When I grew up, idle time was spent reading, playing baseball with my neighbors, or tracking mud into the house. My parents consciously and constantly encouraged me to “be outside” and not “sit there” in front of the TV. There was no urgency for something like a digital detox because technological addictions were far rarer.
However, with the advent of smartphones and ever-present Internet access, I adapted. I purchased phones and computers, started websites and embraced social media. This ability to change is good. We continue making livings and feel connected with our current culture by participating.
But adaptation sometimes has unintended consequences.
As I type these words, my phone is silenced and turned over. Despite trying to avoid notifications and create a distraction-free zone, I am pulled towards it. It is, after all, sitting right next to me.
Its power remains—even if I don’t respond to the device. My brain shouts that there are unexpected joys and pleasant moments possible if I would only embrace the device and press the screen alive.
What news, messages, loves, and likes might I be missing?
Of course, opening my smartphone now would prevent me from writing these words. I might swim in the infinite Internet of news, posts, articles, and comments—losing track of time or intention.
I’ve done it before. Far too many times.
Setting my sights on an individual, meaningful news article, clicking a link within the content, and then searching through other stories the company personally recommends for me. The “suggested articles” never end.
Before I know it, 20 to 30 minutes is gone. Never to be regained again.
Most of us have a technology addiction. And a digital detox is the solution.
Companies have become incentivized to keep your attention for longer and longer periods of time. Google, Twitter, and Facebook employ teams of psychologists and human-computer interaction experts to find ways to modify behavior and hook you. Thirty minutes of your time—of billions of people’s—makes the marketers happy.
Tristan Harris, formerly a Design Ethicist at Google, talks about this as a consequence of the “attention economy.” And if companies have their way, we’ll be watching even more cat videos, sharing “shocking” stories, and commenting to “outrage.” Our personalities are invested in these processes now.
Taking a break, minimizing distractions, and embracing simplicity are all difficult in today’s world. Most of us aren’t ready to ditch our smartphones or social media, the isolation isn’t worth the departure. Nor is avoiding technology entirely the answer.
Many of us seem to be struggling to moderate and balance technology use. So how do you know when you need to detox?
Here are Five Signs You Need a Digital Detox
1. You spend more time than intended.
Technology can be like quicksand, sticky and challenging to escape. Haven’t we have all gotten hooked after one article and stayed for another article, comment, or share? If you clicked on this article through Facebook, you might have accounted about 5-10 minutes of time. But what if you continued scrolling down your Facebook news feed afterwards? Before you know it, you’ve spent 15-20 minutes mindlessly scrolling. By setting intentional blocks of your schedule for checking, you might gain an awareness for your use and find ways to contain it.
2. You feel guilt/dissatisfaction afterwards.
When I eat a bag of chips, I immediately feel the salt on my tongue. Eventually, the saltiness dulls and oils remain. The residue remains on my fingertips. But when I overeat on these empty calories, I feel dissatisfied. Technology use has a similar reward-regret curve. Each site and article provides a little nugget of instant gratification. Too many, and I’m inclined to regret this use of time. Reflection is the best medicine for examining how you move forward in the world. If you’re filled with negative emotions, it might be time to ask, was that “time well spent?”
3. You are motivated by a fear of missing out.
My event invitations, messages, and updates from friends and friendly make it crystal clear: I don’t have a fear of missing out, as I’m always missing out on something. I’ve grown to embrace this truism. It’s freeing. There’s always more we can participate in, but time is limited and being more busy is not the answer. Minimalism is attractive to so many because, at its heart, it is about intentionally finding ways to embrace that which gives us meaning, while removing the distractions that keep us from it. We don’t have unlimited space or time or energy. And the sooner we own this reality, the sooner we’ll focus on what matters.
4. You experience urges to check.
Researchers have found interruptions lead to major delays in the completion of projects. On average, study participants took about 23 minutes to get back on task after a distraction. Potentially, that “important” email could mean 23 minutes from what’s meaningful. From phantom vibrations to wondering whether the screen just flashed on, the motivation to check our phones is one of the strongest adaptations. Proactive preventions from checking might help curb cell phone addiction. For instance, you might choose to turn your phone off when socializing with loved ones or putting it on a do-not-disturb mode.
5. You never have enough time in your day.
Recently, I installed a little application (Moment) on my smartphone to track use. What I found still haunts me. I picked up my phone about 40 times, and spent nearly two hours working on emails, checking media, and text messaging. While some of that was purposeful work, distractions clearly continue to get me. At the end of days, it’s not uncommon to feel incredibly busy. This busyness and stress is real, but if you were to reduce smartphone usage, might it help you feel more calm and available for what matters?
Despite conscious efforts to minimize material goods, information and technology can weasel its way in, pushing out what matters. Taking intentional efforts to take part in a digital detox might free up far more time than you realize for the things that matters most.
And isn’t that really the goal of all this? To live a life that matters.
Karla says
I do not subscribe to any social media. I am always met with a look of shock when someone finds out. This is another reminder to keep it that way. I am able to fully attend online challenges-like the Uncluttered Challenge right now.
Advertisers have been using psychological tactics for years, which have hooked me. I’m glad I’ve at least avoided it here. I feel sad that there are so many struggles for people, because of it.
driving directions maps says
Technology is becoming more and more attached to the life of young people.
Molean says
so what the mean of life
Judy says
God
Mackenzie says
I agree with the commenter a few comments above, who found herself on Twitter a lot more in the past 6 months, due to nationwide issues that have gone on since then. I too, have had to take mini breaks over time and not be on Twitter.
ML says
So many refer to “detox”, technology vacations, forgetting passwords, MOMENT; all designed to re-establish a sense that one is in control and that there is a greater purpose to our lives. Technology, and the “need” to know what’s happening is, indeed, for many, an addiction. We can officially list this addiction along with all the others. Reality strikes again! Like competing against a unique athlete in sports, you try and contain/limit the damage they incur. In the end there is no stopping them.
Helmut Wagabi says
Thanks for the good points you have made. But we all have stuff we want others to learn or know about, hence constant checking of our social media accounts. I enjoy twitter very much because of the restricted characters.
Matt says
Another one, of those article. The bell has been rung for a while, and now it won’t stop. I just can’t keep ignoring this, even if it reveals, in the end, not to be much of an issue. Earlier today, I contemplated the topic at length, and posited that the question of whether technology harms one reaches as far as into trenches of whether we should all aspire to live by the values of the rich. I won’t go into detail, but my point is that this topic reaches way father than just what it addresses.
Another problem we seem not to discuss enough though, maybe because doing so isn’t financially sound, is that of the influx of so many self-improvement articles: Because of this, I struggle greatly to focus on working towards ONE goal. Today, I might be thinking about trying to work on my attention span (technology detox), but by the time I go to bed, I will have (unwittingly) read at least 5 other articles that managed to wedge in things pertaining to self help. It’s very infuriating, because I love reading articles; but I don’t want to be ‘trapped’ within the confines of the self all the damn time. What happened to leisurely reading?
John says
So many of the seemingly innocent diversions and pleasures in life can steal away our time. Before social media, it was television. My sense is “all things in moderation.” Take note of your use habits and adjust if excessive.
Helmut Wagabi says
You are quite right, John.
Amy@MoreTimeThanMoney says
The struggle is real! I’ve always been an information junkie, so a smartphone is my heroin.
I’ve been really working on limiting the distraction of my phone. I keep it my bedroom when home, rather than on me. I’ve turned off a huge slew of notifications. I deleted the Facebook app. I often set the timer when I’m browsing. I keep a book to browse nearby. All this has helped a lot. Still a challenge though and something that takes active work.
chlo says
Thank you so much for sharing this post :) It really is important to spend time away from technology and social media as there’s so much more to life. I’ve recently stopped spending less and less time on it which has really improved my level of happiness.
Chloe @ https://girllgonerogue.blogspot.co.uk/