Overwhelmed with technology? Try digital detox

As the world hit rock bottom in the year 2019, everyone went into isolation for almost about two years. This isolation made us stick to our smartphones and laptops for entertainment and connect with loved ones. We have lost ourselves in the technological world so much that all we care about is our social image and connecting people online. Natural bonds are so rare (due to Covid, of course) these days. All this constant need for attention is making us more anxious and weakening us mentally and physically. Approximately 61% have admitted that they are addicted to their phone screens and the internet. We have entered the digital era, and avoiding technology is next to impossible. Technology being a part of our lives, our awareness of our general wellbeing is crippled. It is now the time for a digital detox. It can be extremely challenging, but you can do it! Do you want digital detox yourself? Continue reading this blog to know and apply it to your life for maximum benefit.

Understanding Digital detox

Digital detoxing is the process of retracting yourself from using any type of digital device you use normally. It is an intentional move to get away from those devices. Digital detoxing can be overwhelming, but as you progress, you will see positive changes in yourself and how your overall personality changes with time. Digital detox is the only weapon to safeguard yourself from the devices taking over your daily routine. Earlier, when technology hadn't evolved that much, people used to wake up without diving right into their smartphones or televisions. Today every person looks at their smartphone within the first half-hour of the day. We wake up and check our phones rather than freshening up and enjoying the beautiful morning. 59% of people tend to look at their phones five minutes before bedtime (survey done by Deloitte in 2015). It wrecks up the sleep cycle because it hampers the production of melatonin (controls sleep cycle).

Reasons to carry out Digital Detox

Today almost 25% of those owning smartphones stay online almost all the time. Staying online for so long can cause:

• Depression
• Weight gain
• Anxiety
• Binge eating (mostly unhealthy food)
• Absence of exercise
• Self-image problems (because filters)
• Low self-esteem
• Sleep deprivation
• Wastage of time (no time management)
• Work ethic problems (conflict you don’t want to have)

Whenever you swipe or scroll on social media, it makes your brain release dopamine to hit certain areas, which are responsible for addiction and responsive to certain drugs like cocaine. So, it’s really important not to allow dopamine to hit those areas with such frequency.

Tips on Beginning your Digital Detox

To detox yourself, you can do many things. Here I’m mentioning a few of the ways which can be easy and effective for you to begin with:

1.   Take Breaks by Looking Away from Screens

Screens are everywhere! Your phone, laptop, television! When working on screens, try not to look continuously at the screen. Take a break and do something else. Doing something else doesn’t mean starting to look at the different screens during that time. Instead, get up and go for a walk, roll your eyes, stretch yourself to ease muscles, make tea, turn on songs on the radio, and dance.

All these activities make you feel fresh again and ready to get back to work. Such breaks rejuvenate you and ease the stress on your eyes so that they can work tirelessly. Follow the 20-20-20 rule, which says that for every 20 minutes you look on the screen, devote 20 seconds to look away from the screen to rest your eyes. Looking away from the screen doesn’t mean looking at another screen. Just close your eyes and relax.

2. Roam around after work

Sometimes you are stuck at work so badly that you can’t make time to walk around between your working sessions. Make sure you give your body a walk after work. Don’t restrict yourself, don’t fall on the bed right away. Walk around for a while for no reason. It’ll make you fresh, and your eyes and mind will be good again.

3. Notification Mute

Honestly, notifications are useless at any level. Nothing of importance can come to you through a Notification. Countless apps on your phone but none of the Notifications will be more important to you. I guarantee. If anyone has anything urgent to convey, they won’t message you on social media. They’ll call you directly.

Any information that comes to you through notifications isn’t worth your time at all. Mute them! Mute all the Notifications. Devote half hour or so to read the newsletters, Notifications, replying to the messages. Don’t spend extra time on them. Muting the notifications will allow you to enjoy the time in the real world.

4. Make Nature your Best Friend, Spend Time with it

Nature is the medicine that can cure everything, and for a digital detox, nature will do wonders. No matter how drained out you are, just an hour in nature will replenish your body and mind, and you’ll be like a child full of energy. A day in nature will detoxify you of the anxiety and tension that built up in you the entire week.

Lose yourself in various activities like cycling, running, sprinting, hiking, or some outdoor games and adventures with your friends. All these things will make you forget about the mobile and hence, kill the urge to check it again and again.

Going away for an adventure means cutting yourself off from the world, as you might end up losing the internet for an ample amount of time. It can be a blessing for trips because you can enjoy life in real-time rather than posting pictures and replying to the comments you get.

5.    F.O.M.O and the Feeling of Urgency – Train Them!

We are dependent on the notifications that we have developed F.O.M.O (fear of missing out). One Notification and we leave everything we are doing to look at what the Notification is all about. Almost none of these notifications are urgent at all. It can be just some friend sharing something or your post getting like and comments. You looking at these notifications won’t change your life but will kill the momentum of your work what you are doing in the present time. This fear of missing out should be trained in a way that it doesn’t hamper your daily routine. Some activities don’t require attention, so there’s no way to fear missing out on something important.

6.   Mindful consumption of the information, not passive consumption

You have to go and get the information you need and not let it come to you. It is called mindful consumption of information. When you have every active app in your hand, you tend to keep scrolling which leads to passive consumption of the information that is useless most of the time. Don’t let this happen, be in charge of what want to consume. Be the one to go intentionally and not vice-versa.

7.   Book Reading in Dead Times

You will always have some time between your two activities, no matter how tight you schedule your work. You might think that the time between can be passed by looking into your phone. You’re wrong! It’ll disrupt your schedule when you start scrolling and swiping. Instead, you could use a book to kill the dead time. Books calm you down and bring you out of the state of urgency.

8.   Stop Checking your Phone when you get up or go to bed

It is one of the worst habits you can develop in your life. Checking your phone as soon as you get up is the main reason for anxiety. The brain isn’t that active when you get up in the morning. The brain needs 30 minutes to start sensing reality. Full functionality of the brain is achieved after 1-2 hours of waking up.

A similar process occurs when you go to sleep. The brain tries to get into sleep mode and avoid screens facing it. The blue light hampers the brain and stops it from getting into sleep mode. Stop using phones and see your sleep cycle improve, which ultimately corrects your life, and detox starts to happen.

9.   Get into Physical Activities

Being physically active is a trait very few people master. If you are involved in physical activities, you won’t have time for your phone. You will love this distance between you and your devices and will eventually love the changes both physically and mentally. The endorphins are released when you engage in physical activities. These help you relieve anxiety, stress, and pain. It improves your way of living. Outdoor workouts can be refreshing and can build good body and mind connections.

10. Digital Sabbatical

It is the advanced level of digital detox. If you can accomplish the above-mentioned tips, you can try a digital sabbatical. In this, you cut yourself off from the internet for a longer time. It can be very hard, but you can try from a day and then do it for weeks, and so on. You will realize that nothing is missing, even if you’re off-grid. F.O.M.O will be cured.

Benefits of the digital detox

• You will be very calm and content. Your stress levels will be significantly low as compared to the prior condition.

• Productivity will be upscaled, and it will reflect on our lifestyle. Time wastage will be negligible, and your future will thank you for this.

• When you stay away from all the posts, comments, likes, dislikes, you will feel better about yourself. It will be a good boost for your esteem and self-image.

• You will sleep better at night due to the release of sleep hormones and the minimal interference of the blue light.

• It will ultimately make you healthier day by day.

After knowing what a digital detox can do to you, I hope I have helped you in your conquest. Are you ready to take up the digital detox challenge? If yes, then best wishes to you!