as again watching too much tv will lead to addiction to the device besides a waste of time. Better channel yourself towards a hobby that you wanted to pursue a long. Hobbies regarding physical exercise like tennis, badminton, running, etc. will improve your physical fitness. You can also start to use your time creatively like sketching, painting, sculpting, singing or whatever you wanted to pursue but couldn’t due to lack of time. By staying away from smart devices intentionally you will find yourself with too much time to spare, just plan to utilize them intelligently.
7. Go socializing with/friends /relatives/neighbors
Earlier when there were no tv, multiple entertainment
channels, social media or video/mobile games, family evenings were spent receiving
or visiting friends, relatives, neighbors or some social events. Nowadays all
those activities are a thing of the past for most families, evenings are passed by
watching tv or playing mobile games. We should consciously keep ourselves as well
as our kids invested and involved in actual social life. Try to make a close
group of friends and encourage your kids to make friends, meet them, help them
and socialize with them. Social connectivity with friends, relatives and neighbors
will make you and your family feel more relaxed, and happy and keep you away from the virtual world of social media.
8. Meditate
and relax
Try
meditation to keep your mind calm and relaxed as digital devices take a toll on
mental health. Meditation will make your thoughts clear and your willpower
strong to increase the number of hours or days away from your digital device. Even
if you find it hard to downgrade, replace or switch off your smartphone, try to
meditate regularly to ingrain a sense of calm in your mind. It will definitely
help you make decisions wisely and keep job-related pressures away.
After going through detox, ponder over it regarding your gains
and giveaways. Reflect on what you want as the next step. Don’t rush into it, take
mini detox daily by reducing time gradually on your digital devices. Go for
baby steps like one-hour daily digital detox initially. Don't leave it midway and try to adopt it wholeheartedly as it will promote mental and physical well-being in you and the people around you.
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