It’s Time for Your Digital Detox

Top Reasons to Start a Digital Detox Now!

Recent data shows that human beings are spending a staggering amount of time on digital platforms, now more than ever. Take a glimpse at these figures; in a lifetime, an average person spends:

• 8 months on Instagram
• 1 year and 2 months on Snapchat
• 18 days on Twitter
• 1 year and 10 months on Youtube
• 1 year and 7 months on Facebook

Starting to get concerned? You should also know that while we were spending 90 minutes of our days on digital social platforms a couple years ago, this figure is over 150 minutes now. These statistics are truly sobering, especially given digital platforms will only continue to be a bigger part of our lives post-pandemic. Maybe it is time we start considering a digital detox.

A digital detox is a time you allocate for yourself where you don’t visit social media platforms or use technological devices, which include phones, TVs, and computers. This allows you to capitalize on the real-life interactions you have, without the recurring distractions that tend to come from digital devices. These devices create a constant craving for connectivity and take away from being fully present at the moment; so, going offline can help you “reconnect” with your inner truth.

Why Should You Give Digital Detox a Chance?

An average adult in the United States spends 11 hours of every day interacting with digital media. Technological devices tend to interfere in your daily life and create situations where you might find yourself feeling addicted to them. Many psychologists consider technological device overuse as a significant part of behavioral addiction that can result in many adverse psychological and social consequences.

Here are some more reasons to consider:

1. Technology can induce stress. A constant need to stay connected, check messages, scroll through social media can create a lot of stress in people’s lives. This stress can, in turn, result in a variety of symptoms including depressive episodes, sleeping problems, and so on.
2. The use of digital devices can result in poor sleep. Heavy device use can reduce both sleep quantity and quality, even contributing to domains such as increased body mass index. Checking social media when you get in bed can even boost anxiety and insomnia prospects for people.
3. Using technological devices too much may cause mental health problems. Links have been found between digital technology use and ADHD, conduct disorder, and self-regulation. Social media sites can cause feelings of loneliness and depression as well. Indeed, the rate of social comparison to strangers, celebrities, friends, and family pushes people to think everyone else is happier and more content with their lives.
4. Staying connected may also diminish positive work/life balance pushing boundaries on vacation time, and reducing overall job satisfaction. People may find themselves checking email during their off-time, increasing feelings of being overworked.
5. Digital platforms induce FOMO. Fear of missing out, commonly known as FOMO, is something that can significantly be impacted by seeing others’ on social media and constantly feeling the need to be involved in social events. A digital detox can help limit this fear.

Digital Detox Tips

A digital detox doesn’t have to mean complete separation from your digital devices. It is more about setting the appropriate boundaries to ensure that you benefit from these digital platforms, consequently minimizing the adverse effects they may have on your life. Find the right way to reduce your digital technology use, in a way that will work for you.

Here are a couple of things to consider while you start planning your digital detox:

• Be realistic. Try to understand how much time you can commit to staying disconnected in terms of work, academics, or similar obligations.
• Put limits to ensure you are disconnected for an allocated period. For example, create a detox playlist with the associated length and use it in your workout.
• Associate the digital detox time with other events such as: before going to bed, right after waking up, during a meal, during a workout, an outing with friends and family…
• Put the distractions away and limit access. Turn off notifications, put your phone on Airplane mode, turn it silent, and more!

Your digital detox can be what you want it to be. It can be a digital fast where you give up all devices for a certain period or recurrent digital abstinence where you pick a specific day to be device-free. You can also specialize it on an app, social media platform, gaming platform, or digital tool.

Platforms like Insumo can help you integrate digital detox as a habit in your daily routine, setting reminders and allocating device-free times on your schedule. Check out Insumo now!